Ham, Cheese and Fried Egg Crepes

This is definitely one of my favorite dinners I have made. My boyfriend does not agree, although he thought they were great. He still stands by the shrimp tacos. But I seriously loved these. They would also totally work for breakfast or brunch as well, but the first time I had savory crepes like these was in Paris. Two of my friends came to visit, Courtney being one of them, and after a full day of walking around the Marais, one of my favorite arrondissements of Paris, we ate a restaurant called Breitzh Cafe. It took us over an hour to find it (because I got us lost) and we also had to wait over an hour to be seated. But it was worth it. They were authentic Brittany-style crepes, and I couldn't leave Paris without trying them t least once. That day was one of my favorites from studying abroad, so making these crepes definitely brought back those memories. 

Crepes 

Ingredients 

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon white sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 cups of milk

2 tablespoons of butter, melted

*Tablespoon of shopped chives for about 2/3 of the recipe, the other half of the recipe was used for dessert

good quality white american cheese
4 eggs

¼ lb thinly sliced ham 

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the eggs and milk with an electric mixer. In a separate, smaller bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Sift the flour mixer over the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Mix in the butter and chives.

Over medium heat, lift the pan off of the burner and pour the batter at an angle to cover the entire pan and to prevent creating a thick awkward center. - nonstick is also an absolute MUST

Preheat the oven to 350. Place 4 finished crepes on a cookie sheet. Using good quality white-american cheese, sprinkle a little bit in the center of each crepe. Gently crack the egg on top of the cheese and place two slices of ham on either side of the egg. Fold up the sides of the crepe. Bake for 15 minutes or just until the egg looks cooked (the whites have turned white). You don't want to over cook it because these crepes are best when the yolk is still runny. Season with salt, pepper and chives and serve immediately.

Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich

I think I'm either in a rut, or have an addiction. I can't stop making breakfast and Mexican foods (and ice cream...the cookie phase has passed for the most part - I ODed during that semester long project when I brought cookies to class almost every week). Is it college? Is it my boyfriend with the huge appetite? I've always been a morning person, so that I can understand. And once you get good at something it's kinda hard to stop. 

I have a system when I make breakfast on the weekends. It has become a peaceful way of getting up after a night of partying, believe it or not. 

My foolproof system:

Wake up and preheat the oven to 350° for the bacon. Brush my teeth, watch some tube until the boyfriend wakes up etc. Line the cookie sheet with tin foil (with raised edges so the grease doesn't drip) for the bacon (preferably center cut that has been cut in half so you can fit more - honestly so brilliant I wish I thought of it first). Pop that in when the man has risen and set the timer to 15 minutes. Prepare the scrambled eggs in a bowl with the splash of milk and dashes of Tabasco. Take out the cheeses from the fridge and place the everything bagel in the toaster, but don't toast it until necessary. (In this post's case I used biscuits - but I digress). After 15 minutes of baking, check the bacon and flip using tongs (not entirely necessary but I usually do) and bake for 5 more minutes. When the bacon is almost done, start heating the pan on medium low heat. When the bacon is ready, dry on a paper towel and pour the grease into the pan for the eggs. Pour in the egg mixture, frequently stirring with a rubber spatula. Turn the toaster on and top off the almost finished eggs with sharp chedder, salt and pepper. On the toasted bagel, butter the top and line the bottom with good quality american cheese. Place eggs and bacon and place the top back on. Cut in half and serve. BOOM. Perfect breakfast sandwich. I have been told by several that this is the best breakfast sandwich they have ever had...just saying....

I personally think that the sandwich photographed above is the best sandwich I have ever had. I am allll about biscuits. And the avocado was a last minute decision that seriously nailed it. My mouth is watering just thinking about the sandwich - I just can't. Drizzled with a little good quality maple syrup....oh man 

Buttermilk Biscuits 

Ingredients 

(recipe can be doubled – yields about 10 biscuits)

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup buttermilk

*2 tablespoons of butter, melted

*The dough can be made with a food processor, but mine isn’t big enough so I just use my hands.

**Also, try and bake these as late in the game as possible. They are 10x better when they are served warm and fresh out of the oven

Directions 

Preheat oven to 450°.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Add the buttermilk and mix until just combined. It will be very sticky

Place the dough onto a floured work surface and knead until lightly covered in flour so it is no longer sticky – make sure not to overwork the dough so they can rise evenly

Gently pat out the dough until it is about 1 inch thick and cut biscuits out with a round biscuit or cookie cutter

Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes until lightly golden on top. – A minute before baking is finished, brush melted butter on top of each biscuits (about 2 tablespoons are needed)

THIS IS THE BEST BREAKFAST SANDWICH EVER. At least to date...nothing can beat this. And I'm usually a sausage egg and cheese kind of girl, too. This bad boy has good quality white american cheese from the deli section, sliced avocado, cheesy eggs, crispy bacon and a light drizzle of good quality maple syrup on a homemade buttery biscuit. I mean could you ask for more?

Creamy Homemade Ricotta

I have been dying to make my own cheese for a while now. It's just one of those things that so cool to say that you have done. And after reading countless blogs and recipes that said it's actually the easiest thing ever to make, I thought I could give it a shot. They weren't kidding. DO NOT waste your money on crappy store bought ricotta!!! Especially if you ever plan on making cannolis. We paid $19 for fresh, house-made ricotta from St. James Cheese Company for our cannolis. We would have saved most of that AND our ricotta would have been better anyway! It's takes maybe 5 minutes.

I did use a recipe that isn't technically "traditional" ricotta, but I really didn't want to end up with that grainy mess that you so often find in the grocery stores. I wanted smooth, creamy, delicious ricotta, and that is EXACTLY what this stuff is. My pictures show the ricotta before it has been refriderated, so it is less viscous. But once it has had time to chill, this stuff is thick, creamy heaven. Of course it is great either way. It's just depends on how you plan on using it.

Creamy Homemade Ricotta
Ingredients 
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream (heavy cream if you can find it)
1/2 tps. salt
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (reserve a little more in case you need extra)

Pour the milk, cream and salt into a sauce pan over medium heat. Using a candy/meat thermometer (I like using two, just for accuracy) and heat to 190 degrees F. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon to cook evenly and prevent scalding. When the milk has reached the desired temperature, remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Stir a little to make sure the lemon juice is distributed and then leave untouched for about 5 minutes.
position

Line a colander with cheese cloth (folded several times) and position on top of a bowl, leaving enough room under-neither to catch the milk without touching the bottom of the colander.

After the five minutes are up, use a wooden spoon and push aside some of the cheese which should have separated from the whey. If the whey is still pretty cloudy, add more lemon juice and let sit a while longer. Then pour the everything into the cheesecloth and let strain for about an hour. For lighter ricotta, stop at an hour. For a thicker ricotta, more similar to cream cheese or creme fraiche, let sit for around two hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container.

Avocado Chicken Parm and Great Grandma's Broccoli and Cauliflower

I was in such a good mood the other day and I was just dying to whip something up homemade. It’s been so long since I’ve made anything (as you can see by my lack of recent posts) so it felt so good to get back in the kitchen again. This semester is so difficult and my classes are far too demanding, so when I actually get a chance to do something with my free time other than sleep or watch tv, I get almost too excited.

One of the main reasons I don’t do dinner posts, other than having the Elon meal plan and being lazy, is that the pictures always come out terrible. The lighting in my apartment is crap and I rely far too heavily on natural sunlight. Usually I will bake something at night and take pictures of it the next morning or during the day by my bright window, but that doesn’t really work for dinner or night time eating (like appz and dipz+chipz) And you also can’t take pictures of cold food either. Fresh food just looks better, as does cooked and warm. So warming up a dinner plate at 8 in the morning just to put in back in the fridge seems pretty ridiculous to me. Until I find a better solution, this is what I gotta work with though. My sisters both use light boxes, so maybe I should invest in one of those in the future (even though they just seem like a pain in the butt to me – especially for my roommate)

The chicken was literally incredible! It was so tender and perfectly cooked. I had also been craving this broccoli and cauliflower we make constantly at my house so I decided to whip that up as a nice side. At the Bruno Manor this dish rarely makes it to the plate... "Just one wont hurt" doesn't usually work out as planned. Honesty box, but I also haven’t cooked/baked chicken like this since middle school. I bake sweets too much and I’m always trying to be overly ambitious with my recipes, so I really thought the chicken was going to come out terribly dry and awful. I followed a foolproof recipe from a blog called Cuisine Paradise though that I found from foodgawker, and my mouth is honestly watering just thinking about it. I changed up some measurements and did the chicken a little differently but overall this is a grade A recipe that I can’t wait to make again (and again and again). 

Avocado Chicken Parm

recipe adapted from Cuisine Paradise 

Ingredients 

2 ½ tablespoons of all-purpose flour

¼ cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1 tablespoon of milk

Olive Oil for rubbing and drizzling (use your best judgment)

Low-Fat Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

½ sliced avocado

About 3 tablespoons of store bought (yeah store bought, just call me Sandra Lee) tomato sauce. I prefer traditional Classico brand

Directions 

1. Preheat your oven to 400˚F

2. Put the chicken in a plastic Ziploc bag and hit it with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin until the chicken looks pretty much the same thickness throughout. 

3. In a cake pan, mix together the flour and breadcrumbs (you can use a bowl or plate but I thought this was easier and cleaner) In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg.

4. Dip the chicken into the egg/milk mixture. Then dip it in the breadcrumb mixture and make sure it is fully coated. Then dip the chicken back into the egg mixture, and then again in the bread and flour. Use your fingers to pat down the breadcrumbs so that it isn’t lumpy or bare in any spots. 

Sorry I forgot to take pictures of the breadcrumb dipping part....sometimes I just get so involved!

5. Place the breaded chicken on tin foil greased with olive oil. Lightly drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top of the chicken as well and pat to distribute it a bit.

6. Bake for 4 minutes and then flip it over and bake for 4 more minutes.  

7. After the 8 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and spread the tomato sauce on top.

8. Place the avocado slices on top and generously sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. 

9. Bake for about 6-7 minutes more or until the cheese has completely melted and the chicken appears brown and crispy on the sides. 

Great Grandma's Broccoli and Cauliflower  

a family recipe 

Ingredient's

1 bag of steam-fresh broccoli and cauliflower 

( > or you can buy a head of each. I'm just lazy and in college so the steam fresh worked perfectly for one - although it really only serves one or two)

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan 

3 tablespoons Italian breadcrumbs

Salt and Pepper to taste 

Directions

Saute the cooked/steamed broccoli and cauliflower mixed with all of the ingredients over medium heat until they are brown and crispy.  Serve. (or eat directly from the pan like us)

I don't know if you noticed, but steamfresh totally shorted me on the broccoli front. Let's just say I was not pleased (especially because I like the broccoli more!)

I don't know why I love this so much - I just do!!

So dark. so sad.

No I did not eat that entire piece of chicken - even though it was so delicious. I ate half and warmed it up for dinner the next night. Amazing. makes a great leftover

Queso Dip

It's no secret that my roommate Courtney and I LOVE Mexican food. We also happen to love any kind of appetizer, and would actually prefer them over eating a real meal. I mean who doesn't love dip? We sure do. I had been gawking at this recipe for queso for a pretty long time and finally I decided to give it a try (it also didn't hurt that there was a buy one get one free cheese deal at Harris Teeter - I can't resist buy one get one free I just can't). All I have to say about this recipe is HOLY QUESO this dip is soooo good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Not only is it amazing right after it is made, but it lasts so well in the fridge. Popping that hot cheesy goodness in the microwave after a late night out (during chilly winter term no less) is the most heavenly midnight snack you will ever eat. That and maybe a hot-dog from kangaroo, but there is really no comparison.

recipe adapted from Let's Dish 

Queso Dip

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup white onion, finely chopped

16 ounces white American cheese, shredded or cubed

4 ounces Monterrey and Colby Jack Cheese, shredded 

3/4 cup cream or half and half 

half a can of diced tomatoes and green chilies

1 Roma tomato, seeds removed and diced 

1 small bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped 

Directions 

Sauté the onions and olive oil together over medium heat until the onions are pretty much transparent. Pour the cheese and cream over the onions and let melt, stirring occasionally. Add the half can of diced tomatoes and chilies, the diced Roma tomato and the chopped cilantro. Stir and serve hot. (if it gets to cool and starts to stiffen at the top, just pop it in the microwave and it will go right back to the way it was. I mean it’s not velvetta, it can’t stay melted forever!)