Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

December and the holidays are upon us.  We need all the help we can get this month.  My thoughts are on baking cookies, buying presents, entertaining and trying to cram it all into a three to four week period.  I actually relish the festive atmosphere of the month.  Our family will be visiting us in Florida for the holidays for the first time and we have our long standing New Year’s celebration with dear friends to look forward to.  What could be better?  But it does require a little planning.

Let’s consider breakfast for company.  We all have that breakfast casserole that can be assembled and placed in the refrigerator overnight.  Just put it in the oven in the morning and breakfast is on the table within an hour.  Most of those casseroles are based on bread, whether it is sour dough, challah, croissants or French.  I love all of them.  But I was looking for something a little less dense.  I should say lighter.  Since the inspiration for this recipe came from Cooking Light that would be the case.

In place of the bread this recipe has baby spinach, mushrooms, center cut bacon, fresh basil, and just the right amount of hash brown potatoes.  The eggy goodness and Swiss cheese is the same, so it is a casserole that everyone would enjoy.  Everything but the eggs and milk  can be assembled the night before, so in the morning it is almost as easy to get in the oven as the traditional breakfast casserole.

I had fun with my small star cutter.  I opened a jar of roasted red peppers and cut stars out of the peppers and placed them on the top of the casserole before I put it in the oven.  I can see getting even more creative with this for Christmas.  This recipe is open to creativity.  You can replace the bacon with sausage or add any seasoning or ingredients that appeal to you.  Holiday goodness made easy.

EGGS AND HASH BROWN CASSEROLE (Cooking Light)

8 center-cut bacon slices
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
8 ounces sliced shiitake mushroom caps
3 clove garlic, minced
2 cups shredded hash brown potatoes (such as Simply Potatoes)
1/4 cup Chicken stock
5 cups fresh baby spinach
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 ounces Swiss cheese, grated
Cooking Spray
1/2 cup low-fat milk
6 large eggs, lightly beaten

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan;  Increase heat to medium-high.  Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic to drippings in pan; saute for 6 minutes.  Add potatoes and stock; cook 6 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add spinach, basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts.  Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes.  Stir in crumbled bacon and cheese.  Place mushroom mixture in an 11 x 7- inch broiler-safe glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Uncover dish.  Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, milk, and eggs in a medium bowl.  Pour egg mixture over mushroom mixture. Add any cut out decorations from a jar of roasted red peppers to the top.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 28 minutes.

Preheat broiler to high; remove dish while broiler preheats.  Broil 3 minutes or until top is browned and just set.  Let stand 5 minutes.

Note:   I did not have to broil the casserole because it browned nicely; though it took a little longer in the oven to set the center.

Printable recipe

It has been a week of hard work.  Returning to the lake after a 5 month absence requires lots of physical labor.  The winter winds howling through the Gorge tossed leaves, branches and twigs everywhere on the grounds.  The furniture on the porch was pushed eastward halfway across the room.  Broken hurricane globes littered the floor.  The lower porch door was not latched and piles of leaves had to be raked out.  Pollen covered everything.   Both porches are now back to normal.

David is still working on bleaching and cleaning the decks.

We require hearty sustenance in the morning to get us going on all of the chores.  Scones make a “not too sweet” accompaniment to a hearty breakfast.  They come together quickly and bake in just 15 minutes.  I don’t know why I never thought to rely on them more often.

I love dried apricots.  They are perfect for these flaky scones.

The recipe comes from Cooking Light.  So why not have a slice with afternoon tea as well.

APRICOT SCONES

2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup apricot nectar (I used pear nectar because it was what I had)
Cooking spray
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon sugar (I used Turbinado sugar)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.  

Add apricots; toss well.  Combine egg, buttermilk, and nectar; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 4 to 5 times with floured hands.  Pat dough into a 9-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Cut dough into 12 wedges, cutting into but not through bottom of dough.  Brush egg white over surface of dough, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.  Serve warm.  Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 scone).  Calories 148.

Printable recipe 

I have avoided making biscuits.  It seemed like such a messy enterprise for the first thing in the morning.  Also my biscuits have turned out to be less than stellar .  But not anymore.  I have conquered the biscuit and can even have them prepped, up to the addition of the buttermilk (and bacon if you choose to use it), way in advance.

Biscuits seem to me to be a Southern thing, so I consulted The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook for their take on biscuits. I expected a complicated method of cutting in the shortening, but was surprised to find that just a short burst in a food processor will incorporate the butter and shortening nicely. For an even richer flavor, I recommend using grass fed butter—it adds a subtle depth that makes the biscuits irresistible. The dough is handled briefly with three turns on a floured board, patted out, and cut. It’s much easier than making pie crust.

The addition of crumbled cooked bacon is a nice touch.  The real Southern way would be to use pork cracklings but that is something I never have in my refrigerator.   These biscuits are just the right size for brunch with the addition of country ham as a filling.  Or you can get creative with spreads.  I will list a few ideas at the bottom of the recipe.  Enjoy.

There has been a lot going on at Lake Lure.  This weekend is the second annual Dirty Dancing celebration.  You can read about the history of the connection here.  Our friends from Florida are here because they are part of a doo wop and oldies group that will be performing at Rumbling Bald Resort on Friday night and on the top of our boathouse on Sunday evening.

I haven’t been doing much cooking, but here is one of Ina Garten’s recipes for blueberry muffins that is perfect for feeding a crowd.  I will be back to blogging more regularly next week.

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS (Barefoot Contessa Family Style)

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed.  Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean. 

The last month has been about fun and excess.  Our trip to Alaska, Vancouver Island, Washington and Oregon was everything we could have hoped for.  It was a trip of a lifetime and David has fulfilled his thirty-year-long dream of riding his bike to Alaska and the Arctic Circle.  We are back home.  Life goes on.

Getting back into the kitchen has been something I have relished.  Our small garden is maturing and the peace and quiet of the lake has been a balm to our travel weary souls.  I needed to start out simple just to come down from our sometimes over-indulgent habits.  I went to my farm source and bought a dozen fresh eggs.

While cruising the blogs looking for new egg recipes, I found a blog I did not know.  Imagine that!  Home Cooking in Montana had a recipe for egg nests.  She found the recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes.  What a revelation to me.  Why haven’t I thought of this simple preparation?  To make it even more appealing,  the recipe appeared first in a French children’s cookbook called La Cuisine est un Jeu d’ Enfants or Cooking is Child’s Play.

I have made eggs nestled in bread slices (Toad in a Hole), muffin cups with Prosciutto or hashbrowns, but never thought to nestle an egg yolk into it’s frothy beaten white.  I love this presentation.  To make it even better the egg white can be flavored with cheese and/or herbs.  Give this a try.  You will love it.

EGG NESTS

2 eggs
Salt to taste (1/8 to 1/4 tsp)
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a rack in the middle.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.  If using parchment paper grease it lightly.

2. Sepearate the egg yolks from the whites.  Make sure there are no little pieces of egg yolk in the whites or you will have difficulty getting the whites to beat properly.  Place each egg yolk in a seperate small bowl.

3. Place the egg whites in a very clean mixer bowl.  Add the salt and beat the egg whites with a whisk attachment (or hand mixer) until stiff peaks form.

4. Gently fold in the grated Gruyere cheese, taking care not to deflate the egg whites.

5. Create two mounds of the egg white mixture on the lined baking sheet.  Form the mounds so they look like nests, with indentations in the center.

6.  Place in the oven for 3 minutes.  After 3 minutes, open the oven, pull out the pan and gently add an egg yolk to the center of each nest.  Return the baking sheet to the oven and cook for 3 more minutes.  Serve immediately.

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