Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Oh, the sights we’ve seen.  But I will start at the beginning.  I flew into Anchorage on June 9th.  It was 10:30 at night and still light.  I have yet to see a complete sunset.  We spent the first two nights in Anchorage at The House of Jade, a lovely bed and breadfast with equally lovely hosts.

This is the entrance to the bed and breakfast.  The flowers here are enormous.  I’m not sure if it is because of the amount of sunshine that they receive or if it is because they need to be hardy to survive the harsh winters.

This is our talented hostess Dee in the middle with Tulin and me.  On the first morning we were there, she and her husband Yves served 16 people a multicourse breakfast effortlessly.

We were served fresh fruit with yogurt sauce, coffee cake, reindeer sausage, hash brown potatoes and quiche.  It was the perfect way to start the day.

Dee shared two of her recipes with me.  Her Apple Cranberry Coffee Cake and Alaska House of Jade Broccoli Quiche are both worthy of sharing and perfect for a crowd.

APPLE CRANBERRY COFFEE CAKE FROM ALASKA HOUSE OF JADE

Spray bundt pan with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to350 degrees.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter or marganine
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
2/3 cup dried cranberries (soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes first – then drain and pat dry)

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

6 tablespoons soft butter or margarine
1 cup firly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup pecans, chopped

Instructions:
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in sauce pan, add apple and cranberries.  Saute until tender (about 5 minutes).  Set aside.

Cream shortening, sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs, beating after each addition.  Sift flour, baking powder, salt and soda together.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.  Spread 1/2 batter in prepared 10 inch bundt pan.

Cream 1/2 cup butter or margarine, brown sugar and cinnamon together.  Add nuts and apple-cranberry saute and mix well.  Dot batter in pan evely with half of nut mixture.  Cover with remaining batter and top with remaining nut mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes then invert onto plate then  carefully invert one more time onto serving platter so the nut side is on top.

ALASKA HOUSE OF JADE BROCCOLI QUICHE

3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, minced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 to 4 cups chopped fresh broccoli
3 to 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 to 1 cup Mexican style cheese or cheddar cheese
12 eggs, well beaten
3 cups milk
1 1/2 cups half and half
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
dash to 1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbls Dijon mustard

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Over medium-low heat melt butter in a large sauce pan.  Add onions, garlic and cook slowly, stirring occasionally until soft.

Blanch broccoli in a large pan of boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes and drain.

Spoon vegetables into 9 x 13 inch pan that has been sprayed with Pam.

Combine eggs and milk and whip; then add cheese and seasonings.  Stir in onion, garlic and the butter you cooked them in.  Pour egg mixture over vegetables.  Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until center has set.

Note:  You can substitute any vegetables you prefer – or any meats such as ham or sausage.

Printable recipe Coffee Cake

Printable recipe Quiche
 

We have been away from home for the long holiday weekend.  While at my Daughter-in-Law’s sister’s home, Kim made a wonderful brunch for the crowd.  She and I poached the eggs for her Mexican take on eggs benedict.  It is a challenge to poach 12 eggs, but by the time we had gotten to the twelveth egg we were pros.  We poached 6 eggs at a time in a large skillet.  The 1/4 cup vinegar called for is enough for any number of eggs.  Vinegar in the water helps the egg whites stay together.  To make it easier to drop an egg into the simmering water, break it into a small shallow bowl first and then slip it into the water.

The recipe for the Mexican Benedict came from The Blue Plate Diner in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Dried black beans are cooked and seasoned before the dish is put together.  If you are in a hurry canned black beans could be substituted and seasoned according to the recipe.

Everyone enjoyed this and there was no pesky hollandaise sauce to deal with.  The topping of picante sauce and cheese was just right.  Kim topped the finished dish with sour cream, cilantro and guacamole.  The mojitos hit the spot also.

MEXICAN BENEDICT

For 1 serving:
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 eggs
1 English muffin
1/4 cup Blue Plate Black Beans, heated
1/4 cup picante sauce, heated (such as Pace)
3 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons shredded provolone cheese
1 heaping tablespoon sour cream
2 tablespoons sliced black olives (optional)
2 sprigs cilantro
1 tablespoon guacamole

1. Fill a deep skillet with water ( 3 inches deep ), add vinegar and bring to simmer over medium heat.  Heat broiler.
2. Crack eggs into simmering water and cook until desired doneness, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Split and toast English muffin.  Place on an ovenproof plate.
4. Remove poached eggs from water with slotted spoon and place one egg on each half of muffin.
5.  Spoon black bean mixture over eggs.  Spoon picante sauce over black beans.  Sprinkle top with shredded cheeses and place under broiler until melted.
6 Remove from broiler and garnish with sour cream olives, cilantro and guacamole.

BLUE PLATE BLACK BEANS

1 cup dry black beans
3 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons canned diced green chiles
1/4 cup diced white onions
1/4 cup picante sauce (such as Pace)
1 1/2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Place beans in a colander and rinse well.  Place in large saucepan, add water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes.
Makes 2 cups

Printable recipe

Just when I mentioned in my last blog post how much I enjoy Mark Bittman in the online New York Times Dining Guide each Wednesday, he announces that he will no longer be a featured contributor to that section.  He will be missed in the dining section, but will still be at The Times in the opinion section.  That should be interesting.  He will also contribute recipes to The Times Sunday Magazine.   His latest book, The Food Matters Cookbook is being offered as a giveaway by Heather of Girlichef.  All you need do to enter to win is go to her link, post a Mark Bittman recipe and follow her directions to be eligible.

While reading his last article, I was taken with the list of his top 25 videos from the past 13 years with the Times.  That is one of the reasons I have enjoyed the online recipes.  Each one is accompanied by a video.

The one that really caught my eye was the recipe and video for the More Vegetable Than Egg Frittata.  We are trying very hard to eat our vegetables and we are not eating as many eggs as we used to.  Therefore his frittata made perfect sense to me.  There are just enough eggs in it to bind the vegetables together.  It is almost a vegetable pancake.

The version I made included a large sweet onion, a half of a green pepper and a 14 ounce bag of baby spinach that I blanched briefly in a little water, shocked in ice water and drained and squeezed very, very dry.  My herb of choice was fresh basil and parsley from my container garden.  But as he explains in his video, any vegetable or herb will do. The important thing is to have between 3 and 4 cups of vegetables to 3 eggs as opposed to 1 to 2 cups of vegetables to 6 eggs.

This breakfast made me feel good and kept me going all morning.

MORE VEGETABLE THAN EGG FRITTATA ( Mark Bittman )

2 Tablespoons olive oil or butter
1/2 onion, sliced (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 to 6 cups of any chopped or slice raw or barely cooked vegetables
1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley leaves, or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or mint leaves, or any other herb
3 eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Put olive oil or butter in a 10 inch skillet ( preferably nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron) and turn heat to medium.  When fat is hot, add onion, if using, and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper, until it is soft, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add vegetables, raise heat and cook stirring occasionally, until they soften, from a couple of minutes for greens to 15 minutes for sliced potatoes.  Adjust heat so vegetables brown a little without scorching. (With precooked vegetables like asparagus and squeezed dry spinach, just add them to onions and stir before proceeding.)

When vegetables are nearly done, turn heat to low and add herbs.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, beat eggs with some salt and pepper, along with cheese if you are using it.  Pour over vegetables, distributing them evenly.  Cook, undisturbed for a minute or so.  Put into a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes until set.  Slide frittata onto a plate and cut into wedges.

But don’t go by just my example.  Here is Mark Bittman’s asparagus frittata video.

Mark Bittman has done much to bring to our attention the fact that food matters.  What we eat and the choices we make about the location and quality of  that food is important to all of us.

To read more about his recipes follow girlichef and Alex of A Moderate Life for their weekly Tackling Bittman series.  

Printable recipe

These are small.  They are just a taste of croissant, chocolate and raspberry goodness.  I did spend a lot of time actually making my own puff pastry at one time.  See this post.  But you know what?  The frozen puff pastry works very well.  I have been looking for a small pastry addition for my Christmas breakfast and I have decided that these easy turnovers are just the thing.  I would serve them with a breakfast casserole and a beautiful fruit tray.

The turnovers are filled with raspberry jam and chocolate.  I would recommend you buy a good quality jam because that will be the dominate flavor.  The milk chocolate is best if it is finely chopped so that it doesn’t make bumps in the pastry.  The recipe was in an old issue of Gourmet magazine which is still one of my favorite “go to” sources for all things delicious.

I love these!  Once the puff pastry is thawed it is a labor of love to cut and fill them.  Take your time and enjoy the morning.  The coffee is brewing and a crispy turnover awaits you.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TURNOVERS

1 (17 1/4 oz.) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 large egg
1/3 cup raspberry jam
3 1/2 oz fine-quality mild chocolate, finely chopped

Put oven rack in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet into a 12 inch square on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, then brush off excess flour from both sides.  Cut into 16 squares.

Whisk together egg and a pinch of salt.  Place 1/2 teaspoon jam and 1 teaspoon chocolate in center of each square, then brush edges of squares with some of the beaten egg.  Fold each square in half to form a triangle, pressing edges to seal.  Brush tops of pastries with some of remaining egg and transfer to a lined baking sheet.  Chill on sheet while making 16 more pastries in same manner, transferring to second baking sheet.

Bake pastries, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Cool on sheets on racks 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

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