brunch

Blender Waffles

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

By happy coincidence I am sharing another waffle recipe on a Wednesday!

I have a friend who started doing Waffle Wednesdays with her kids in 2016 and I love seeing her posts on Facebook. It’s such a fun idea and I really think I might “steal” it and start doing the same thing once we get settled in California.

Waffles are always a hit in our house and I just love how versatile they are! And the batter usually lasts us two days which makes mornings that much easier.

I’ve had this recipe for blender waffles saved on my Pinterest account for a very long time, but I never have cottage cheese. Confession time: I’ve never actually tried cottage cheese. Still haven’t! I bought some to try it in a smoothie and it worked really well as an alternative to Greek yogurt, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you what cottage cheese itself really tastes like. And I used it in these waffles. A great way to “hide” some bonus protein!

Blender Waffles

Ingredients:

  • 1 C cottage cheese
  • 2/3 C whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 C milk
  • 1/3 C canola oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Steps:

  1. Put all ingredients in a blender and process until combined. Scrape the sides of the blender, if needed.
  2. Pour batter into a hot waffle iron and cook until golden.

*This recipe is adapted from Becca at http://www.itsyummi.com/whole-wheat-blender-waffles-recipe/*

blender waffles sew you think you can cook

Classic Waffles

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

One of my first cookbooks was given to me by one of my best friends as a wedding gift. We went to Anthropolgie together and she let me pick out my presents! She got me a beautiful spoon rest, some ice cream bowls, and The Illustrated Kitchen Bible. Every time I use any of these items I always think back to that day. Shopping with a best friend is always good therapy.

These are also the only things I own from that fabulous store! It’s one of my favorite places to go in and window shop as I can never justify the spending that kind of money. But let me tell you, if I ever won the lottery my kitchen collection would be transformed! And probably my closet, too!

The Illustrated Kitchen Bible is an incredible collection of over 1000 recipes! As you can imagine based on the title of the cookbook, every recipe has an accompanying photograph. I think my favorite thing about the book is that the back and inside covers contain crucial bits of culinary information such as measurement conversions, meat internal temperatures, and how to store things in the freezer.

I found it most surprising that there’s only one waffle recipe in the entire book! Though it does provide notes on how to alter it for buttermilk and adding some spice. (A fair number of recipes include variations to the base recipe.)

Classic Waffles

Ingredients:

  • 1 C plus 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 1 1/4 C milk
  • 5 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder.
  2. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and whisk in the milk, butter, and vanilla.
  3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined.
  4. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter.
  5. Pour batter into a hot waffle iron and cook until golden.

classic waffles sew you think you can cook

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Orange Ricotta Pancakes

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

orange ricotta pancakes 2 Sew You Think You Can CookI love finding new ways to use ricotta cheese. I almost always have leftover ricotta cheese whenever I cook with it, and that tub makes its way to the back of the fridge to be completely forgotten. Instead of letting that ricotta go to waste I add it to the weekend’s breakfast menu!

These pancakes were the first recipe we made from our favorite Brunch at Bobby’s. We served them with Almond Butter Syrup. Bobby suggested serving these pancakes with a fig compote and some pistachios.

Just like all breakfast sweets, Firecracker ate these up, so I loved getting the extra punch of protein from the ricotta.

*If you can find fresh ricotta, use that. However, allowing the more commonly found ricotta cheese to drain through a fine strainer for an hour is an acceptable substitute. (That’s definitely what I did!)

Orange Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 C fresh ricotta, or see note* above
  • 3/4 C milk
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 3/4 C flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

Steps:

  1. In a bowl, whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, vanilla, and orange zest.
  2. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
  3. Using a handheld electric mixer, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  4. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry. Gently fold in the egg whites.
  5. On a hot buttered griddle drop 1/4 C of batter into pancakes. When bubbles form and start to pop flip the pancakes and cook until golden on both sides.

orange ricotta pancakes 1 Sew You Think You Can Cook

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Chocoholic Waffles

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Valentine’s Day is this weekend (Sunday to be exact) and I have the perfect brunch to share with your loved ones – unless they don’t like chocolate. Every component of this recipe involves chocolate! There’s chocolate waffles, which are quite good on their own but it’s Valentine’s Day people, step it up. Then there’s a white chocolate custard, and to top that off there’s a mocha whipped cream! All three components compliment each other beautifully.

I am an admittedly lazy cook and seriously thought about not making the custard. But I couldn’t. Because, Bobby Flay. Yep, surprise! Yet another brunch recipe from one of our favorite celebrity chefs! This particular recipe is one we watched on Cooking Channel last year. It comes from the Brunch at Bobby’s episode titled Chocoholic Brunch.

Chocolate Waffles

Ingredients:

  • 2 C flour
  • 1/2 C cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 2 C buttermilk
  • 1/4 C canola oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 stick butter, melted
  • 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks with the brown sugar until smooth. Add in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.
  3. Combine wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix in the butter and the chocolate.
  4. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the waffles batter.
  5. Into a hot greased waffle iron, drop 1/3 C of batter and cook until browned.
  6. Assemble waffles with custard, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries.

White Chocolate Custard

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 vanilla bean, halved
  • 1 1/2 C half-and-half
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 3 oz white chocolate, chopped

Steps:

  1. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean. Put the seeds and the pod in a small saucepan with the half-and-half. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, remove from the heat, and let cool.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Slowly add some of the half-and-half until smooth. Whisking, add to the pot of remaining half-and-half and return to the stove. Cook over medium heat without allowing it to boil, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spoon.
  3. Remove from the heat and whisk in the white chocolate until melted.
  4. Strain and refrigerate.

Mocha Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1 C heavy cream
  • 3 tbsp dark chocolate covered cacao nibs (I used Pacari)
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp espresso powder

Steps:

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring heavy cream and cacao nibs to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Place in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge overnight.
  2. Strain the cold cream and discard the nibs.
  3. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream until thickened. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder. Beat until firm peaks form.

*These recipes are adapted from Bobby Flay at http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/bobby-flay/dark-chocolate-waffles-with-white-chocolate-custard-sauce-and-chocolate-espresso-whipped-cream.html*

chocoholic waffles chocolate waffles, white chocolate custard, mocha whipped cream Sew You Think You Can Cook

#FreshTastyValentines: Frittata with Jalapeno Pesto

~ lk529 ~ 11 Comments

LogoWelcome the second day of #FreshTastyValentines, a blogging event headed up by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

Valentine’s Day this year is on a Sunday which makes it the perfect excuse to start the celebration in the morning with brunch.

And can you guess that my recipe {sort of} comes from Bobby Flay’s newest cookbook, Brunch at Bobby’s?! (Yes, we’re obsessed with it.) Bobby’s recipe is for a Spanish Tortilla… we… made more of a frittata. Frittata for #FreshTastyValentines from Sew You Think You Can CookThe main difference: a tortilla is essentially a thick omelet with potatoes and is flipped to be cooked on both sides whereas a frittata is started on the stove and finished in the oven to cook all the way through. There wasn’t any way on this green earth that we were going to be able to flip the eggs in a clean manner, so we ran to the oven to cook the eggs all the way through. The result was still an amazing combination of flavors that even this egg-hating girl enjoyed! The key was the jalapeno pesto that really tied everything together.

To make the jalapeno pesto, I used Gourmet Garden’s Stir-in Cilantro Paste. I absolutely love Gourmet Garden and their products. For this family full of black thumbs they’re an affordable and practical way to use fresh herbs. The stir-in pastes are great for amping up sauces, marinades, or pestos and the lightly dried herbs are incredible for adding to soups, salads, or garnishing plates.

While I did use fresh parsley in the frittata, Gourmet Garden Stir-in Paste could easily be substituted and the Lightly Dried Parsley perfect for garnishing the plate. A move I will be making when we do trial two!

Frittata with Jalapeno Pesto

Ingredients for the Frittata:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 lb Mexican chorizo, casings removed
  • 1 dozen eggs
  • 1/4 C heavy cream
  • 6 jarred red sweet peppers, diced
  • 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
  • 1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

Ingredients for the Pesto:

Steps:

  1. Make the pesto: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss jalapenos in a little canola oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast 15 minutes, or until the skin is blistered. Place jalapenos in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle remove the stems and seeds.
  2. Place in food processor with cilantro, garlic, and pine nuts. Pulse until coarsely chopped. While the motor is running, pour in the olive oil until smooth. Add the Parmesan and season to taste with S+P. Adjust oil if needed to achieve a smooth texture. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.
  3. Preheat broiler on low.
  4. Make the frittata: In a large oven-safe skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over high heat. Add the chorizo and cook 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
  5. Add remaining tbsp of oil to the skillet if needed. Cook the potatoes until golden on both sides.
  6. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the cream until light and fluffy. Fold in the chorizo, peppers, goat cheese, parsley, S+P. Add to the skillet with the potatoes. Be sure to get the eggs underneath the potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes until the bottom is golden and set, stirring occasionally.
  7. (At this point, if you’re brave flip the eggs and cook the other side another 3 minutes.) Place skillet under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, until the top is golden and frittata is fully cooked.
  8. Slide the frittata out of the pan and cut into wedges. Serve with the jalapeno pesto.

*This recipe is modified from Brunch at Bobby’s*

Jalapeno Pesto for #FreshTastyValentines from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway and be sure to check out the other bloggers who posted more Valentine’s recipes today:

Thank you to #FreshTastyValentines sponsors for providing bloggers with samples and products to use for #FreshTastyValentines recipe development without additional compensation. All opinions stated are those of the bloggers.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

 

#FreshTastyValentines: Roshambo

~ lk529 ~ 24 Comments

LogoWelcome to day one of #FreshTastyValentines, a blogging event headed up by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla. To kick off the week I’ve made a cocktail perfect for your Valentine’s Day brunch (and a bonus recipe for pancakes).

When UncommonGoods signed on as one of our event sponsors I knew I wanted to make a cocktail because they have an incredible selection of gifts to keep any home bar and kitchen uniquely equipped (here). UncommonGoods (www.uncommongoods.com) is a web-based marketplace offering creatively designed, high-quality merchandise at affordable prices. One of the incredible prizes to win during this week’s event is a $150 gift certificate at their site. With your shopping spree you can find incredible glassware in which to enjoy my Roshambo cocktail or your favorite bottle of wine (here) or discover ways keep your drinks cool without watering them down (here).

Because we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day this week I limited my cocktail recipe search to red or pink beverages. With a big move approaching in the Spring I also added another restriction so as to not buy any new liquor. The discovery of the Roshambo couldn’t have been more perfect. It is a sparkling wine based cocktail which fits in beautifully with Valentine’s Day. This cocktail is a beautiful accompaniment to your Valentine’s breakfast.

This recipe makes two servings.

Roshambo

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 1/2 C water
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 C apple juice
  • 1/2 C cranberry juice
  • prosecco or champagne

Steps:

  1. Place sugar, water, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Allow simple syrup to cool completely. Remove cinnamon stick.
  2. In a small pitcher combine 1/4 C cinnamon simply syrup with the juices. Keep cold until ready to serve.
  3. Pour juice mixture into glasses and top with prosecco.

*This recipe is adapted from Eva at http://1bigbite.com/2013/11/roshambo/*

Roshambo for #FreshTastyValentines from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway and be sure to check out the other bloggers who posted more Valentine’s recipes today:

Thank you to #FreshTastyValentines sponsors for providing bloggers with samples and products to use for #FreshTastyValentines recipe development without additional compensation. All opinions stated are those of the bloggers.

This blog post also comes with a bonus recipe for pancakes!

Cinnamon Sour Cream Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 C whole wheat flour
  • 1 C all-purpose flour
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 1 C milk
  • 1/2 stick butter, melted

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  2. In another bowl whisk together the eggs, sour cream, milk, and melted butter.
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry.
  4. On a hot buttered griddle drop 1/2 C of batter into pancakes. Flip pancakes when batter starts to set and bubble form in the center of the pancake. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

*This recipe is modified from Kelley at http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/2015/11/creme-fraiche-pancakes/*

 

#EVOOChallenge: Olive Oil Poached Eggs with Tomato Relish

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

It’s day 4 of the #EVOOChallenge. This challenge, in which we make foods with the only cooking fat being olive oil, was issued by Spartan Olive Oil. The goal is to highlight the benefits of using olive oil over its less healthy counterparts, I’m looking at you butter and vegetable oil. Search the hashtag on social media to see more great recipes!

While both olive oil and vegetable oil have 120 Calories and 14 grams of fat per tbsp, olive oil has 10 grams of monounsaturated fat (the good fat) whereas vegetable oil has only 3 grams of monounsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fat is actually good for your health; it reduces bad cholesterol and provides vitamin E. (Source: American Heart Association)

This unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil is made from the olives of 700 year old trees in Sparta, Greece. The flavorful oil has a rich golden color and smooth texture. I wanted to highlight the nutty, fruity flavor of the oil in my recipes this week.

Today’s recipe comes from Brunch at Bobby’s. This brunch is the 4th recipe we’ve made from this book and we’ve only had it since Christmas. (Remember that incredible Croissant French Toast? I feel like a spokesperson for this incredible cookbook. I should be getting paid!) How could I pass up the opportunity to stretch my culinary muscles by poaching eggs in olive oil?! I even went ahead and experimented with mustard seeds for the tomato relish recommended. I don’t even like eggs and I devoured two open faced sandwiches for lunch! As if the texture combinations between crispy pancetta and silky eggs isn’t enough, there’s a boost of flavor from the relish.

Olive Oil Poached Eggs with Tomato Relish

Ingredients:

  • 8 thin slices of pancetta
  • 4 thick slices of sourdough bread, toasted
  • 1 C plus 3 tbsp olive oil, divided use
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
  • 1/2 pt cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • pinch of sugar
  • splash of red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley (I used Gourmet Garden lightly dried herbs)
  • 2 tbsp chopped chives (I used Gourmet Garden lightly dried herbs)
  • 4 eggs

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place pancetta on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until crispy, flipping halfway through.
  2. Make the relish: Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop. Add the tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar. Mix in the parsley and chives. Transfer to a bowl.
  3. Heat the remaining 1 C of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat, until it reaches 140 degrees F. Crack each egg into a ramekin and slide them into the oil, one at a time. Poach until the yolks are almost set, 3-5 minutes.
  4. Assemble: Place each egg on a slice of toasted sourdough, sprinkle with S+P. Top with 2 pieces of crispy pancetta and some of the tomato relish. Garnish with fresh parsley.

*This recipe is adapted from Brunch at Bobby’s*

Olive Oil Poached Eggs with Tomato Relish for the #EVOOChallenge from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Disclaimer 1: By participating in this 5 day challenge I received a bottle and pouch of Spartan Olive Oil. 

Disclaimer 2: This post contains affiliate links. 

#BundtBakers: Fruit and Nuts

~ lk529 ~ 34 Comments

4ae7b-bundtbakerspostThis month #BundtBakers are baking cakes with fruits and nuts! #BundtBakers is a group of bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. This month creative host is Shilpi of Simply Veggies.

I almost didn’t make it this month. Even with a lovely planner I wrote the reveal date on the wrong Thursday! I thought I had an extra week to make my cake. That’s why you’re seeing an almost repeat recipe this week. I posted a beautiful Cherry Coffee Cake on Monday. I would have scheduled that post for later had I realized I’d be making another coffee cake for #BundtBakers. Originally I planned on a Blueberry Almond Cake I found in the latest edition of Food Network Magazine. Upon further investigation of the recipe I realized it wasn’t easily transferred to a bundt pan. I also didn’t have all of the ingredients needed. But I did have everything I needed for another coffee cake.

While I used my usual coffee cake recipe, I changed up the topping and made a walnut streusel. I don’t know if it’s the streusel or the magic of a bundt pan but this cake turned out differently. And it’s fantastic! It reminds me of the store bought coffee cakes my grandmother would buy to have at the lake.

I wasn’t sure how to put the streusel on the bundt because putting it on top of the batter like I normally do would mean it’s on the bottom. I took a risk and put it into the pan first. But I still had extra streusel left over so I put it on top/bottom too. Turned out beautifully, now every bite has some streusel!

Instead of using a large bundt pan I used my Bundt Duet Pan, now Stuart and I each get our own cake! If you don’t have smaller bundt pans feel free to use an 8×8″ cake pan and bake 65 minutes. If you try this in a regular bundt pan let me know if there’s enough batter to fill out the pan! I’d also suggest cooking 60-65 minutes.

Blueberry Cherry Coffee Cake with Walnut Streusel

Ingredients for streusel:

  • 1/4 C toasted walnuts (I used this method)
  • 1/2 C flour
  • 1/4 C dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 stick cold butter, cubed

Ingredients for cake:

  • 2 C flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • 1 C sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla paste (I used Nielsen-Massey)
  • 1 C Greek yogurt (I used Stonyfield Organic)
  • 1/2 C pitted and chopped fresh cherries
  • 1/2 C fresh blueberries

Steps:

  1. Make the streusel: Place toasted walnuts, flour, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Pulse a couple of times. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until a fine crumb is reached. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heavily grease two 2.5 C bundts.
  3. Make the cake: In a large bowl whisk together 2 C flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. In a the bowl of a stand mixer beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla paste.
  5. Incorporate a third of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once combined add 1/2 C of yogurt. Add another third of the dry ingredients. Once combined add the last 1/2 C of yogurt. Add in the final third of the dry ingredients.
  6. Assemble the cake: Divide half of the streusel between the two bundts. Divide half of the cake batter in the prepared pans. Evenly distribute the blueberries and cherries, top with remaining batter, and the rest of the streusel.
  7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife comes out cleanly.
  8. Allow cake to cool in the pan before turning out.

*The streusel recipe is adapted from http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/2947/walnut-streusel-topping/?locale=en_US*

Blueberry Cherry Coffee Cake with Walnut Streusel for #BundtBakers from Sew You Think You Can Cook

You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

Almond Rhubarb Bundt Cake from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm

Aloha Bundt Cake from Olivia at Liv for Cake

Apple Pecan Bundt Cake from Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes

Apricot-Almond Bundt Cake from Cali at Cali’s Cuisine

Banana Peanut Butter Bundt Cake from Jana at Jenny and Sweets

Banana Monkey Bundt Cake from Los Chatos Chefs at Los Chatos Chefs

Banana Pecan Bundt with Bananas Foster Frosting from Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Banana Split Bundt Cake from Andrea at Adventures in All Things Food

Cherry and Almond Bundt Cake from Lara at Tartacadabra

Cherry and Nuts Bundt Cake from Diego at La Mejor Manera de Hacer

Cherry and Sliced Almond Mini Bundt Cakes from Teri at The Freshman Cook

Cherry Pistachio and Honey Bundt Cake from Ethel at eating in instead

Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake from Vonnie at My Catholic Kitchen

Eggless Mango Almond Bundt Cake from Shilpi at Simply Veggies

Generra Bundt Cake from Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Lemon Lime Pistachio Bundt Cake from Rocío at kidsandchic

Orange and Pecan Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache from Deepti at Baking Yummies

Orange Blossom Honey Nut and Blueberry Cake from Anshie at Spice Roots

Peach and Pecan Bundt from Catherine at Living The Gourmet

Peach Coffee Cake from Julie at Eat, Drink, Be Mighty

Pineapple-Pecan Bundt Cake from Kathya at Basic N Delicious

Pineapple Sundae Bundt Cake from Colleen at Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Pomegranate and Pistachio Kugelhopf from Laura at Baking in Pyjamas

Roasted Banana and Black Walnut Bundt Cake from Terri at Our Good Life

Summer Fig Bundt from Margaret at Tea and Scones

Vegan Orange Ripple Rhubarb Cake with Pistachio Sauce from June at How to Philosophize with Cake

A Breakfast Potluck

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Last week the gang got together for what has to be my favorite themed potluck yet – breakfast!

I was torn between making my cinnamon rolls (sans cranberries) and a new twist on my coffee cake. I decided on the latter simply because it’s a much easier dish to make, especially having just returned home from vacation.

I decided to try putting fresh cherries in the center of the coffee cake. Brilliant idea, if you ask me. I’ve really been on a cherry kick lately, and it’s a fruit my little man enjoys snacking on, too. (I was very close to adding blueberries to the filling as well – next time!) For the topping I decided to go with dark brown sugar and cocoa powder instead of my typical cinnamon. The subtle smokiness of the dark brown sugar and the hint of chocolate complimented the cherries beautifully. A perfect summer breakfast treat.

Be sure to scroll past my recipe to see what other creations joined the buffet line!

Cherry Coffee Cake

Ingredients for topping:

  • 3/8 C flour
  • 1/3 C dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cocoa powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 1/2 tbsp butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 C rolled oats

Ingredients for cake:

  • 2 C + 1 tbsp flour, divided use
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • 1 C sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla paste (I used Nielsen-Massey)
  • 1 C Greek yogurt (I used Stonyfield Organic)
  • 1 1/4 C pitted and chopped fresh cherries

Steps:

  1. Make the topping: whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Using your fingers, break the butter into small pieces and combine with the topping. After combined add the oats. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8″ square cake pan with foil and grease.
  3. Make the cake: In a large bowl whisk together 2 C flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. In a the bowl of a stand mixer beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla paste.
  5. Incorporate a third of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once combined add 1/2 C of yogurt. Add another third of the dry ingredients. Once combined add the last 1/2 C of yogurt. Add in the final third of the dry ingredients.
  6. Toss cherries in remaining flour.
  7. Assemble the cake: Place half of the cake batter in the prepared cake pan. Evenly distribute the cherries and top with remaining batter. Top the cake with the topping from step 1.
  8. Bake for 65 minutes, or until a knife comes out cleanly.
  9. Allow cake to cool for at least 5 minutes and remove the cake from the pan by the foil. I found this flavor of coffee cake to be best served warm.

cherry coffee cake Sew You Think You Can Cook

Here’s a sampling of the other dishes brought to the breakfast potluck:

The D.C. Zoo + Honey Aebleskiver

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

Yesterday I mentioned that over Memorial Day weekend we took a road trip to D.C. to visit Tara (of Tara’s Multicultural Table) and her family. We’ve known this wonderful family for almost 10 years! Tara’s husband went to Auburn with my husband and me. It wasn’t until we were both stationed in the FL panhandle together that we became close friends. This year will be the first 4th of July since 2010 when we won’t be together, so we had to fast forward that weekend to Memorial Weekend instead!

family photos

On Saturday we headed into the city to check out the zoo. Did you know that there are a LOT of people in D.C.?!

It was a beautiful, warm day and a lot of the animals were finding shelter away from prying eyes. The first half of the day was spent trying not to run over toes with the strollers and seeing empty habitats. But then all the frustration was forgotten when the tiger was highly active, running around his habitat and jumping in the water. We really felt sorry for him – as the only active animal at the zoo he received a lot of attention from “roaring” and yelling children. His tail was twitching and his gaze kept moving up towards the source of the noise. We were able to get some incredible pictures though and the little man woke up in time to see the tiger. I got the moment I was hoping to have watching him notice the tiger and like it! (War Eagle!)

tigerOn Sunday after a trip to the farmer’s market (documented yesterday) I got to do what I’ve missed most – cooking with a friend. I’ve been watching Evan help Tara in the kitchen via text messages and blog posts and it was so sweet to see him in action. He helped us whisk the eggs, pour the vanilla, and manned the stand mixer. All while my little man was being entertained by alphabetic fridge magnets.

cooking

During #BrunchWeek one of my fellow bloggers posted a recipe for Nutella Aebleskiver. I immediately shared the recipe with Tara because (a) she loves Nutella anything and (b) I thought she had one of those fancy aebleskiver pans. She didn’t… at the time. Within half an hour she’d ordered one, saying it’d been on her Amazon wish list for quite some time. Happy Mother’s Day to her!

aebleskiver pan

We made two different flavors, the suggested Nutella and honey. We decided that I’d photograph and blog the honey and she the Nutella. That was another fun moment for me, getting to use her photography set up! Their house doesn’t let in much light and the window that lets in the most light is upstairs. Right by the window she has a table set up and has made a few different painted boards. She has a butcher’s rack complete with different napkins, placemats, and other specialty cookware. Evan even has his own space out of the way where he can color while Tara takes her wonderful food photography. Tara has much more patience and dedication than I when it comes to photography (I just step outside, weather permitting, and snap up to 5 photos).

honey aebleskiver | sew you think you can cook

For the Aebleskiver recipe, please check out Tara’s post from yesterday.

BBQWe had such a great time going to visit Tara and her family, and getting to meet our Goddaughter, Claire! We’d been needed to get away and a road trip was just what we needed. The drive to Virginia was beautiful, lots of hills, mountains, and greenery. On the way back, in the middle-of-nowhere WV, we stopped for BBQ on the side of the road. It was so good, and it was the little man’s first BBQ – he absolutely loved it and ate about a quarter of my pulled pork.

girls and boys

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