French Breakfast Muffins with Bacon and Egg Frittata

I fed a total of seven guys this morning - one gorgeous old fart, aka hubby, one tween, and five 15 year olds. Normally I make heavy fare (pancakes, bacon, hash browns)with that many men in the house, but today I threw on my gorgeous white and black French apron and decided instead to air on the side of something sweet. I made two pans of muffins (24 in total) and can tell you that they were not only gone in 10 minutes flat, but my two sons told me a few times today how much they LOVED THEM!

French Breakfast Muffins: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/8 tsp. salt, 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup butter melted, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/3 cup melted butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Spray muffin tins with Pam spray or with whatever you usually use to grease pans. In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder nutmeg, and salt. Now make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add mixed wet ingredients: milk, egg, and melted butter. Stir just until moistened (may be a little lumpy). Pour batter into each muffin tin evenly and pop into the oven for about 20ish minutes. Once the muffins are done have a little bowl of melted butter and a little plate of sugar/cinnamon mixture waiting, first dipping muffin into butter and then dipping it into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Put onto a pretty plate and voila! I just got to thinking that you could add some BENEFIBRE to this! Yum.

Bacon Egg Frittata: 8 eggs (2 per person), one whole small sauteed onion, 1/4 cup of milk, 5 strips of bacon, 1/2 cup of white cheddar (or more if you so desire). Mix all together and put into a greased casserole or pie plate and bake away for about 25 minutes or until nice and golden.

Finally.....Applause!

The Tale of Two Quiches - Julia and Emeril

Wow, have I lucked out. I've thoroughly enjoyed two completely different quiches this week. One made a la Julia Child by my friend Joanne, and the other was made a la Emeril by my friend and sister Keeli. Seriously delicious and both so different. I hadn't had quiche for so long, but it truly is an all encompassing delicious meal, especially when served with a salad a la Chef Ramsay! I'm going to post both here.

Julia Child's Blue Cheese or Roquefort Quiche: Partly cook a pastry shell at 400 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes and take out of the oven and cool. You will then need 3 oz. of Roquefort or blue cheese, 6 oz. of cream cheese or cottage cheese (I used cottage and blue cheese), 2 tbsp. of butter softened, 3 tbp. of whip cream, 2 eggs, salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, 1/2 tbsp. of cut fresh chives, or green onion (for garnish). Cream the cheese and butter together then add the other ingredients. If you need to smooth it out put it through a sieve. Now pour into a partly baked pastry shell, top with chives or green onion, turn the oven down to 375 degrees and put the quiche into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve with a salad.

Emeril's Quiche Lorraine *This is a really delicious and creamy Quiche: 6 oz. of thick bacon cut into strips, 2 large eggs, then 2 large egg yolks (I think that this is the secret adding extra yolk), 1 1/2 cups of half and half cream (ok then, this is the other secret), 1/4 tsp. of salt, 1/4 tsp. of white pepper, pinch of nutmeg, and 1 cup of grated Gruyere cheese, and one baked pie shell.

Cook bacon and drain.**I really liked the whole bacon effect - rather than the crumbled up version - in the quiche because it looked swirly and beautiful. Next, mix up the cream, eggs, cheese, and spices and pour into a prepared pie crust. and bake until "custard" is golden, puffed, and slightly wiggly in the centre (approximately 30-35 minutes). Then take out of the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with a salad.

Tomato and Pepper Poached Eggs

I enjoyed this dish for breakfast this morning and it is not only delicious, but simply made. I made my entire breakfast in a pot. Of course a frying pan would be perfect if you are making this for more than one person. Chop up an onion and orange or red pepper and saute in a little olive oil for about 10 minutes on medium stirring often so it won't burn. Then add 2 cups of diced tomatoes to the pot with a little salt and pepper and simmer down for about 15 minutes. Then stir up the tomato/pepper mixture and make two little holes for two eggs. I added the two eggs and put a lid over it for a couple of more minutes, then added 1/4 cup of feta cheese. You can cook the eggs as long as you like, I liked mine a little runny. Once the cheese has melted and the eggs are set, let the mixture slide out onto your plate and voila! Bon Appetite!

No Condiments Required Omelet

One thing I've really come to learn from watching cooking shows is that keeping a dish simple is better. Too often I have heeded to the more is better attitude, thereby plying any food with too much stuff. I remember once making a dish, I think it was chicken, and I doused it will all of my favorite flavors, wine, sour cream, and possibly 5 other ingredients. Problem is, when you douse any food with lots of delicious flavors, it doesn't stand out. Keep your dishes simple so you can actually taste and celebrate the food that you are eating. This morning I made a simple omelet and it didn't need any condiments to complete it's divinity. For one person, whisk three eggs together with a bit of milk - 1/8th of a cup maybe. Then pour the eggs into a warm, buttered pan. I've just come to realize how delicious butter is when cooking with eggs. I've cooked too many egg white scrambles in the microwave, but butter is better in a good old fashioned pan - but let the butter brown just a little, it will really heighten the flavors. OK - once the egg is poured over the melted butter in the pan, add a sprinkle of thyme and especially a tsp. of fresh tarragon leaves. I am so into tarragon right now. Then add one chopped green onion, and half a chopped up tomato, a slice of feta cheese, I crumbled mine up and put it all over the omelet. Then if you want real decadence that will hold you over until dinner, add just a couple of tiny squares of cheddar cheese. Check once in a while the bottom of the egg to see when it is done. When it's done, flip it in half and take off of the element and let it cool and melt just a little more. The tarragon really comes through in this omelet complementing this comforting egg dish.