Tag Archives: Breakfast

December 14, 2011 · 2:00 am

Pumpkin Muffins: Easier Than They Look… Unless You’re Me.


Saturday afternoon I went grocery shopping and tossed a can of pumpkin into my cart on a whim. I. Love. Pumpkin. And I’ve been dreaming of pumpkin muffins so Sunday morning when I saw that new can of pumpkin in my pantry, I thought, What the heck. I found an easy peasy recipe on Smitten Kitchen and went to work. It took all of 15 minutes to throw this together, and then I was nestled in the couch with coffee, inhaling the scent of autumn coming from my oven. Took the muffins out at allotted time… heavy, dense, and uncooked. Back in the oven. Ten minutes later? Heavy, dense, and cooked. I tasted them. Huh. Kinda weird… Checked the recipe. …Oh. Baking powder. Yes, baking powder. Kind of a key ingredient in muffins, huh? Oh… and only ONE CUP of pumpkin. Not the whole can.

However, these babies aren’t bad. In fact, they’re actually pretty good. They’re just not what you think of when you think “light, fluffy pumpkin muffin”. They’re dense but incredibly moist, not too sweet, and would be perfect toasted with a little butter.

On the menu:
Pumpkin muffins
Makes 12
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 tsp baking powder [optional!]
1 1/2 cups flour
1 15-oz. can of pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/4 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, with a large whisk, combine pumpkin, oil, eggs, spices, sugar, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Whisk in flour mixture. Pour into greased or papered muffin tin until 3/4 filled.

Mix together 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of the muffins. Bake for 28 – 32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

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February 1, 2011 · 2:00 am

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Confession: in the last six months, I’ve become a bit of a takeout queen. I blame the winter. Waking up on a cold Sunday morning, there is little I want to do besides lie in bed and watch TV, much less get out of the warm blankets and go out into the cold to get groceries or bagels. But then I looked at my checking account. Ouch.

Did you know a carton of eggs, a block of cheese, tomatoes, turkey, milk, toast, and butter costs about $12? And lasts for at least 3 meals? Sayonara, takeout.

On the menu:
Easy omelet

2 eggs
1 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp cheddar cheese, shredded
Any additional ingredients your heart desires (the pictured omelet has shredded cheddar, sliced cherry tomatoes, and turkey)

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper, and the shredded cheddar. Spray cooking spray in a non-stick skillet and turn heat to medium/low. Pour in egg mixture. Rotate the skillet so a thin layer of egg coats the entire bottom of the skillet. Let cook until bubbles start to form. Rotate skillet again so the uncooked egg in the middle of the omelet slides to the outside to cook. Once center is almost firm, line up for omelet filling in one single line in the center of the egg. With a spatula, fold the edges of the egg toward the center, like a tri-fold letter. Cook for another 5 minutes and sprinkle with shredded cheddar.

Note: I did an omelet post awhile back, with the same technique, different filling.

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January 21, 2011 · 9:35 am

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, loves. I woke up to white powdery beautiful streets this morning, and of course, immediately checked my e-mail to see if I had a snow day. No dice.

Have you seen this? It’s called “Smooth Criminal Flash Mob at Eataly.” Have you clicked it yet? No? Then what the H is wrong with you?

Just wanted to say a quick hello and remind you of some things you might like to make this weekend. It’s all comfort food, and it’s all guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Also guaranteed to make you want to hit the gym on Monday. You’re welcome.

Breakfast! pancakes…

Lunch! peanut butter…

Dinner! carbonara…

Dessert! cupcakes… (pictured above)

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December 14, 2010 · 10:28 am

These Pancakes Have a Secret

I’m about to tell you a story, but in order to read it, you’re going to have to put your judgment face away and slap on an open minded grin.

Got it?

Okay, here goes. I ate pancakes 3 days in a row. I can’t explain it. I needed something comforting and warm and salty and sweet and when I got home last night it was beautiful and snowy and I thought, “What else do people eat when it’s cold and snowy and Christmastime but pancakes?” I couldn’t come up with anything. So I made these. And they have a secret.

HEY. Remember when I told you not to judge me? Pancakes with bacon sounded good, so I thought, I will combine these beauties into one easily consumed dish.

I started by crisping up the bacon real nice, setting it aside to drain, pouring the grease out of the pan, and then making the pancakes (using this recipe*, obviously) in that same beautiful pan all ready to go and coated with bacon grease. Once I poured the batter in the pan I laid the crispy strips in the center of the pancake and cooked as usual.

Then for the sauce: I cubed some apple and sauteed it in a small saucepan with 2 Tbsp of butter, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, and 2 tsp of cinnamon. Once the apples are softened, you pour the mixture on top of the pancakes.

And then you eat your face off. Or you share. But… probably the former.

*I realized upon arriving home that I was out of baking powder. I said a few curse words, looked out at the snow, and then remembered I could make my own. 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 parts baking soda = baking powder. (For example: in this recipe you need 3 tsp of baking powder, so instead you’d use 2 tsp cream of tartar and 1 tsp baking soda) A handy trick for you in case you’re ever in the same predicament.

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November 4, 2010 · 2:00 am

Flip, Flip, Flipadelphia

Hey, did you know Philadelphia is ridiculously close to New York City? And that it’s a pretty sweet city? If you’re a New Yorker, you probably already knew this. I did not. Don’t judge me, k?

Last weekend I took the quick train ride to Philadelphia, our brother to the left (that’s what they call it, right?), specifically for a haunted house but generally to eat my face off. When we asked the bellhop at our hotel for good, close, diner food he didn’t hesitate. “Little Pete’s,” he told us. Apparently everyone else in the city heard, too, as the tiny speck-of-a-spot was packed to the gills. If you’re ever in Philly and in need of centrally located, delicious diner food with old school charm (the dude sitting next to me knew each waitress, busboy, and cook by name) then Little Pete’s is your place.

Little Pete’s 219 S 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA. Little Pete’s has been around for decades, and I’m going to go ahead and say not much has changed in the last thirty years. There are maybe 4 regular sized tables and the rest of the place is counter space (which still worked for us, a group of 4). The food is fast, delicious, cheap, and easy. Some might say the same about me.

Kiddingggg.

Verdict: As The Boyfriend said, “Man, you housed that!” ‘Nuff said. Of course, I ordered the eggs benedict and my ONLY criticism is the cheese. Why oh why oh why do restaurants put cheese in their eggs benedict? This dish was bizarrely prepared, clearly thrown under the broiler to crisp up the delicious buttery hollandaise sauce on top. I kind of loved it. The eggs underneath were still perfectly poached, which is always a concern of mine when ordering E.B. The “Canadian bacon” was actually a ham steak the size of my face, but I’m not complaining. Little Pete’s also gets points for allowing me to order a single pancake (I like to taste them, okay?) as an appetizer. I left Little Pete’s full and happy and ready to run the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Which I did. Here’s some proof, in case you needed it.

That's my victory face.

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September 21, 2010 · 2:00 am

Well, butter my biscuit!

Remember when I went to Egg and had the best biscuits ever? Well, a few weeks after the fact I found the recipe! And then the heat hit. And boy, did the heat hit hard. The heat hit SO hard that I had to sit on this recipe for months. Can you imagine knowing you have the secret to the world’s greatest biscuits but not being able to make them for months?! Let’s just say it was a long summer.

On the menu:
“Egg” biscuits
Adapted from Tasting Table’s Buttermilk Biscuits

5 1/4 cups flour
3 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
10 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk*, plus more for brushing

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Cut half of the butter into thin sheets and place them in the freezer.
Blend the remaining butter into the flour mixture with your hands. Work quickly, blending until the flour resembles very coarse meal with a few pea-size lumps. With a rubber spatula, mix the buttermilk or sour milk into the flour and butter just until a dough begins to form.
Dump dough onto a floured work surface and pat it into a rough rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices of frozen butter on top, then fold the dough over twice (as if you were folding a letter in thirds). Press down gently on the dough until it’s about 3/4 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to punch out biscuits (do not twist the cutter). Place biscuits onto a greased** baking sheet and brush the tops with milk.
Bake the biscuits for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are risen, golden, and light.

*Note: To make sour milk, combine 2 1/2 cups of whole milk with 2 1/2 Tbsp of white vinegar.

**Note: my one regret in this recipe is not using bacon grease on the baking sheet. That would’ve been an INCREDIBLE flavor, so if you have bacon grease, use it!

These biscuits are amazing with a little honey, or a smear of butter and a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon, OR with a thick slab of ham, salty cheddar, and a little fig jam. Yum.

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August 20, 2010 · 2:00 am

It’s a Wonderful Town

New York has some characters. Amidst the tourists, the businessmen, the supermodels, and the college kids live some crazy cats, and because New York is a much cleaner, safer town than it used to be, those cats are occasionally hard to spot. Enter Shopsins.

Shopsins Essex Street Market, 120 Essex Street (corner of Essex and Delancey), New York. Shopsins is a tiny diner that used to be located in the West Village and relocated to a stall in the Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side. Kenny Shopsin, the owner, has some bizarre rules: no parties over 4 people, no cell phone calls, and he has the right to kick you out whenever he feels like it. He hates the press and notoriously denies interviews. As soon as our waiter, Kenny’s son, went back into the kitchen I snuck this picture. The last thing I wanted was to be kicked out before I got my RIDICULOUS meal.

The Leeky Boat

On the menu:

Leeky Boat: fried potato skins filled with scrambled eggs, leeks, and gruyere
Slutty Cakes: pancakes made with pumpkin, pistachios, and peanut butter
Strider: maple veggie sausage, eggs, and avocado on an English muffin

Verdict: I. Love. This. Place. Word has it, Kenny Shopsin loves his loyal, regular customers and I want to be one! When I was sitting at the tiny table, waiting for my crazy incredible meal to be delivered, Kenny himself sat down outside the stall front and yelled out to someone in the kitchen, “WHAT KIND OF F***ING VEGETABLES DON’T THEY LIKE?!” If you’re looking for a New York character, this is it. Think Soup Nazi. And the food was incredible. The fried potato skins were crisped to perfection with the silky smooth blend of leeks and cheese stuffed inside, and the Slutty Cakes (if I was stuffed with pumpkin, peanut butter, and pistachios I’d probably be pretty popular, too) were to DIE for. The cakes themselves were crisp on the outside and the filling (who’da thunk it!) was an incredible blend of salty, sweet flavors. And the kicker? Each plate of pancakes is served with a tiny bottle of REAL maple syrup. Be still my heart.

The real draw of this place, outside of the character who runs it, is the extensive menu. Coconut cinnamon pancakes, hash with eggs and toast over “white trash” gumbo, the Quack (BBQ duck drumettes with chili cheese fries, eggs, and toast), MAC AND CHEESE PANCAKES!, bread pudding French toast, corn fried catfish with gumbo… Does any of this sound good to you? Over 900 menu items. If you can’t find something to love, then I don’t want to know you. There I said it.

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