Let's start with the mimosas. When you start the day with a mimosa, it's going to be a good day.
12oz. sparkling wine (we used Adami Prosecco NV Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy)
12oz. pulp free orange juice, chilled (orange juice should only ever be pulp free)
Pour 3oz. of the sparkling wine into each champagne flute
Top with 3oz. of orange juice and serve.
Chef Matt, bless him, was generous with the champagne.
At each place at the kitchen bar, there was a lemon poppy seed muffin. They were outstanding.
These were a non yeast or quick bread. The trick to nice even muffins is not to overwork the dough...FOLD your ingredients.
2 C. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tsp. lemon zest
2/3 C. plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 eggs
4 tsp. poppy seeds
1/2 C. milk
For the lemon glaze:
1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp. lemon juice freshly squeezed
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl, and set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, lemon zest and 2/3 C. sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the poppy seeds.
Fold the dry ingredients into the batter, alternating with the milk, until just combined. Be sure not to overmix the batter.
Divide the batter evenly into the paper liners. Sprinkle the tops with the 2 tbsp. sugar until the tops are springy and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool.
While the muffins are cooling, prepare the glaze. Stir together the powdered sugar, lemon zest and juice in a bowl until smooth.
Once the muffins are cool, use the back of a spoon to spread the glaze onto each muffin. Allow the glaze to harden, if desired, about 1 hour.
Chefs Ron and Matt put together our frittata and hash while we enjoyed our muffins and mimosas.
Eggs Florenting Frittata
2 tbsp. butter
1 leek, white and light green parts only, cut into medium dice and washed
4 C. baby spinach (you decide if you want the stems left on or not)
Salt and pepper to taste
8 eggs
1/2 C. half and half
1/2 C. ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (yes, it's here twice; don't taste the raw eggs though)
1 roasted red pepper, cut into strips
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, rough chopped
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Heat a nonstick saute pan or cast iron pan over medium heat and add the butter. Gently saute the leeks until softened; 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk together the eggs, half and half, ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, red peppers and parsley.
Before adding the eggs to the pan, be sure that your pan is quite hot. Pour the egg mixture into the hot pan.
Cook on the stovetop for 2 to 3 minutes on high heat to create a golden brown color on the exterior of the frittata.
Slide the pan right into the oven and continue to cook until the eggs are just set, about 15 minutes. This can also be done in the broiler in about 5 minutes.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes, and then invert the frittata onto a plate or cutting board. Slice into wedges and serve with Easier Than Ever Hollandaise Sauce (recipe to follow).
To roast a pepper, place it directly on your gas burner and cook, turning occasionally, until the skin is completely blackened on all sides. Place the pepper in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam for about 15 minutes. Remove the skin and seeds from the pepper, resisting the urge to rinse it, and cut as needed for your recipe.
The hollandaise sauce was to die for. I wanted the pan and the spoon when everyone had gotten some for their frittata.
Here is the plain frittata.
Easier Than Ever Hollandaise Sauce
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp. water
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 stick butter, cut into 1 tbsp. sized pieces
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Place the yolks, water, lemon juice, and butter in a slope sided saucier pan.
Place over medium low heat and whisk until the butter melts. Continue to whisk until the sauce becomes thick and is steaming, about 5 minutes.
Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm.
This next dish may have been my favorite and yet celery root is ugly and I probably never would have tried it on my own.
The frittata with holladaise sauce.
Sweet Potato and Celery Root Hash
2 tbsp. grapeseed oil
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into medium dice
1 medium size celery root (think 12 inch softball), peeled and cut into medium dice. Chef Ron used a knife to take the peel off of the celery root. It's pretty thick and would probably eat your potato peeler and spit it out.
1/2 red onion, small dice
1/2 red pepper, small dice (we used some of the roasted red peppers leftover from the frittata)
1 tbsp. fresh chives, minced
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, rough chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat a saute pan over medium high heat and add the grapeseed oil. Saute the sweet potatoes and celery root, tossing occasionally, until caramelized and softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the onions and peppers and continue to cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in the chives and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add a couple of tablespoons of butter right at the end to finish.
The next recipe was for sausage patties. Now, breakfast sausage is not my all time favorite thing in the world but this was amazing. While it was cooking, my mouth was actually watering!
Apple Sage and Fennel Breakfast Sausage
1lb. ground pork
1 tbsp. fennel seeds, toasted and cracked in a mortar and pestle or with a spice grinder.
1 tart apple, peeled and grated
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and grated (use a food processor)
1 egg
1 tsp. sea salt
Pepper to taste
1 tbsp. fresh sage, rough chopped
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Grapeseed oil as needed
Heat a griddle over medium heat.
To make sausage patties, mix together the pork, fennel seeds, apple, onion, egg, salt, pepper, sage, and nutmeg. Form the mixture into twelve patties about 1/4 inch thick.
Brush the griddle with grapeseed oil to coat lightly. Cook the sausage patties until golden brown and crisp on the first side, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and repeat, adding more oil to the griddle if needed. Continue to cook until the second side is browned and the sausage is cooked through to an internal temperature of 155 degrees.
Serve hot.
We talked a bit about the flavors in the sausage marrying if the ingredients were allowed to sit longer before cooking. When I make this, I will mix it up and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and then cook in the morning.
Well, we had some bread, some eggs, some potatoes, some booze...now it's time for crepes! For those of you that are local, Chris got a crepe pan for Christmas so if you're looking for a nice breakfast, give us a call!
Crepe Batter
1 C. all purpose flour
2 tsp. granulated sugar
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1-1 1/4 C. whole milk
2 tbsp. butter, melted
Additional melted butter for cooking the crepes
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk together the eggs and 1 C. milk in another bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk just until the batter comes together. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.
Allow the batter to rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Adjust with reserved milk, if necessary, so the batter has the consistency of heavy whipping cream.
Heat a small nonstick saute pan over medium heat and add just enough butter to coat the bottom.
Ladle in just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan and be sure to swirl the pan so the batter is in an even layer.
Cook until the crepe is set up and the edges are golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip and continue to cook an additional 15 seconds. Transfer to a plate and continue to prepare more crepes.
The crepes made in class were filled with apples and topped with whipped cream...they were GOOD!
Crepes with Sauteed Apples and Chantilly Cream
Crepe batter (from recipe above)
3 tbsp. butter
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 C. granulated sugar
3 tbsp. cognac, brandy, or dark rum
1/2 C. sliced almonds, toasted
For the Chantilly cream:
1 1/4 C. heavy whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds removed; or 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1/4 C. powdered sugar
Cook the crepes according to the instructions, and set aside on a plate.
To prepare the apples, melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the sliced apples and sugar and toss to coat. Saute the apple, stirring occasionally, until the apples are caramelized and tender, 7 to 10 minutes.
Carefully add the liquor to the apples and flambe. Fold in the almonds.
To assemble the crepes, lay the cooked crepes on your work surface. Spoon about 1/4 C. of the filling on the bottom third of the crepe. Roll the crepe up and place on a platter. Continue with the remaining crepes.
To prepare the Chantilly cream, whip the heavy cream with the vanilla bean pulp or paste, and powdered sugar until it forms soft peaks.
Top each apple crepe with a dollop of the Chantilly cream and serve.
We cooked our crepes after they were filled until the outsides were golden brown. I actually started eating them before I took a photo so please excuse the partially eaten crepe!
If you get a chance, go to a cooking class. We've had such fun at them, gotten great recipes and met some wonderful people!
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