I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

breakfast

Banana Crumb Cake with Pecans and Chocolate Chips

Banana Crumb Cake with Pecans and Chocolate Chips

Will ya look at that?

Just take a minute and look at this crumb cake.

Banana Crumb Cake with Pecans and Chocolate Chips_01

Did you do it?

I hope you really did take the time and soaked in the prettiness of this crumb cake.

But it’s prettiness is not the only nice part. Nope. It’s the bananas. It’s the chocolate chips. It’s the pecans. It’s a triple threat!!

Banana Crumb Cake_01 Banana Crumb Cake_02

Banana Crumb Cake_03 Banana Crumb Cake_04

The crumb cake will have you sneaking into your kitchen all day and night just so you can cut sliver after sliver hoping that no one notices just how much you’ve eaten.

It’s just such a good cake. I swear. It’s flavorful like banana bread but the texture is light and airy. Plus there are chocolate chips and pecans in it! Not to mention, the crumb topping is soft, with a nice crunch on top. Ah crumb cake bliss!!

Banana Crumb Cake with Pecans and Chocolate Chips_02

Banana Crumb Cake with Pecans and Chocolate Chips

Makes a 9″/10″ cake

Ingredients

Banana Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (vanilla or plain)
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3-4 small banana’s mashed very well
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped pecan pieces

Crumb Topping

  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 Tablespoon softened butter
  • 1 Tablespoon water, if neccessary

Process

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9 or 10 inch springform pan with nonstick spray.
  2. To make the crumb topping: in a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Incorporate the butter until the mixture is crumbly. If the texture is not right then add in a few drops of water at a time to get a crumbly mixture. Set aside.
  3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in one bowl.
  4. Lightly beat the eggs and add in the Greek yogurt, and oil and mix until well blended.
  5. Mix the bananas into the wet ingredients.
  6. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet banana mixture until just combined.
  7. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips until just combined as well.
  8. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and then top with the crumb mixture.
  9. Bake at for 30-40 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes prior to carefully removing the outside of the springform pan.

Sourced from Ask Chef Dennis

Cornbread Muffins

Cornbread Muffins

Wanna hear a pretty obvious statement?

I’m pretty hungry all the time now. I know… hungry at 9 months pregnant.?!?! Big shocker here.

Cornbread Muffins_01 Cornbread Muffins_02

But really, I am the most hungry for breakfast so I think about cereal, bagels, waffles, muffins, and yogurt. No, not having 1 of those things… but eating all of it. A huge pile of it. A bucket of it. Whatever.

Cornbread Muffins_03 Cornbread Muffins_04

And lately, I’ve been thinking of carby goodness in the form of muffins. Pumpkin Muffins. Chocolate Chip Muffins. Blueberry Muffins. Apple Cinnamon Muffins. Donut Muffins. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins. Corn Muffins. <<<< I’m having that Forest Gump shrimp moment when it comes to thinking about muffins.

So that is why I jumped when I saw these cornbread muffins on Baked by Rachel. She just made them last week and once I saw them I was drooling. I just knew I had to make a batch.

Cornbread Muffins_05 Cornbread Muffins_06

Anyway, besides being awesome corn muffins to eat for breakfast they are so good in stuffing. Yep, Thanksgiving is just around the corner so I used some of these babies in an amazing Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing that I saw on Baked by Rachel. I’m blog stalking Rachel. ha! Well that Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing was awesome so I will share that recipe tomorrow too!!

Cornbread Muffins_00

Cornbread Muffins

Makes 15 muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1C buttermilk (or substitute by mixing together 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice plus enough milk to make 1 cup of liquid)

Process

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare muffins tins by spraying with nonstick cooking spray. (If cooking all 15 muffins at once, then only spray 3 cups in the 2nd muffin tin)
  2. In a small bowl combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl combine the melted butter with the sugar and eggs. Whisk in buttermilk. Slowly add dry ingredients, stirring until completely combined.
  4. Fill each muffin pan cavity roughly 3/4 full. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.
  5. Allow muffins to cool for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to several days.

Sourced from Baked by Rachel

Thirsty Thursday: Mocha Magic Smoothie

mocha magic smoothie

It’s a new year. It’s a perfect way to kick off ‘something new’.

What better way to kick off a great new year than starting things off to a great start?!? How do you do that? With an awesome breakfast smoothie that will jump start your day.

I flipped through my copy of Smoothies for Life! to find a smoothie that would be a great breakfast to get me through the day. It’s so cold here (high of 23 today!) so a cold smoothie might not sound like a pleasant way to start the day but I still pulled through. I prepped most of last night- froze my sliced banana, powders in my magic bullet cup- so I just needed to add milk and blend. I ran down stairs to the kitchen did this as fast as I could before running back up to the hot bathroom to take a boiling shower. Really… the knob is all the way over and I love it. Maybe that is why my skin is extra dry? Whatever. So while I got dressed I had my breakfast and coffee all in one and I was ready to kick some ass at my first day back at work since Dec. 21st. ouch.

Amanda embraced ‘something new’ by reaching for a new bottle of bourbon she had. I totally like her style. She changed things up and made a delightful Mississippi Mud Cake with Espresso Bourbon Glaze. Sounds amazing right?!?!

Mocha Magic Smoothie

Makes 1

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces milk
  • 1 sliced banana, frozen
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons protein powder
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons instant coffee

Process

  1. Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Apple Pie Stuffed French Toast { & a Giveaway!}

When I was in high school I used to live off of apple butter and bagels. Because school let out at various times depending on the rotating daily schedule I would sometimes get out pretty early by the time I was a junior and senior so I would just wait to eat lunch at my boyfriends. His mom always had bagels around so I’d toast one up at have it with apple butter. I loved just how flavorful the apple butter was. I would occasionally drive to the next town to visit a farm store where I could get their apple butter. It was a real addiction I tell you!

 

 

When Musselman’s contacted me about using their Apple Butter in a recipe and having a giveaway I knew I had to accept.  While my apple butter package was on it’s way, I kept thinking about different recipes to use with the apple butter because possibilities are endless. I kept going back to their site for inspiration as well as go through old magazines. I was tempted to make Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie but when it came down to it I kept thinking about something for breakfast. I thought about their Monkey Bread but decided that I would adapt one of my favorite breakfast recipes instead. I had recently adapted the Strawberry Almond Stuffed French Toast I had previously made using canned pumpkin. It turned out so well that I decided to swap the pumpkin for the apple butter and wah-la!

 

 

This might look intimidating because you have to cut the bread to form pockets but it is super simple and by creating this lovely pocket you get to full the bread with this great apple butter filling. I loved how I didn’t need syrup for this french toast.The sweetness and flavor of the apple butter is perfect for this without getting covered in syrup. It is perfect for a leisurely breakfast or for one on the go. Since this recipe makes so many servings I freeze the cooked french toast slices on a baking sheet and then I wrap them up to enjoy later. I just take one out of the freezer the night before and defrost it in the fridge  Then when I am getting ready in the morning I toss the wrapped french toast in the oven to warm it up. Good to go!

Apple Pie Stuffed French Toast

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Italian Bread, 1 pound
  • 6 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups apple butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, 3 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Process

  1. Slice the bread into 1″ thick slices. Lay each piece down on a cutting board. While holding each piece down, create a pocket in the slices of bread by almost cutting it in half. (Placing your hand on top of the piece of bread will help keep the bread in place and help you monitor creating a pocket.)
  2. Combine the cream cheese, apple butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract until light and creamy. Transfer the cream mixture into a large piping bag.
  3. Pipe out 2 generous tablespoons of the filling inside the pocket of each slice. Gently close each slice of bread to help the filling stay inside.
  4. In a shallow bowl, like a casserole dish, beat the eggs, milk and almond extract together.
  5. Over  medium high heat, heat a non-stick skillet to prepare it for the french toast. Immediately prior to putting pieces on the skillet, spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray or put a pat of butter on it.
  6. Once the pan is heated up, dip slices of bread in the egg mixture to coat both sides. Cook each side of the stuffed french toast is golden brown. Repeat this process until all slices are cooked.

And now the good stuff… the GIVEAWAY!

You can win

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me how you would enjoy a jar of apple butter.

Extra Entries: 

Spread the word- Tweet: “I want to win a @Musselmansapple’s Package that includes a jar of Apple Butter & a Spurtle from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-2Li”. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me that you did.

Follow @Musselmanapple’s on twitter for updates and to stay connected. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me that you did.

Contest Ends Wednesday the 7th at Midnight EST. Good luck but if you don’t  win be sure to go to your jam/jelly aisle at your local grocery store and pick up a jar of Musselman’s Apple Butter!

Monday Munchies: Katz’s Bagel Bakery- Chelsea, MA

As part of my Monday Munchies series, I will feature a different eatery for a review on the first and third Monday of every month. Hope you enjoy!

____________________

While Price and I were in the process of our house this spring, we saw a special on Chronicle about Chelsea, which added to our excitement about the city that we would be moving into. It gave us a lot of information about the history of the tiny city just outside of Boston as well as some great places to go to in Chelsea to see or eat. One place in particular was Katz’s Bagel Bakery. Who doesn’t love a great bagel? (Carbophobes- just stop reading…)

Katz’s Bagel Bakery (pronouced Kate’s) has been open in the same location since 1938 and has been run by 3 generations of Katz men; Harry to Richard and now Jimmy and Jeremy. They make bagels the authentic way by boiling them, letting them dry in a dryer, and then baking them. This process is applied to all of their varieties of bagels. The time, care. and quality ingredients they put into their bagels, and other bakery products, really shows.

 

So whenever we are in town we go to Katz’s bagels for breakfast on the weekends. I love bagels but I love really good bagels. Bagels from Katz a crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. When split open you see a perfectly worked dough that has lovely air pockets giving it an all around great texture.

Katz’s is home to Pizza Bagels. Harry Katz came up with the idea in the 70’s to close a bagel and flatten that out a bit and use at as the dough. This makes their ‘pizza dough’ thick, chewy and the perfect base for a cheesy individual pizza. I did the biggest blogger faux pas and didn’t take a picture of my bagel pizza. I heated it up and it was so amazing looking I just dived in. once I was staring a an empty plate… oh crap! picture!! So here’s the deal, trust me when I say their pizza bagels are awesome and just go to get one.

 

No matter if you go for bagels, pizza bagels, bagel wrapped hot dogs, muffins, or eclairs (Friday & Saturday) you will have a great product, for a great deal. In this particular visit, I walked out of there with a bagel, cream cheese, pizza bagel, and a very large bag of bagel chips for just $8.

Check out Katz’s on a Chronicle segment.

Katz’s Bagels

139 Park Street

Chelsea, MA 02150

617.884.9738

Closed Mondays

S’mores Cinnamon Rolls

S'mores Cinnamon Rolls

It is Day 4 of S’mores Week! Are you sick of Amanda and I yet? Hope not! Just one more day of great s’mores recipes. hint hint… I have a cocktail for you tomorrow!

Anyway, I originally planned on making mini cheesecakes today but then at the very last minute decided to change my mind resulting in some late night and early morning baking. how early? well this dumb-dumb got up at 4.30a.m. I am crazy. obvi.


 

 

 

I’m so glad that I put in the extra effort to make these because they are incredible. I honestly would not eat them for breakfast but I think they are perfect for a fun, different kind of dessert. It would totally shock someone if you served this for dessert. A big rich cinnamon roll jam packed full of s’mores goodness. The marshmallows get toasty, the chocolate chips get melty, and the graham adds a fun different crunch to it all. Addicting!

 

  

You need to go over and check out Amanda’s S’mores Ice Cream recipe. The post is hilarious and totally relate-able. Plus, the recipe is drool worthy. That ice cream is trouble with a capital T!

S’mores Cinnamon Rolls

makes 12 rolls

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1 cup warm milk (skim works)
  • 1 packet dry active yeast
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
  • 4 cups bread flour, 1/2 cup reserved
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Filling

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 4 cinnamon graham crackers, broken into small pieces
  • 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Glaze

  • 4 ounces marshmallow Fluff
  • 1/4 cup milk

Process

  1. To prepare the dough, sift together the flours and salt, set aside. Heat the milk per yeast instructions. Once the milk has reached the right temperature (between 100-110F) add the yeast and let proof per instructions. In a large bowl or using a stand mixer, beat 2 eggs. Mix in the sugar and melted butter into the eggs. Gently pour the milk into the bowl. In half cup intervals mix in the bread flour until 3 1/2 cups has been incorporated. With the remaining 1/2 cup, dust a clean smooth surface and coat your hands. Kneed the dough into a ball incorporating the remaining flour. Place into a greased bowl, cover, and let double in size (several hours).
  2. While your dough is rising prepare the  filing by combining the cinnamon  and sugars together in a bowl and the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham cracker pieces. in another bowl.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 and grease baking pans.
  4. Roll out dough into a 16 by 21 inch rectangle. Spread the melted butter evenly over dough. First add the sugar mixture to the cover the dough, then add the s’mores mixture. Roll up dough jelly roll style and, cut in half, then cut each section into 6 pieces.  Arrange evenly in pan
  5. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown.
  6. While rolls are baking combine the fluff and milk. Spread frosting over warm rolls before serving.

S’mores Week

Day 1

S’mores Chex Mix and S’mores Ice Cream Sandwiches

Day 2

S’mores Truffles and Microwave S’more Turtles

Day 3

S’mores Campfire Banana Splits and S’mores Cheesecake Bars

Best Pancakes Ever- Polly’s Pancake Parlor

We don’t typically have pancakes at home. I tend to burn them or ruin them in the flip. Plus I tend to enjoy waffles more. Mitch Hedberg and I would have been best brunch friends as we share similar views on pancakes and waffles.

That being said Polly’s Pancake Parlor is the only place that I LOVE for pancakes. We typically only go there when we are camping in the Whites, as a 2 1/2 hour drive just for breakfast is a little tough. So while we were in the area to see the sunrise at Mt. Washington, Price planned on us going there to have breakfast. sweet!

While they have a large menu we each go to the pancake sampler when we are there. Price went with plain blueberry, whole wheat walnut, and cornmeal coconut with a side of bacon.

 

I had cornmeal (no add-in’s), whole wheat blueberry, and plain chocolate chip with a side of sausage. nom nom nom!!!

They bring the pancakes out in 2 batches so that by the time you are nearing the finish line your pancakes are not cold!! The pancakes are so good and are such a treat but they still got the best of me and I left defeated- ha!

 

This cat found Price and had some fun running around after him as he was making a call. Clearly the cat knew Price is highly allergic and knew it would be much appreciated to rub its body all over him.

Well, obviously…

Polly’s Pancake Parlor

672 Route 117 (Sugar Hill Rd.)

Sugar Hill, NH 03586

603.823.8849

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive. 

Breakfast Burritos

 

One of my favorite things about the weekend is that we can enjoy a leisurely breakfast together. Our Saturday’s are typically crazy so we really savor our Sunday mornings. The paper comes and that is the day when we make breakfast. Before we had a coffee maker Price would leave to get coffees while I cooked. Before we had a coffee maker, Price would leave to get coffees while I cooked. He would come back with a massive hot coffee for himself and a massive iced coffee for me. Now that we have a coffee maker we make breakfast together (if I can pry him away from Sports Center) and sip mugs of hot coffee all morning while we go through the paper. Clearly, we are 80 years old deep down…

 

 

This breakfast came together rather quickly as I had thought about it the night before. We were making dinner and having baked potatoes with it and figured I would throw a few extra potatoes on the baking sheet to use for breakfast hash. Well, when the time came to make breakfast, we decided that breakfast burritos would be fun so we whipped them up quickly.

It is a quick breakfast that only really dirties 1 skillet. The hardest part is not to fill your burrito too much. If that just happens, then grab a fork and take a bit off the top so you can roll your burrito! I would have preferred to have black beans in my burrito, but didn’t feel like opening a can for just a bit of beans so I opted out. We enjoyed these because they were so good, simple, and filling. Plus, they are a great way of using up large burrito or sandwich wraps at the end of a week.

 

 

Breakfast Burritos

serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of bacon
  • 2 baked potatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 white onion, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 8 eggs: 4 whole eggs, 4 egg whites
  • 4 burrito tortilla wraps
  • 1 cup of shredded cheese, such as chedder or montery jack
  • 1 large tomato or 1/2 cup salsa
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • sliced pickled jalapenos and black olives, optional

Process

  1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. When done, reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in the skillet and set aside on paper towel lined dish.
  2. In the same skillet add the onion and potatoes. When they have browned, add in the taco seasoning and water to the skillet. Gently mix
  3. While the potatoes and onions are cooking, beat together the eggs in a large bowl.
  4. Once the potatoes and onions have adsorbed the water, push the mixture to one side and add the eggs to the other side of the skillet. Scramble the eggs together with a rubber spatula as they cook. As the eggs begin to set, combine the eggs with the potato and onions. Continue to gently cook on low until done.
  5. Assemble the burritos but laying out a burrito tortilla on your work surface. Add 1/4 of the egg mixture to the 1 side of the burrito. Break 1 strip of bacon apart in half an place on the eggs. Add the your desired toppings, such as the tomatoes and cheese.
  6. To wrap the burrito, fold over the short ends of the wrap. Your burrito is now longer than it is wide. Begin to roll the end with the mixture over, while keeping the sides in, until you have completely rolled the entire burrito together.
  7. In a large skillet or grill pan on medium-high, place your burritos flap side down so the flap will seal closed. Flip over once to allow the other side to crisp as well. If you burrito was too full, or if you prefer to not have the burrito warp crisp, then wrap the burrito in aluminum foil to help keep it all together.

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive. 

Hash Benedict @ Deluxe Station Diner, Newton MA

Recently, Price and I went to Deluxe Station Dinner in Newton, MA for an early morning weekend breakfast. We had been to their sister restaurant, Deluxe Town Diner, in Watertown, MA more times than we can remember. And we would always pass by Deluxe Station as we took the train everyday so we finally made plans to stop in one day for breakfast.

   

 The diner is located at the Newton Centre T stop on the D-line (Green Line). The building is charming inside and out. The diner is located inside the old train station. It is filled with fun accents and interesting artwork.

We settled into a booth together as a friendly waitress gave us some menus. We had checked out the breakfast menu before going so we knew what we were getting but it was nice to take a peak again. We enjoyed some coffee before placing our orders. Price ordered the Deluxe Colossal Hungry Person Special and I ordered the Hash Benedict, natch.

 

Hash Benedict – Two Poached Eggs and Homemade Corned Beef Hash over English Muffin with Hollandaise Sauce and Homefries or Salad… $12.50

My love of Eggs Benedict was satisfied during our visit. The large plate it barely visible with the combination of Hash Benedict and home fries piled high. The eggs are layered with English Muffin, Corned Beef, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. They use the hearty English Muffins from Wolferman’s so the stand up well to the flavors stacked up high on there. I was so excited for this when it was placed down in front of me. I was eager to dive right in.

I loved the combination of each bite. The Hollandaise was very good as it was light, lemony, and very buttery. The color is always so inviting. The Hollandaise was a little lumpy so it was a bit disappointing.

  

The corned beef hash was flavorful, tender, and piled high. I would have prefered it to have been on the griddle a bit longer as I love crunchy edges on corned beef.

 

The eggs were cooked perfectly. The poached eggs were neatly trimmed, the whites were set, and the yolk was warm and runny. Once you pierce the egg the yolk cascades down the corned beef and onto the English Muffin.

A generious portion of home fries were plated along side the eggs benedict. The home fries are simple without adornment with veggies (onions, peppers), but are seasoned well with are fresh herbs.

I highly suggest visiting the Deluxe Station Diner when you crave a great breakfast. If you love corned beef hash or eggs  benny as much as I do then you should really order this. You might want to take a nap afterwards but it will be worth it. 🙂

Rating

English muffin– 20 pts

Corned Beef Hash– 20 pts

Poached Egg– 25 pts

Hollandaise Sauce– 15 pts

Side– 9 points

Total: 89/100

Deluxe Station Diner

70 Union Street

Newton, MA 02459

617. 244.2550

@dluxstation

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive. 

Strawberry Almond Stuffed French Toast

One of my favorite things is when I discover a new to me blog and I did that recently when I came across Alice’s Savory Sweet Life. Once I stumbled over there I was hooked. I spent a solid hour flipping around the recipes. And then I bought her cookbook. I could not wait to try something so I picked something that jumped out to me which was Alice’s  Strawberry Almond Stuffed French Toast. How could I pass that up?!?!

 

 

It is no secret that I prefer a savory breakfast/brunch more than a sweet one. But… when I have something sweet I go all out. Syrup is my downfall at breakfast. I love it all over pancakes, french toast, and oatmeal so it is no surprise that when I saw this recipe I just knew I would have to make it. It reminded me of a stuffed french toast I had at Stephanie’s  On Newbury when I first moved up to Boston. Nice reminder what a great brunch I had years and years ago when the city was so new to me.

 

 

I made some changes to the original recipe based upon what I had on hand and my on preferences. I swapped out the sour cream for greek yogurt, upped the amount of almond extract, and used a mixture of egg whites and whole eggs instead of using just whole eggs. Also, I mixed the strawberries right into the cream so it would be a consistent flavor and texture throughout the piece of french toast.

This stuffed French toast is so amazing. It is soft, fluffy, sweet, and so delightful. It is very easy to prepare and will satisfy everyone! Now don’t fret if you don’t have a crowd to serve if you are craving it. I individulally wrapped slices of cooked french toast and then froze them. Since then, I have brought slices out to enjoy at a later day and I have just had to let them thaw and have them warmed them in a skillet or toaster oven. yum!!

 

 

Strawberry Almond Stuffed French Toast

*Serves 6-8*

Ingredients

  • 6 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 6 oz greek yogurt
  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 tablespoon almond extract
  • 8 oz chopped strawberries
  • 2 eggs, 3 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 loaf Italian Bread
  • Garnish – 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar and 1/3 cup slivered almonds

Process

  1. Using an electric hand or stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, yogurt, confectioner’s sugar, and almond extract until light and creamy. Fold the strawberries into the mixture. Transfer the cream mixture to a bowl or to a large piping bag.
  2. In a shallow bowl, like a casserole dish, beat the eggs, milk and almond extract together.
  3. Slice the bread into 1″ thick slices. Lay each piece down on a cutting board. While holding each piece down, create a pocket in the slices of bread by almost cutting it in half. (Placing your hand on top of the piece of bread will help keep the bread in place and help you monitor creating a pocket.)
  4. Spoon or pipe out 2 generous tablespoons of the filling inside the pocket of each slice. Gently close each slice of bread to help the filling stay inside.
  5. Over  medium high heat, heat a non-stick skillet to prepare it for the french toast. Immediately prior to putting pieces on the skillet, spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray or put a pat of butter on it.
  6. Once the pan is heated up, dip slices of bread in the egg mixture to coat both sides. Cook each side of the stuffed french toast is golden brown. Repeat this process until all slices are cooked.
  7. To garnish the dish, dust with confectioner’s sugar and slivered almonds or spoon any left over strawberries cream mixture on top of each slice. Serve with maple syrup, if desired.

The Jack Benny @ Doo Wop Diner, Malden MA

When Price and I started our adventure of looking for a place to buy we took the adventurous approach and starting blindly guess where we would want to live and looked on the web for listings. Just kidding!!! We thoroughly researched areas where we could live around Boston and that brought us to Malden one day. We set out to look around neighborhoods within walking distance of the train stations there and in the process we came across the Doo Wop Diner.

 

The Doo Wop Diner is your quintessential greasy spoon. There are old posters on the wall of classic cars and movie stars from the 50’s. You never see the bottom of your mug as servers are constantly buzzing around tending to the customers. As soon as you walk in you know who the regulars are as they are perched at the counter leisurely bent over a paper listening to the woman behind the counter chatting while they fill orders. I love places like this.

Places like this always make great comfort food. The Doo Wop Diner has a great variety of menu options and they playfully section the menu into different categories and are labeled such things as break it to me gently | build me up buttercup |every egg beat of my heart| hot rod sandwiches | the chubby checker double decker | a family affair | all shook up. Since we were wandering around Malden early one Saturday morning we decided to stick with the breakfast dishes. While I toyed around with some different menu options I decided on The Jack Benny.

 

2 Poached Eggs with Ham served on English Muffins and topped with Hollandaise Sauce

My love affair with Eggs Benedict runs deep. Eggs Benedict compelety satisfies me, and just like the real Jack Benny, this was a hit. For just $6.99 I had a plate piled high with Eggs Benedict and homefries. The English muffin was gently toasted providing a nice sturdy base for the eggs. They were toasted enough to give a nice flavor was well as texture to hold up again the Hollandaise sauce. There was 1 slice of lean ham that was draped over the English muffins. And on top of that sat 2 perfectly poached eggs. The eggs were cooked well to set up up the albumin (white part) while keeping the yoke very runny. The eggs looked nice as well as they were neatly trimmed. Lusciously coating it all was a silky Hollandaise sauce. The sauce was mellow as it was a light flavored sauce without too much lemon. All together the perfect bite of English muffin, ham, egg, and Hollandaise sauce.

To go along with The Jack Benny I substituted their regular homefries with their Larry’s Special homefries for an extra $1.25. Price and I shared the homefries from his meal and mine. I suggest the Larry’s Special as I felt the regular fries where a bit plain. I prefer my homefries to have pieces of peppers and onions mixed in and the regular order did not. The Larry’s Special had pieces of onion, as well as melted cheese and some finely chopped pieces of bacon. The amped up homefries were very good but I suggest eating them quickly before the slice of cheese on top firms up again.

Such a beauty.

While we decided that Malden wasn’t for us, we did discover the Doo Wop Diner. If you happen to be in the area I suggest stopping in to enjoy a great meal.

Rating

English muffin– 15 pts

Canadian Bacon– 15 pts

Poached Egg– 25 pts

Hollandaise Sauce– 20 pts

Side– 7 points

Total: 82/100

Doo Wop Diner

269 Main Street

Malden, MA 02148

(781) 324-9441

Fried Eggs and Bacon

 

In a follow up to my recent breakfasty/brunchy post about Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Hash, I’m sharing with you my favorite way to make eggs. I love over-easy eggs because the white is completely cooked but the yellow, bright yolk is ooey gooey runny. But cooking the eggs in left over bacon grease takes them out of this freaking world. Needless to say that I don’t do this often- maybe once every 6 months.

 

Bacon is one of those simple things that we treat at a luxury. I much prefer to buy a good quality bacon that is thick cut and pretty lean. (In the case with this photographed bacon, it was leftover from Thanksgiving. We cover our turkey in bacon so the highest quality would be wasted in that case.) Since it can easily be $9-10 a pound I tended to save it for leisurely weekends in when we can really enjoy the paper. Also, when Price and I make bacon we make a lot of it all at once so the leftovers can be used in BLT’s, added to sandwiches, and sprinkled over salads… makes for a good week!

 

Cooking eggs this way makes for a very airy egg that some salty, smoky favor. Since the eggs are frying they are some what suspended in the grease,  the egg has light, crunchy pockets. I really enjoy the texture of the egg this way, especially the crunchy edges.

 

Fried Eggs and Bacon

Ingredients

  • bacon
  • eggs
  • salt and pepper

Process

  1. Fry bacon in a non stick pan. Save enough bacon grease to generously coat the bottom of the pan.
  2. Placing no more than 2 eggs in your pan at the time, fry eggs on medium/medium-low heat.
  3. After a minute of cooking cover with a lid to the top of the egg will cook.
  4. Eggs are complete when the top is cooked, while the egg yolk is still light, and therefore runny.
  5. While still really hot, sprinkle salt and pepper over the eggs.
  6. Serve with bacon and your favorite breakfast sides.

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.