Cinnamon Buns

Cinnamon buns! I must admit, I was pretty new to this one. Growing up, cinnamon buns weren't a feature in my house. Sure, I'd occasionally fall prey to cinnabun like any other kid, but it wasn't something we made or focused on. They were vaguely out there but not overly on my radar. I'm not entirely sure why, then, that I woke up on a weekend recently and decided to surprise my kids with them but... wow, have I been missing out. These are surprisingly not so hard to make and are absolutely delicious. They are hot, with a slight crunch on the outside but warm and soft on the inside, with a delightfully sweet without being overly sweet topping. Needless to say, my kids (and husband) now ask for them regularly.

Are they the healthiest? Nope. But... are they worse than pancakes or french toast? I think not. So, I make them sparingly. I stick to one. (My kids sometimes go for more than one...) And I serve it with a giant bowl of fresh fruit. I wouldn't recommend diving into it all of the time, but I've lightened it where I could reasonably do so while maintaining the true quality of the cinnamon buns and every so often, I think it's fair to just dig in and enjoy!

Time: 45 min

Crab Benedict with an Exotic Winter Fruit Salad

Breakfast for dinner! Or, at least, very gourmet breakfast for dinner. One of my favorite brunch places prepares absolutely delicious eggs benedict with crab cakes, so I decide that I had to try to re-create it. I leave out the full-fledged crab cakes and instead use jumbo lump crab meat. The jumbo lump gets quite pricey, but you do not need a ton of it here to create a delicious meal, so splurge on the good stuff and then just use less of it. This dish also forced me to try poaching eggs for the first time. Growing up, I had those silly plastic dishes that allowed me to poach by microwaving, but here I went the genuine route. It's surprisingly easy, and actually quite fun to see how the egg cooks. I recommend giving it a whirl right away, even if you're not making this meal!

To complete the idea of breakfast for dinner I paired this meal with a winter fruit salad, full of some staples and some more exotic varieties of fruit, but don't be limited by my recipe below. Add in more options and write in the comments below if something works especially well. The fruit is dressed in a simple lime-honey sauce, very light, to add a little extra pizazz. And, of course, breakfast would not be complete without some good ol' potatoes so I roasted up some fingerlings to serve as a "breakfast potato" type item.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 30 minutes
Cost: $24.22

Spinach-Corn-Sun Dried Tomato Omelette

I know, this is just an omelette. Right? A rather simple, generic food that is most often enjoyed at brunch buffets with delicious "design your own" stations. But it's also a filling, interesting dish you can make in your own home when you have a lot of leftovers and are looking for a quick meal.

Brunch and/or breakfast remains one of my favorite meals, and sadly I have not given it due focus on my blog. I plan to rectify this going forward. Today will feature how to make the perfect omelette, but watch for waffles in the next week or two. And remember, you can always re-read my past posts on pancakes or crepes.

Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy-medium (flipping makes it a medium...)

Spinach-Corn-Sun Dried Tomato Omelette
The first thing to remember is that while I will give ingredients for a specific omelette here, the real beauty of these egg creations is that you can put nearly anything in one. Vegetables, meats, cheeses... they can be as simple or as complicated as you would like. This one will include mushrooms, onions, spinach, corn, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese - and that makes it a rather full omelette. But get creative!

Here is some brainstorming by category to help you out if you are stuck on what can go in your omelette. (Remember that this is just a starter list. Let us know in the comments if you have other favorites we should all be trying!)

Veggies: tomato, mushroom, onion, spinach, corn, sun dried tomato, broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini, green onion, potato, salsa, guacamole

Meats: smoked salmon, ham, shrimp

Cheeses: muenster, american, goat, mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, manchego

But now, at last, we'll get to this recipe of the week so you can start making your own delicious creation. Feel free to follow along exactly or experiment as you go.

Ingredients:
1 tsp butter or fake butter
1 cup fresh spinach (if you use frozen use far less since fresh wilts a lot)
1/8 -1/4 cup diced mushroom
1/8 - 1/4 cup diced onion
1/8 - 1/4 cup corn kernels
1/8 - 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
6 tbsp muenster cheese
1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Now, let me say, this will make a HUGE omelette. I have a very bad habit of piling on the veggies and finding out in the end my egg can barely cover them and my omelette will feed me all day long. This is one of those. I put on ranges to try to tone my instinct down since I'm pretty sure I'd use the uppermost of all of those ranges. (It is hard to predict because I never measure with omelettes but just go by how it looks as I move along through the process.)

If the veggies look overwhelming, you have two options. One, simply have a bloated omelette which will taste delicious but probably fall apart when you flip it. Or, have twice as much egg and milk on hand. After cooking the veggies separate out half on a plate. Use the 2 eggs and milk to make one omelette and give it to your favorite person. Then dump the rest of the cooked veggies back in your emptied pan and make the second one for yourself.

So here we go! Heat the butter in a small pan (this is key) over medium-high heat. When the butter melts add the spinach. Stir every few minutes and cook for about 5 minutes or until the spinach has started to wilt. It will continue to wilt as you cook the rest of the veggies so just make sure it has started.

Add the onions and mushrooms. Stir frequently to avoid burning and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the sun dried tomatoes and corn. Cook for another 3 minutes.

In a separate bowl combine your eggs and milk and whip the eggs a bit with a fork to make sure the yolk is evenly mixed into the egg-milk mixture. Use a spatula to push the veggies slightly into the center of the pan, leaving about a finger's width around the edges. Think of it as if your pan was a pizza and the veggies are the topping, so you need to leave a slight crust. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and turn the heat down to medium. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. (Salt is optional.)

Let the egg cook for about 3 minutes so it sets slightly. Use your spatula to scrape around the edges to make sure the omelette won't stick to the edge of the pan. Tilt the pan as needed if there are pools of raw egg to get them to run around the pan and cook evenly.

Continue to cook your omelette. It should be getting fairly well set at this point. Wait until the egg is nearly cooked but not 100%. You now have two choices. If you are feeling brave, loosen the edges, slip your spatula underneath the omelette, and flip the entire thing and then continue with the recipe and the placing of the cheese. But, if you generally overload your omelettes and they will no longer flip well, just follow along without flipping. Either way, loosen the edges again!

Slice your muenster into cracker-sized slices if not already divided in some way. Scatter the muenster evenly across the omelette and let the cheese melt as you cook your omelette for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle the parmesan on top and continue cooking.

Your omelette will be done when the egg is fully cooked. The outside should also be a bit browned, especially the bottom if you never flipped it. When your omelette is cooked use your spatula to fold it in half, trapping the cheese in the fold. Push down on the top to make sure it will stick together fairly well. Then, slip the spatula underneath the folded omelette and place on a plate. You're ready to enjoy it!

Servings: 1
Serving size: 1 omelette
Nutrition: calories 618; carbs 25g; fat 42g; protein 45g; sodium 1143mg

I Love Crepes

I LOVE CREPES! It's true. While I love cooking and eating in general, and have many favorites, crepes are one of my true loves in life. Really, who doesn't enjoy a crepe? They can be sweet or savory, served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, filled with fruits and vegetables, chicken or beef, or simply some sugar, which is my personal favorite.

I generally prefer desert crepes, but feel free to use this recipe to create whichever kind that you most desire! Just keep in mind that these are quite thin and will not do well with a thick, heavy filling.


The best way to make crepes is with a crepe maker. If you have ever bought a crepe at a creperie, you will see large, circular stove tops that are completely flat, like pancake griddles. The cooks will pour the batter directly onto these circles and use a wooden utensil to flatten out the crepe. A personal, at-home crepe maker does this very similarly in a very simple manner. I believe in always having at least one crepe maker around. I am sure there are many great brands out there, but here is one example here.

To prepare your crepe batter, combine:
1.5 cups skim milk
1.5 cups flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla.

Use skim milk to make this recipe healthier, but it is best to use real eggs here. Using fake ones will cause the batter to stick to the crepe maker. At this point, grease your crepe maker with vegetable oil and plug it in to heat up. While the crepe maker is heating, beat your batter with a mixer. This batter must be extremely fine without any clumps at all in order to form crepes correctly. You can reach this consistency by hand, but it will take a long time. I use a handheld mixer to go faster.

Once the batter is completely smooth, test the crepe maker by dropping a speck of water onto it. If the water sizzles, you are ready to begin. Pour the batter into a pie dish (in the link above a dish for the batter is shown) or another similar circular dish. Turn the crepe maker upside down and, very quickly, dip the top of it into the batter and lift out. You do not want to hold the crepe maker in the batter or it will cook the entire quantity. Set the crepe maker back down on the counter. The batter should be in a thin circular layer covering the top of the crepe maker but not dripping over the sides. If it is dripping that means you dipped it into the batter too deeply.

As soon as the batter on top of the crepe maker is cooked (no more batter patches) then turn the crepe maker upside down and use a butter knife to lightly lift an edge, letting the crepe fall from the crepe maker onto a plate. Make sure not to scrape the teflon coating of your crepe maker. You should only have to use the knife to lift an edge; the cooked crepe should fall off smoothly. It should only be lightly browned in spots, at most. If it is a deeper brown or if it is crunchy then the crepe was left on to cook for too long and you should adjust the timing accordingly. Each crepe cooks very quickly.

Do not get discouraged if this doesn't work perfectly at first! Crepe makers take a little getting used to, but are quite simple once you are familiar with them. In fact, when I cook for large groups I use two crepe makers at the same time to go faster.

The recipe above makes enough for 2-3 people. Double the recipe for 4+ people.

Serve your crepes with sugar, fresh berries, and nutella. I prefer to put out cup up strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, sugar, and nutella so that everyone can make their crepes as they go. If you prefer, try using other fillers or even stuff them yourself before serving.

Servings: 3
Serving Size:
Nutrition: calories 428; carbs 51g; fat 17g; protein 17g; sodium 126mg

Buttermilk Pancakes... a Classic

Looking for a good brunch? Buttermilk pancakes are one of those classics of which people never tire. Don't have any buttermilk around? Well, go get some! While regular pancakes can certainly be made, and are quite good, the buttermilk adds a lightness and fluffiness that is truly unmistakeable. And, as you can see, this pile is a mix of regular buttermilk pancakes as well as chocolate chip ones. Syrup, anyone?

Pancakes are quite simple to make. While most recipes ask that you mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another, I find that it does not truly make much of a difference. If the batter will be sitting around, it certainly does, but if you mix just before cooking you should feel free to mix all at once!

If you have a specific pancake griddle (the flat stoves that are rather like indoor electric grills) then use that. If not, you should use a flat pancake pan on your stove. Grease it with some pam or a bit of vegetable oil and let it heat up on medium while you mix the batter.

Mix together in a bowl:
3 cups flour
3 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1.5 tsps baking soda
3/4 tsps salt
3 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/3 cup fake butter (melted)

If you want to make it a bit healthier you can use fake butter (I Can't Believe It's Not Butter) and egg beaters instead of eggs. Also feel free to do half of the substitutes and half of the original, if you prefer.

You can use a mixer, but I usually just mix the batter by hand. It is okay if it is not silky smooth as long as it is well mixed with no chunks.

Test the pan/griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water - if it sizzles it is ready. Once the pan is ready ladle some batter on to create whatever size pancakes you prefer.

If you want to make blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes add those at this time, sprinkling them onto the pancakes on the griddle and pushing them into the batter so they are roughly even with the top of the batter. Let the pancakes cook until tiny bubbles appear on the surface, then flip them over. Cook another few minutes and remove. Then throw on the next batch!

Enjoy with fresh berries and syrup. Tell me what you think!

Servings: 6
Serving Size:
Nutrition: Calories 372; Carbs 60g; Fat 8g; Protein 14g; Sodium 1249mg