Cooking On the Side » Breakfast/Brunch

Petit Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate-Filled Croissants)

Kathy Strahs — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:43:53 +0000

Bookmark this recipe for your next brunch potluck – this recipe for Petit Pain au Chocolat couldn’t be easier and the results will score you huge points among your chocolate loving friends (at least it did with me). For this simplified version, you just wrap puff pastry around some good chocolate, brush on some egg wash to give it a nice golden color and bake.

It’s a culinary goal of mine to learn to make my own puff pastry, but until then I’m very glad there are such good-quality pre-made puff pastry options out there. After using Pepperidge Farm’s puff pastry for years with great results, I was intrigued to try out a new all-butter variety from La Boulange. They’re a San Francisco-based bakery that’s recently launched their product at Whole Foods. Bakers all have their opinion about going all-butter, all-shortening or a combination of both when it comes to pastry. For me the jury is still out, but I definitely enjoyed working with this puff pastry…and I loved these easy chocolate-filled croissants.

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Check Out Some of My Most Popular Posts:

~ My most popular post to date was the one in which I compared three different brands of self-rising flours to see which produced the best biscuit. Find out which flour won!

~ King Arthur Flour calls these The Best Ever Fudge Brownies and I agree.

~ My Ice Cream Cookie Pie was over-the-top scrumptious.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

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Asparagus Quiche

Kathy Strahs — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:51:20 +0000

Can someone please explain tart pans to me? I finally bought one over the weekend – the last remaining holdout in my baking arsenal – and, wow, was it a pain to use! Like literally – I ended up with no fewer than ten superficial quarter-inch cuts all over my hands following 20 minutes of scrubbing away all of the baked-on pastry from the innumerable crevices of the fluted edges (desperately avoiding Purell and other stinging agents right now).

Sorry for that visual, but ouch!!

The other thing that happened – major leakage from the removable pan bottom. Soon after my quiche went into the oven the savory aromas began to swirl around the kitchen. Then things turned a little less savory. Kinda burnt, actually. Sure enough, there was a puffy yellow pool of custard on the oven floor, with more oozing its way down from the base of the pan. At least I’d had the foresight to slip a baking sheet under the pan so the mess wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been. But seriously…is there some kind of trick to using these things? Your advice will be much appreciated!

On the bright side…the Asparagus Quiche with which I debuted this treacherous new tart pan did ultimately come out wonderfully. The recipe comes from a package of Challenge Butter. If you recall their Orange Mango Nut Bread with Ginger Honey Butter, Gingerbread Biscotti with Apricots or Pumpkin Spice Cake you know these guys know their way around butter. Obviously, the chance to showcase the beautiful fresh springtime asparagus we’re starting to see in the markets is the main reason to bake this quiche. But I’ll bet you’ll also fall in love with the sweet onions that are sautéed in curry butter – mmm! If I can just get the hang of this tart pan, I’d love to make this quiche again a few more time before spring is up!

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Blueberry Streusel Muffins…and a White Lily Cuisinart Baking Giveaway!

Kathy Strahs — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 05:28:42 +0000

Some people dedicate space in their house for special bottles of wine – I have the special White Lily section of my pantry . It’s where I keep “the good stuff”. You Southerners who can find this super-light flour in any local grocery store are so lucky! I have to pay a pretty big premium to have it shipped to California, but for the lightest cakes, muffins and biscuits it’s worth it.

Today’s Blueberry Streusel Muffins recipe marks the fifth White Lily recipe I’ve featured on this blog – a record! Technically, it’s from the White Lily website and not the actual flour package itself (I’ve actually already made all of their on-the-package recipes!). What I love most about this recipe is it’s simplicity. They are simple, straightforward, fluffy homemade blueberry muffins you can bake on a weekday morning in about 30 minutes. What a treat! One thing to note: the streusel topping is more of a light, sugary crust than a thick crumb layer.

We’ve got a great baking giveaway today! White Lily would like to send one lucky Cooking On the Side reader their Baking Essentials Kit, which includes a Cuisinart 7-Speed Electric Hand Mixer, one bag each of White Lily Self-Rising and All-Purpose flour, a variety of baking tools, recipe pamphlets and a grocery tote. Read on for the Blueberry Streusel Muffins recipe and for details on how to enter the giveaway! [THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED]

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Orange Mango Nut Bread with Ginger Honey Butter

Kathy Strahs — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:34:32 +0000

I first discovered that we had a fruit-bearing tree in our yard the day I pulled up to my driveway to find a woman positioned on my front lawn, bracing a ladder. A man teetered on the top rung in an effort to reach small, red, not-quite-ripe-looking plums from the upper branches. “Can I help you with something?” was the best I could come up with at the time, I was so dumbfounded by the situation. The woman just smiled and commented, “There are lots up near the top!” I parked my car and just let them continue – I sure as heck wasn’t going to climb the tree to retrieve anything myself. Eventually the man came down from the ladder (as I was mentally reviewing our insurance policy), offered me some of the plums (so kind of him, right?) and they went off on their merry way.

I remembered this odd encounter last week on a much-needed day spa trip as I noticed a maintenance worker reach up and snip a ripe orange from a tree. We’ve been eating citrus like mad in our house for the past month, but the idea of plucking one straight from the tree just seemed so…lovely.

I’m nowhere near as brazen as the folks on my front lawn so I refrained from picking the oranges at the spa, but I did buy a big bag of clementines the next time I did my grocery shopping. I parlayed several of them into this incredible Orange Mango Nut Bread, the recipe for which I found inside a Challenge butter package. Like all the butter company recipes I’ve previously shared on this blog, there’s definitely some butter involved. It’s super-moist and citrusy and the little chunks of dried mango and pecans give it a really nice texture. You really don’t need the Ginger Honey Butter, but if you decide to spread some on you’ll appreciate the sweet-spiciness the ginger brings to the mix.

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Almond Brickle Coffee Cake…and a Virtual Holiday Potluck Brunch

Kathy Strahs — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:16:43 +0000

Because this recipe is designated as coffee cake I went ahead and served it in the morning. But let’s call this what it is – this is cake cake. What you can’t see from the photo of this Almond Brickle Coffee Cake is that another layer of toasted almonds and toffee bits runs down the middle of it. A good amount of butter – no surprise as the recipe comes from a butter package – keeps it extra moist. The one element of restraint comes with the glaze. It’s intentionally just a scant drizzle because that’s all it needs. Dessert for breakfast is what this is.

Some blogging friends and I are having a Virtual Holiday Brunch Potluck today. Each of us is sharing a dish on our blogs: mains, sides, desserts and a party favor. Here is the lineup:

The Drink
Godiva Mudslide Minitini – Kristen from Dine & Dish

Main Dishes
Gingerbread French Toast – Diane from Created by Diane
Asian Fusion Omelette/Frittata – Jeanette from Jeanette’s Healthy Living
Macaroni & Cheese – Naomi from Bakers Royale

Side Dishes
Potato Casserole – Julie from The Little Kitchen
Hazelnut Roasted Brussel Sprouts – Carolyn from All Day I Dream About Food

Dessert
Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle with Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce – Sommer from A Spicy Perspective
Almond Brickle Coffee Cake – by yours truly
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream – Cheryl from TidyMom

Party Favor/Hostess Gift
Dark Chocolate Bark with Ginger, Pumpkin Seeds and Apricots – Sylvie from Gourmande in the Kitchen

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Overnight Belgian Waffles + a Waffle Skillet Giveaway!

Kathy Strahs — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:45:03 +0000

Not a week after receiving a sample tub of Land O Lakes cinnamon sugar butter, I went to the refrigerator to see if there was enough left for the caramelized cinnamon apples I wanted to make with it.

Nope. Not even close.

My husband and our two kids, breakfast by breakfast, had made their way through the whole tub that fast. They are no strangers to cinnamon sugar butter – it makes its way into their breakfast rotation quite often. They are big fans. Mike has his own little shaker of cinnamon sugar amidst the avalanche of bottles in my spice drawer, which he’s been mixing and refilling for some time. It’s been the height of convenience for him to have it already mixed into a spreadable butter. Or so I’m assuming, based on the evidence (or lack thereof).

While the family has been spreading cinnamon sugar butter on their morning toast, I opted to try cooking with it. Read on for today’s Overnight Belgian Waffles with Caramelized Cinnamon Apples recipe and a chance to win a Waffle Skillet prize pack from Land O Lakes.

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Blueberry Rice Muffins

Kathy Strahs — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:23:30 +0000

I noticed three interesting phenomena as I made this rice flour recipe for blueberry muffins for the first time:

Rice flour expaaaaands…just like how your stomach feels full after eating rice. I scooped some of the batter into my muffin pan, turned away for a minute, and by the time I came back to the pan the batter had already risen about half an inch up to the rims of the wells. While still on the counter!
The kitchen smells like rice while baking. I know this one doesn’t sound like much of an “aha” but it didn’t really occur to me that there would be any aromatic differences versus my regular wheat flour muffins. That’s mainly because of notable phenomenon #3…(...)
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Check Out Some of My Most Popular Posts:

~ My most popular post to date was the one in which I compared three different brands of self-rising flours to see which produced the best biscuit. Find out which flour won!

~ King Arthur Flour calls these The Best Ever Fudge Brownies and I agree.

~ My Ice Cream Cookie Pie was over-the-top scrumptious.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

Pinterest Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/blueberry-rice-muffins/

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Friendship Bread ~ Novel Review & Giveaway!

Kathy Strahs — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:59:43 +0000

For the past month or so I’ve been stirring, mashing and feeding a bread starter every day. It’s a bit of a commitment to maintain and it looks and smells a little gnarly on the counter along the way…all sour, bubbly and pasty. But after a while my efforts are rewarded with the opportunity to turn it into something delicious.

As author Darien Gee puts forth in her new novel, Friendship Bread, the process of nurturing this starter is analogous to cultivating our often-sticky interpersonal relationships. The book has been garnering strongly positive reviews on Amazon and I’m excited to share one more from my newly-appointed official book reviewer – my mom, Nancy!

Read on for my mom’s thoughts on the novel Friendship Bread and details for entering the book GIVEAWAY!

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The Results Are In: Which Flour Made the Best Biscuits?

Kathy Strahs — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:14:57 +0000

A number of you expressed an interest in seeing a “biscuit bakeoff” after last week’s Southern-Style Biscuits recipe from the back of the White Lily self-rising flour package. Does White Lily flour really make a better biscuit, as so many southern bakers claim? How do biscuits made with White Lily measure up to those made with other flours? Well, I was pretty intrigued too so I set out this weekend to find some answers.

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Continue reading "The Results Are In: Which Flour Made the Best Biscuits?" >>

Check Out Some of My Most Popular Posts:

~ My most popular post to date was the one in which I compared three different brands of self-rising flours to see which produced the best biscuit. Find out which flour won!

~ King Arthur Flour calls these The Best Ever Fudge Brownies and I agree.

~ My Ice Cream Cookie Pie was over-the-top scrumptious.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

Pinterest Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/the-results-are-in-which-flour-made-the-best-biscuits/

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Southern-Style Biscuits

Kathy Strahs — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:19:41 +0000

When our plates arrived out at breakfast a few weeks ago, our eyes shifted immediately to the enormous biscuits. Lori (RecipeGirl) and I could not have been more eager to break ours open, explore the flaky layers and dollop on some mango preserves. Amanda (Kevin & Amanda), the Alabama girl that she is, took a more measured – yet equally pleased – approach to the biscuits. Coming from the South, biscuits are a standard for her. For Californians like Lori and I they’re a little more…exotic?

Recently I’ve been hearing southern bakers rave about the flour for making the flakiest, most tender biscuits called White Lily. Of course, it’s only sold in the South and parts of the Midwest, but I did find it for sale online on the Smucker’s website. On a whim I decided to give it a try. With shipping, I probably paid 3x what the flour costs at any Publix in Atlanta but I just had to see what all the fuss was about. And, you know, they have a biscuit recipe right there on the self-rising flour package.

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Continue reading "Southern-Style Biscuits" >>

Check Out Some of My Most Popular Posts:

~ My most popular post to date was the one in which I compared three different brands of self-rising flours to see which produced the best biscuit. Find out which flour won!

~ King Arthur Flour calls these The Best Ever Fudge Brownies and I agree.

~ My Ice Cream Cookie Pie was over-the-top scrumptious.

About Cooking On the Side...

It’s the recipe collection I didn’t even realize I had – the one derived from the side of a bag of fresh vegetables, a box of sugar, a jar of mayonnaise. Cooking On the Side – as in on the side of food packaging – is all about “revealing” these on-the-package recipes, with photos of how they actually turn out, cooking notes and more descriptive directions than package space usually allows for. -- Kathy

Pinterest Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/southern-style-biscuits/

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