Cooking On the Side » Breakfast/Brunch

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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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

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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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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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

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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© 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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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

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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© 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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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

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

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

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Heart-Shaped Baked Chocolate Doughnuts (+Seattle’s Best Coffee Giveaway!)

Kathy Strahs — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:46:05 +0000

This has to be the best bad idea I’ve had in a while: buying a doughnut pan.

I resisted and resisted for as long as I could, knowing that once I had one of these things in my house I’d have no choice but to bake doughnuts as often as I wanted (could I handle this?). But then as I was contemplating ideas for Valentine’s Day treats – especially those that pair well with coffee (see the Seattle’s Best Coffee Giveaway at the end of today’s post! 5 winners!) – the thought of heart-shaped doughnuts entered my head. End of story: within 45 seconds, I’d reached for my phone, pulled up the Amazon app, found a Wilton heart-shaped doughnut pan for $10 and pressed the button for one-click ordering. And it was done.

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

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

Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/heart-shaped-baked-chocolate-doughnuts-seattles-best-coffee-giveaway/

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Holiday Q&A with Lucinda Scala Quinn + Panettone French Toast

Kathy Strahs — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 22:02:51 +0000

Holiday entertaining tips and traditions were the topics of a lovely conversation I had last week with Lucinda Scala Quinn, Executive Director of Food & Entertaining at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, cookbook author and host of Hallmark Channel’s Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn. Whether you’re attending a holiday party this week and need ideas for the perfect hostess gift or you’re looking for a homey comfort dish to serve on Christmas morning our interview will give you some great options. A spokesperson for Bauducco Panettone, Lucinda also shared some tasty ways to enjoy the sweet, Italian specialty cake during the holidays. You’ll find a great recipe for Panettone French Toast at the end of this post.

* * * * *

Lucinda Scala Quinn

Cooking On the Side: What are you and your family planning to do for the holidays this year?

Lucinda Scala Quinn: Normally, we stay in New York. We love New York, it’s very festive. We have our traditions for Christmas Eve: we do the Italian side of the food chain on Friday night and then we do the English side on Saturday. So I make a big Italian feast for Christmas Eve and then for Christmas Day we have a six-rib standing rib roast. It’s kind of a present in and of itself. Only once a year would I buy something like that. It’s actually quite easy to cook if you handle it properly. And then it gives off all those drippings and I make individual Yorkshire puddings. I can’t even make enough of them anymore. It’s one of those things about building traditions – if I tried to stop doing that I would have a riot on my hands. I didn’t grow up with that but I just started doing it myself and then my family just loved it.

COTS: I wanted to ask you about when you attend gatherings. What do you typically like to bring as a hostess gift when you’re invited to somebody’s house around the holidays?

LSQ: I always think about bringing something that’s not going to complicate the hostess’ life. Around this time of year I do the simplest, simplest thing. I buy vodka and a bunch of Meyer lemons and I just peel off the peel and try to do it in a nice circular sort of spiral. Then I just put the lemon peel in the vodka, buy a nice-shaped bottle, take off the commercial label, clean up the bottle and put on a bow. So you’ve got the clear [bottle] with the beautiful lemon peel. Even if it only sits one day and they want to use it it’s great. If it’s two months [later] it’s great. It looks like it’s a gift, it isn’t just meant to be used that night.

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

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

Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2010. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/holiday-qa-with-lucinda-scala-quinn-panettone-french-toast/

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Multigrain Pancakes

Kathy Strahs — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:01:15 +0000

A few weeks ago, after dropping off our little kids at preschool, a group of friends and I convened at a long reserved table at a quaint local breakfast spot. The occasion: a baby shower for our friend Chelsea, who is expecting her fourth and fifth!

People often ask me whether we’re looking to grow our family beyond the adorable duo we’ve already got. My usual response is that we’re not anticipating any further additions, but I guess I’ll never say never. I’m over-the-moon excited for Chelsea and the twin baby girls on the way. She’s a fabulous mom (with an equally fabulous parenting blog, Breezy Mama) and she has a terrific, supportive husband. Even though my heart skipped a beat when I peered into her new minivan (“I caved”) and saw where all five car seats and boosters would be positioned, there’s still that part of me that regards a house full of children as highly appealing. Maybe I’ll just be content to visit hers.

Our waiter at that lovely little breakfast spot where we had the shower recommended the multigrain pancakes. Apparently they had won awards. I went with his suggestion and wow, I didn’t realize how tasty they would be. I subsequently came across this multigrain pancakes recipe inside the Silver Palate Oatmeal box (that same one where I found the Maple Cinnamon Granola recipe, in fact). The name makes them sound like they’d be heavy or dense, but they’re actually really fluffy with lots of great texture from the grains and pecans. Enjoy!

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It's Citrus Season!

~ Lemon Spaghetti, tossed in a light sauce of lemon, olive oil, parmigiano-reggiano and basil is absolutely as fresh-tasting as it sounds.

~ This Meyer Lemon Whipping Cream Pound Cake is the lightest, most velvety, lemony pound cake I’ve ever tasted.

~ For a comforting, citrus-kissed, one-pot chicken and rice dish give this Honey Lemon Chicken recipe a try.

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

Join us on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
© Cooking On the Side, 2010. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/multigrain-pancakes/

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