Eggs Benedict with Blender Hollindaise

I can't tell you how many times I've seen a traditional Hollindaise replaced with a mix. And it makes me so very sad. Mixes, while easy, are filled with all sorts of additives and the results are often a far cry from what they claim to be in the title.
Hollindaise can be a tricky sauce, though. And a bit time consuming and sensitive.
Enter: the Blender Hollindaise. I came across this recipe on Epicurious and have modified it to suit my taste. I like mine lemony!
I have made this several times and I would have to think its pretty fail proof!
And takes only a few minutes to whip up.
Real Hollindaise uses clarified butter, and you can do that here if you like, but I've left the milk solids in because it is easier and still comes together perfectly.
Though not completely traditional, this recipe leaves no excuse for using a mix. it's just too easy!

Blender Hollindaise

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C. (2 1/2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
2 large Egg Yolks
2 T. fresh Lemon juice, more if you like it lemony!
Kosher salt, to taste
A pinch or two of White Pepper


Fill a blender with hot water and set aside. Melt butter in a bowl in the microwave, or in a saucepan on the stove. Set aside.

Drain the blender and dry well. Put egg yolks and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in blender; cover and blend to combine. Working quickly and with blender running, remove lid insert and slowly pour hot butter into blender in a thin stream of droplets. Blend until creamy sauce forms. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and with more lemon juice. Serve immediately.

Eggs Benedict

I feel silly even posting a recipe for this. So I'll make it simple:
Toast an English Muffin.
Top with a slice of hot ham.
Top ham with a poached egg.
Top egg with a spoonful or two of Hollindaise.
Eat.
Repeat. Well, unless you're full now. In which case you should just anticipate your next breakfast of Eggs Benedict.

 

Wild Orange and Vanilla Scones

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Homemade English Muffins

Homemade English Muffins...are amazing! Who knew, right? I've never even been that big of a fan of the store bought version, to be honest. But who wants to pay $4 for 6 tough peices of bread?
Enter: The homemade english muffin. Easy to make, and even easier to eat a whole batch of in under a day. I was practically squealing in delight as I took each perfectly round, soft muffin off the pan.
I promise, once you try these little beauties, you will never go back to the store bought version.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 C. Milk(I used Almond with much sucsess)

3 T. Butter

3 T. Honey

1 C. Warm Water

1 packet(1/4 oz.) Dry Yeast

2 T. Cornmeal

5 C. All Purpose Flour

1 t. Salt

 

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir lightly. Set aside for ten minutes or until it has lightly foamed.

Heat the milk, butter, and honey in a small saucepan until butter has melted. Let cool slightly. Gently combine the yeast mixture and milk mixture.

Sift 3 cups of flour into a large bowl. Stir in the milk and yeast. Sift the remaining 2 c. of flour and the salt into the bowl. Mix  until combined.

Flour your counter well and knead the dough for 3 minutes or until lightly elastic. Let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cover two cookie sheet with parchment and lightly sprinkle with cornmeal.

 

Lightly flour the counter and roll the dough out until it's 1 inch thick. Cut circles out of the dough and very gently place on the cookie sheets. Sprinkle the tops with cornmeal and cover with a dry, light cloth. Set the cookie sheets in a warm place for 45 minutes or until nearly doubled in size. I like to put my dough in the laundry room while the dryer runs because it lets out just enough heat.

 

Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan or skillet on medium low(no need to grease it).
Very carefuly place a muffin in your hand and lightly dust off some of the corn meal. Gentle handeling is the most important thing. Place the muffin into the pan and repeat until the pan is full but the muffins are not touching.  Keep the heat on low. Cook for 8 minutes per side or until browned well. Carefully flip and cook again.

Cool on a wire rack or dry towel.

I love these toasted with butter, but the would also be amazing as a base for eggs benedict.

 

Blueberry and Cream Scones

This is the perfect scone recipe. It can be changed up to make any flavor combo you like. Today I was feeling like a little Blueberries and cream. Maybe if I start cooking like Its warm outside the weather will oblige.
Well, I can dream at least.
Make these for breakfast, a snack, or serve along side some thick whipped cream for a dessert.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 T. Baking Powder
1/4 t. Salt
6 T. Sugar
6 T. Butter, cold
1 1/2 t. Vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
1 can blueberries, rinsed, strained, and dried.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the cream and vanilla into the well.
Mix everything together(I use my fingers) until just barely combined. Do not over mix or scones will be tough. Pour the blueberries over the dough and very gently toss until distributed.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Gently press the dough down(berries squish easily!) and lightly roll until the dough is an even 1" thick. Cut into circles or squares and place 1 1/2" apart on baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for about 10-12 minutes more. Remove before they are more than lightly browned.

Cool on a wire rack.

To make the cream icing, place about 1 c. of powdered sugar in a bowl. Pour about 2 T. of heavy whipping cream in the center and whisk with a fork until combined. Add more cream and stir until the desired consistency is archived. Drizzle over cooled scones.

Almond Poppyseed Scones

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Pumpkin Spice Scones

These scones are perfect when your in a fall mood. Just make sure not to overmix your flour and they will turn out soft, moist, and yummy. Add orange food coloring to the spice glaze for a bit of fun fall color.

Scones Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground ginger
6 T. cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 T. Heavy Cream
1 large egg

White Sugar Glaze Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. powdered sugar
2 T. milk

Spiced Glaze Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar
3 T. powdered sugar
2 T. milk 1/4 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Scones Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.

4. With a fork, pastry knife, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter remain. Set aside.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk pumpkin, half and half, and egg.

6. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.

7. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide).

8. Use a large knife to slice the dough into three equal portions. Cut diagonally to produce 6 triangular slices of dough.

9. Place on prepared baking sheet from step 2.

10. Bake for 14–16 minutes until scones turn light brown.

11. Place on wire rack to cool.

Sugar Glaze Directions:

1. Mix the powdered sugar and 2 Tablespoon milk together until smooth.

2. Brush glaze over the top of each cooled scone.

Spiced Glaze Directions:

1. As sugar glaze firms, combine the spiced icing ingredients.

2. Use whisk to drizzle over each scone and allow to dry before serving.

Makes 6 pumpkin scones.

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast with Orange Butter

This is what we had for breakfast for Father's Day this year. I must say the orange butter makes a nice alternative to the traditional maple syrup. For added sweetness, I dust each piece of french toast with powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

• 3 Oranges, juiced
• 2/3 stick of Butter, softened
  
• 12 slices Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• 4 Eggs
• 3/4 c. Milk
• 1/2 t. Vanilla
• Butter, for cooking
  
• Powdered Sugar for dusting

For the Orange Butter: (can be made the day before)
Place the freshly squeezed orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the juice simmer and reduce until there is only about 2-3 tablespoons of syrup left in the pan. Pour the syrup in to a small bowl and let cool.
When the syrup is cool, place the softened butter in the bowl and mix it in with the syrup using the back of a spoon. Blend well and chill.

For the French Toast:
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Set aside.
Heat a large frying pan to medium-high. Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan. Once melted, dip one slice of bread quickly on each side in the egg mixture and place in the pan. Cook on both sides until crisp and lightly browned. Repeat with remaining bread.

To serve:
Spread each slice with orange butter and dust with powdered sugar. Serve in stacks of 2-3 and top each stack of french toast with a dollop of orange butter.

Apple Crisp Oatmeal

I love apple crisp as a dessert, and thought it would be amazing as a breakfast dish. So, to get away with it, I added sweetened oatmeal to the bottom of the dish to make it more 'breakfast like'. That way you start with a crispy, crumbly top, soft sweet apples in the middle, and brown sugar oatmeal on the bottom. Top with unsweetened whipped cream(I added vanilla beans to mine) to finish. *This crisp has a LOT of topping! So, if you prefer more apples and less crisp, simply cut the crumble ingredients in half.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. Oats, old fashioned
  
• 3 T. Brown sugar
• 2 T. Butter, cut into 6 pieces
  
• 4 small or 3 large Honeycrisp apples(or other variety), peeled, cored, and sliced
• 3 T. Sugar
• 1 c. Oats, old fashioned
• 1/2 c. Flour
• 1/2 t. Nutmeg
• 3/4 t. Cinnamon
• 4 oz. Butter, cubed(cold)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place 1 c. oats in a 8x8 square or round dish. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the oats and top with butter pieces.
Toss the sliced apples with the white sugar. Place the apples on top of the oat, sugar and butter layers, patting down as you go.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 c. oats, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cut the butter to the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Place the crumble on top of the apples, covering the entire surface.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crumble is browned on top.
Serve hot with whipped cream!

Cream Cheese Danishes

These danishes make the best breakfast. I mean, who doesn't want to eat a flaky pastry filled with sweetened cream cheese in the morning? And you will love them because they are SO easy to make. Here are a few tips to help you along:

1. Set your frozen puff pastry in the fridge to thaw overnight. It will be thawed by morning time and easy to use. Puff pastry is sticky and difficult to work with when defrosted in the microwave.
2. Set your cream cheese on the counter to soften overnight. It will not go bad, I promise ;) This was a trick I learned in cooking school where large amounts of soft cream cheese were often needed. The softer your cream cheese, the smoother it will be when blended with the other ingredients and the better it will melt in your pastry.
   

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/3 c. Sugar
• 3/4 t. Lemon Juice
• 3/4 t. Vanilla Extract
• 1 T. Sour Cream
• 1 Egg
• 1 T. Milk

Makes 6 servings.

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and sour cream in a mixing bowl. Cream the mixture until smooth. Set aside.
2. Unfold the puff pastry and lay it on a floured cutting board. Lightly roll out the pastry until it looks more like a rectangle that a square. Roll the pastry so that the two lines left from the folds are elongated and running vertically. These lines are important for the next step.
3. Your pastry should have three even sections running vertically. The center section is where you will place the cream cheese mixture. With the other two sections, use a sharp paring knife make 1/2" slices going horizontally down the pastry.
4. Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the middle section of pastry and evenly spread it out. It should look like you have fringe running down each side of the cream cheese. Take each strip of pastry and fold it across the top of the cream cheese to the other side of the pastry, alternating sides until you reach the bottom. Secure the last strips of pastry underneath the pastry and transfer it to a greased cookie sheet.
5. In a small bowl, beat the egg and milk until blended. Brush it onto the top of the pastry using a basting brush.
   
6. Bake your pastry for 20-25 minutes, moving to the very top rack for the last 5 minutes of cooking to help the top achieve a nice brown color. Remove, cook slightly and slice into 6 pieces.