Tag Archives: eggs

Quatre Quarts Gateau

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My mother, who just turned 91, has a scale that I used to love playing with as a child. I knew it wasn’t a toy, but I just liked weighing random items and gradually adding weights until both plates balanced perfectly. I was always nerdy.

Weighing ingredients makes so much more sense than measuring to me. I’d rather weight 4 ounces of chopped nuts, than use a measuring cup, especially with a critical ingredient.

In any case, the reason I mention this ancient scale (sorry Mom!) is because this cake recipe is based on one weight alone – the weight of eggs. There are four ingredients in this cake – eggs, butter, sugar, and flour, and the weight is the same for all four ingredients. The recipe is called Quatre Quarts, meaning four quarters.

These days, digital scales make weighing ingredients a breeze. So I’m making this cake using my small kitchen scale, just like in the “old” days! It brought back wonderful memories of my mother making the cake over the years.

Quatre Quarts Gateau

4 eggs
Unsalted Butter
Sugar
Flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 F.   Butter and flour a deep 8 inch loaf pan. 

Weigh the eggs in a small bowl after you’ve removed the weight of the bowl. My eggs weighed 192 grams, or about 6.7 ounces.


Then weigh out the 192 grams of butter, sugar and flour.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan or microwave (carefully).   When it begins to melt, remove it from the heat and let it cool. 

Using an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes in a medium mixing bowl.

Add the flour and mix just until it’s incorporated. I also added some vanilla powder.

Then add the cooled butter. Using a rubber spatula, make sure the batter is smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 300 degrees F and the timer to 45 minutes.

Turn off the oven completely and set a timer for 10 minutes.

The cake should be cooked through the middle; I always use a cake tester to make sure. But if you see a puddle of soft cake in the middle, don’t even bother opening your oven to test the cake. It needs more time.

There should be some slight browning around the edges, but not much. Remove the cake from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Then remove the cake from the loaf pan and let it cool on a rack.

You can tell the cake texture is much like a pound cake. If you prefer a lighter texture, separate the eggs and after the egg yolks have been well blended with the sugar and butter and after the flour is combined, fold in beaten egg whites.

Note: There are other options for flavoring other than vanilla extract or powder or even scraped vanilla beans. You can use an extract like sweet orange oil or lemon zest. But I wouldn’t add a liqueur or anything volume of something liquid that will offset the ratio of the ingredients.

This cake is very delicate in flavor. I’ve never toasted it but I bet that would be good, with some added butter of course.

It’s perfect for an afternoon tea-time snack, a morning treat with coffee, or even an sweet evening nibble with a glass of sherry.

Spicy Scrambled Eggs

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In spite of owning Plenty, a wonderful Yotam Ottolenghi cookbook, I just had to purchase Plenty More, published in 2014. And I’m certainly glad I did.

For the blog, I’ve made zucchini Baba Ghanoush, and I’m especially intrigued by a membrillo and Stilton quiche, made with butternut squash, so that will be next.

But one recipe I bookmarked on the first read-through is Spicy Scrambled Eggs. Nothing exceptional except, well, it is. There are spices, herbs, eggs, tomatoes, a chile pepper and did I mention spices?!!


From Ottolenghi: Many of my brunch dishes were devised BC (before children), so food-meets-the-need-to-soothe was often in mind when cooking on a Sunday morning. A few dishes have remained part of the weekend breakfast repertoire since we started turning in early on a Saturday night. This is one of them.

Spicy Scrambled Eggs
Serves 4

2 tablespoons sunflower oil
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 small onion, finely diced
1 1/4″ piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped
1 medium red chile, seeded, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
4 medium tomatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4″ dice
8 eggs, beaten
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Urfa chile flakes

Put a large, preferably nonstick sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil, cumin, caraway, onion, ginger, and chile. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft.


Add the ground spices, tomato paste, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and for and stir for 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 8 to 10 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.


Add the eggs, turn down the heat to medium-low, and continuously, but very gently, scrape the base of the pan with a wooden spatula.

You want to end up with large, curd-like folds and you want the eggs to be soft and very moist.

Cook the mixture for a total of about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle with the green onions, cilantro, and chile flakes.

Serve at once.


Enjoy!

Croissants Breakfast Boats

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I happen to love Instagram, and I follow Cheesy, which probably isn’t surprising to those who know me well. Cheesy posts just that – photos of cheesiness!

And, one day I saw these – hollowed out croissants, baked with eggs, cheese, and bacon! At least I’m assuming that’s how they were prepared. I searched online and saw many similar recipes, but never found this photo.

Aren’t these boats beautiful? During the holidays, I typically have croissants on hand and save them for various purposes. To use as is, obviously, or for baked French toast or bread pudding. The Williams-Sonoma croissants are really nice to have on hand; you can bake one or a dozen at a time.

So here’s my version of croissants breakfast boats, and if anyone knows to whom to give credit for the photo of his/her boats, I’d appreciate it!

Croissants Breakfast Boats

4 baked croissants
1 small purple onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
6 eggs at room temperature
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Prepared diced bacon
A few green onions, sliced
Feta cheese, crumbled
Slices of black olives (optional)
Slices of sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
Coarsely ground black pepper (optional)
Cayenne pepper flakes (optional)

Turn each croissant on its side and slice a “hat” off of the top. Discard the hats, then using your fingers, pick out the dough until you have a nice boat. Try not to make any holes!


Place the prepped croissants on a jelly roll pan and preheat the oven to a roast setting.

Place the onion and red bell pepper on another jelly roll pan, drizzle with oil, and generously add salt and pepper.

Roast the veggies in the oven until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Remove the veggies from the oven and let them cool. Change the oven temperature to 350 degrees.


Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and cream with the salt and white pepper.

When you’re ready to bake the croissants boats, stir about 3/4 of the roasted veggies into the eggs and stir. Have all of the goodies prepped and ready.

Gently, using a ladle, pour the mixture into the croissants. The only reason I spilled was that I was pouring with my left hand so I could take a photo with my right!


Place in the oven and bake just until the eggs are firm, about 18 minutes; you don’t want rubbery eggs.

To serve, sprinkle with bacon, feta cheese, and chopped green onion, plus the leftover veggie mixture. Optionally, include the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, black pepper and cayenne pepper flakes. Or, keep them plain and offer the goodies on the side.

Instead of bacon you could use good ham or Prosciutto or sausage.

The options are endless for these breakfast boats!

The best part was finding out that I could pick up the breakfast boats and eat them like a sandwich!

But the prettiest these are is when you can see the beautiful yellow egg filling, so next time I might stir more of the goodies into the whisked eggs, and not worry about “toppings.”


And there will be a next time!

Pipérade

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My mother could cook just about anything. I never realized she was so talented until I was older, of course. And it wasn’t always about what she learned from cookbooks, there were also the recipes she just knew instinctively. It’s sort of like why French women are all talented cooks. Why is that?!!

For example, I remember once as a kid asking my mother if she’d make me peach dumplings. She made them, no recipe, and they were incredible. I’d have to look up a recipe for peach dumplings, and I’ve been cooking for 40+ years.

Thirty-five years ago my husband and I took my mother out to a French restaurant when she was visiting us in Houston, Texas. It didn’t go so well, mostly because of the flying cockroach. She ordered Oeufs à la Neige for dessert and disliked it. “I’ll make it for you and you’ll see what it’s supposed to taste like.”

The next day at our house, she made Oeufs à la Neige without a recipe, and it was better than the restaurant’s. When I made it for this blog, I used a recipe.

The other day I was thinking about breakfasts growing up. Let me just say that there was no cold cereal at my house. Maybe when I was 11 I discovered my friends ate Cocoa Krispies and Cocoa Puffs at their houses, and I was a bit jealous. But I also knew that my breakfasts were wonderful. Even a humble bowl of oatmeal was served with butter and cream.

My mother was a whiz at eggs. She had chickens, so we had beautiful eggs – blue, green, beige, and white eggs. Even duck eggs.

Occasionally my mother would make an omelet-like pipérade. I grew up never knowing it was a real recipe, but it is, originating from the Basque corner of France (thanks, Google.) Mom was from the Northeastern corner of France, so she must have discovered this recipe in a cookbook along the way.

What makes this egg dish somewhat different from your basic omelet choices are the vegetables and ham, and no cheese. Here I will try to duplicate her recipe.

Piperade

6 eggs, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
2 ounces butter
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 ripe Roma-style tomatoes, chopped, seeded, or equivalent
1/2 teaspoon piment d’Espelette
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces Prosciutto, chiffonaded
Chopped parsley
Chopped basil

Beat the eggs and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Heat the butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the green pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes. It should be soft and not browned.

Stir in the shallots and garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes, preventing any browning.

Add the tomatoes, adjust the heat if necessary, and cook off any liquid in the pan.

Add the piment and stir into the tomato mixture. Set the pan aside.

In a separate skillet, I used my cast-iron skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat, and when hot, gently “sear” the ham. Remove from the skillet onto paper towels.

Reheat the same skillet over medium-low heat; you shouldn’t have to add more oil. Add the eggs, and gently move the eggs around and away from the sides with a spatula as if you’re making scrambled eggs.

Remove from the heat when the eggs are still soft, and spread the tomato mixture over the top. Then add the ham, parsley, and basil.

It was really tempting to not also serve crème fraiche with the pipérade.

But I added more piment and black pepper.

In reality there’s nothing exceptional about these eggs, but the dish is fabulous for breakfast, lunch, or brunch.

Just look at these soft eggs and all of the lovely vegetables and herbs.

White Sauce

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A white sauce is just that – a sauce that’s white. It’s white because it’s made with milk, 1/2 & 1/2, or cream.

It was years before I dared make a white sauce; I assumed it was difficult for some reason. I remember calling up my mother and asking her how to make one, but she didn’t have an immediate answer, because cooking came so naturally to her. She simply added a little of this, and a little of that while cooking, and only followed recipes when making something completely new.

But she made a white sauce, just for me, and sent me the recipe. Trust me, after making a white sauce one time, you’ll never need a recipe again.

White Sauce, or Bechamel

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups of 1/2 & 1/2, or cream
(this recipe can be doubled)

Have all of your ingredients ready; the sauce will not take long. All you need is a pot and whisk.

I like to use Wondra instead of regular white flour for sauces and gravies.

Place the butter in the pot and heat over medium heat. Add the flour and immediately whisk it into the butter until smooth. This is called a roux. Some people make a roux that is almost like a paste, but I prefer mine slightly thinner.

Let the mixture bubble and cook for about 30 seconds, whisking often. The cooking supposedly keeps the sauce from having a “floury” taste, but I’ve never tested this theory.

With the whisk in one hand, pour in the milk with the other and begin gently whisking. Don’t add the milk gradually; pour it all in.

If the milk/cream is warm, the sauce will form sooner, but cold milk/cream works just as well.

Hold the pot now with one hand and gently whisk; you will notice the mixture thickening. You can even remove the pot from the stove if you think the sauce is cooking too fast.

A few bubbles might form, but don’t let the sauce boil. It’s better to take a little more time to whisk the sauce than allow it to burn and stick to the pot.

Once the sauce has thickened, remove the pot from the stove. You have just made a white sauce.

Now for the fun part. Think of what you can add to your white sauce to make it, well, different! What about adding fresh herbs, or pesto, or tomato paste, or paprika cream, or curry powder!

Today I’m being indulgent and treating myself to a breakfast of goddesses – poached eggs with a white sauce.


A white sauce will work with any milk substitute as well, from soymilk to coconut milk, to hemp milk, to goat milk. However, the color of the sauce will change with the milk color.

It will turn into a cheesy white sauce if you add cheddar, fontina, or Parmesan to it. Any cheese works.

Besides salt and pepper, you can also add white pepper, dried herbs, nutmeg, cayenne, or just about anything you like.

Lastly, a browned butter white sauce is really flavorful, but keep in mind that the white sauce color will be brownish.

For a more scientific approach to making a white sauce, here is a link to Stefan’s white sauce on his blog, Stefan Gourmet.

Spinach Pie

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It was the photo that caught my attention on the Epicurious website. I was searching for something, and this distracted me. Spinach pie. A simple, beautiful Irish recipe.

Savory tarts, pies, and quiches are some of my favorite things to serve for lunch, especially for company. They’re not much work, as long as a pie crust doesn’t worry you. Plus, they look so much more special than, say, a casserole.

On this blog there’s a leek and cilantro pesto tart, a recipe by Eugenia Bone, which is more quiche-like, marbled with a cilantro pesto.

I also have a tomato tart on the blog, a recipe by Guliano Bugliali. It’s like a cross between a quiche and a rich tomato soup.

There are just so many ways to create something savory in a crust.

Then I read the recipe through, and there’s no crust in this recipe! So there are no excuses not to make this!

Here is the recipe from Epicurious.com:

Spinach Pie
from Irish Country Cooking

1 lb. 4 ounces spinach, washed
1 onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
10 ounces cottage cheese
10 ounces Parmesan, freshly grated
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Steam the spinach, drain well, and roughly chop it once it cools down.

In a large bowl, mix the cooked spinach with the onion, beaten eggs, and both types of cheese. Beat well and season with pepper and nutmeg.

Transfer the mixture to one large pie dish, (9″) or individual dishes if using. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

And that’s it!

I served the pie with a simple salted tomato salad, so as to let the pie filling shine.

If I had been thinking, I might have puréed the spinach mixture so that it was more green than mottled with the cottage cheese.

Or, maybe checked with Conor Bofin, from the blog, “One Man’s Meat,” to see if Irish cottage cheese is more like a farmers cheese or even ricotta cheese.

Nonetheless, the taste was lovely.

And I copied the purple flower idea since my borage flowers were blooming!

Reprinted with permission from Irish Country Cooking: More than 100 Recipes for Today’s Table by The Irish Countrywomen’s Association. © 2012 Irish Countrywomen’s Trust. This Sterling Epicure Edition published in 2014.

Salmon, Bacon and Potato Hash

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When I hot-smoked salmon while back to make the wonderful layered salmon spread, I cooked 2 extra salmon steaks. To me, leftover salmon is so handy.

You can put it in scrambled eggs, in salads, on pizzas, in soups, crêpes, rice, make burgers, and so much more.

Since I was about to have overnight company, my leftover salmon made me think of potato hash with bacon and eggs for a breakfast offering. Hash isn’t terribly pretty, and I don’t even like the word “hash,” but boy, is it good made with smoked salmon and bacon.

Options for eggs include serving poached or fried eggs with the hash, or cooking the eggs inside the hash, like you would with shakshuka. It all works, and it’s all good!
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This hash is really yummy with leftover lox or grilled salmon as well.

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Potato Hash with Bacon and Smoked Salmon
Serves 2

2 salmon steaks, hot-smoked or grilled
2 Russet potatoes
4 slices bacon, diced
2 shallots, finely chopped
Salt
Pepper
2-4 Eggs
Chopped green onions, chives, or parsley

Remove the skin from the salmon and break it in to small pieces; set aside at room temperature.
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Scrub the potatoes. This is the brush I use; I prefer unpeeled potatoes.
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Coarsely grate them and place on paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
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In a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, begin to cook the bacon. Add a little olive oil if the bacon isn’t extremely fatty. After a few minutes, add the shallots.
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When the bacon and shallots have mostly cooked, add the potatoes. Lift them gently with a non-stick spatula to gently mix the potatoes with the bacon and shallots. Season well with salt and pepper.
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Raise the heat to brown the bottom of the grated potatoes. Cook them for at least 5 minutes.

Using the spatula, turn over the potato hash until the raw part is on the bottom. Season again. It doesn’t matter that you’re tossing the hash around. This isn’t a rösti that will come out in one piece.
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After the potatoes have browned, lower the heat slightly to ensure cooking the potatoes all the way through.

Stir in the smoked salmon pieces and heat gently. If desired, place raw eggs in holes created in the hash, lower the heat, cover the skillet, and steam-cook until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

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This is a bit more tedious, but it’s a pretty presentation. Alternatively, poach or fry eggs separately.

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Serve the eggs hot with the hash.

Season again, if necessary, and sprinkle with green onions.

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I can guarantee that as long as your guests enjoy salmon, they will love this hash. And served with eggs it’s a hearty yet delicious breakfast or brunch dish.

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Flamiche

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A flamiche is somewhat related to a quiche, but with the addition a a generous amount off caramelized onions. It is good.
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Unfortunately, I can not give you the source for the recipe, because it was from the days when I copied recipes out of cookbooks that I borrowed from the library.
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I changed the recipe by adding cheese to the quiche. Why not?!!
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Served with a green salad, it will definitely please you for lunch or a light dinner. You could always add bacon or ham to it.

Flamiche

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
6 ounces Gruyère
Nutmeg, white pepper, salt
Baked pie shell

Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the onion slices and sprinkle on the sugar. Sauté the onion slices until they are caramelized. This should take about 20 minutes, trying not to burn the onion.

Set aside the onions to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, and cream. Add your desired amounts of seasoning; I used 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper, approximately 1/3 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
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Place your pre-baked pie crust pan on a jelly roll pan. Place the grated cheese on the bottom. Top with the caramelized onions.

Add the seasoned egg and cream mixture.


Bake the flamiche for about 40 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 325 degrees and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. You can test its doneness by using a cake tester, which should come out clean.

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Let the flamiche rest for a bit, then cut into slices and serve.
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It’s good warm or at room temperature.

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You could use a dip-dish pie pan; the one I used is quite shallow.

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Grits with Eggs and Red Sauce

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Many years ago I came across a recipe for grits with eggs and a red sauce. It was similar to shakshuska, a Middle Eastern dish of baked eggs in red sauce, shown below, but with grits!

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I never had grits until my husband and I visited Charleston, South Carolina, for business a long time ago. We ate at a lovely restaurant And I hesitantly ordered shrimp with grits. I think I assumed grits would be too “corny” for me, but they’re not. They’re lovely, and just as much fun to cook as risotto. Below are pumpkin grits I made last fall. So many variations are possible.
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For grits, I prefer the coarse-grained variety, which do take longer to cook, but I prefer the texture. I’ve noticed that the words “polenta” and “grits” are both on the package now!

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There used to be much confusion about the difference, but there is no difference. To make it more complicated, grits and polenta are also cornmeal.

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Grits with Eggs in Red Sauce
Adapted from Baked Eggs in Creamy Polenta and Pepperoni Tomato Sauce

3 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup grits
Approximately 1/2 cup cream
Red Sauce
4 tablespooons butter
4 eggs
Goat or feta cheese, optional

Place the water and butter in a deep pot over high heat. When the water boils, add the grits.

Stir, and continue to stir, with the heat on medium. I always have about a cup of water handy to add to the grits as they thicken. It seems that more liquid is required than what is stated on the package recipe.

After about 10 minutes or so, when the grits have cooked about halfway, add cream. Continue to cook the grits, and add even more water if necessary.
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When you feel the grits aren’t thickening up anymore, set them aside.

Make the eggs sunny-side up, over-easy, poached, or soft-boiled. It’s your choice. I used 1 tablespoon of butter per egg and cooked them sunny-side up in a skillet. Add a little dab of butter right before they’re fully cooked.

To serve, spoon the grits into a pasta bowl.
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Place some heated red sauce over the grits and, using a spoon, form a hole in the middle.

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Then place the cooked egg in the hole along with any butter from the skillet.

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Crumble some goat cheese and sprinkle on top.
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You can also add chopped chives or parsley.

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It’s a wonderful and hearty breakfast, but I’d certainly eat this for dinner as well!
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If you wanted to bake the eggs in the grits, like in the original recipe, you must use an oven-proof serving dish or prepare all four servings in a skillet.
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But I would make sure that the grits are first on the runny side. They will thicken – especially in the oven.
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Mushroom Bread Pudding

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Most people are familiar with bread puddings that are sweet and typically served for dessert. They probably came about for the purpose of using leftover bread. In fact, many recipes actually call for day-old bread. Sometimes the crusts are removed, sometimes not. Either way, bread is layered in a baking dish, smothered in an egg and cream mixture until it is absorbed, and baked. The resulting “pudding” is soufflé-like light and fluffy.

I’ve only made one bread pudding on the blog, and the recipe came from a bed and breakfast my husband and I stayed at in Dingle, Ireland. Their bread and butter pudding was offered on the breakfast buffet every morning. I tried it once, because the owner himself did the breakfast cooking every morning, and it was fabulous. But it was too sweet for me, especially at breakfast. But they were nice enough to share the recipe.

However, if you’re talking savory bread puddings, you’re talking my culinary language! Bacon, sautéed mushrooms, and cheese, in between puffy layers of baked bread. Fabulous!
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If you don’t love mushrooms, you can change this recipe in so many ways, like use sausage and apples, or use corn bread instead of yeasted bread and include dried cranberries and pecans. So many options!

The bread pudding could also be made in ramekins, for prettier individual servings.


The recipe I created is for an 8 x 8″ baking dish. The bread pudding can be reheated,if there are leftovers, but should be done so gently, so as not to overcook.

Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding

3 ounces unsalted butter
1 pound fresh, sliced mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Black pepper
4-5 slices good bacon, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
5 eggs
2 cups heavy cream or 1/2 & 1/2
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Fresh bread slices, about 12 sandwich-style, I used whole-wheat bread
8 ounces grated white cheese, like monterey jack
Grated Parmesan

Melt the butter in a large skillet or wok over high heat. When the butter has melted, add the sliced mushrooms. I used a combination of button and portobella mushrooms. If you want an earthier tasting bread pudding, check out my savory baked brie for instructions on adding dried mushrooms to the fresh, which creates a deeper flavor.
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After about 4-5 minutes, turn down the heat and let the mushrooms cook further. Add the thyme and black pepper.
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When they have softened completely, place the mushrooms in a large colander over a bowl to collect the mushroom liquor. Always save this! It can be used in reductions, sauces, soups – just about everything!

Clean out your skillet and place it over high heat. Add the bacon and let it cook just until lightly browned. Add the chopped onion and turn down the heat to medium. Sauté until the onions have softened.
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Add the mushroom mixture, stir well, and set aside.
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Meanwhile, place the eggs and cream in a medium bowl. Add salt and white pepper.
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Whisk until smooth; set aside.

At this point, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and generously grease an 8 x 8″ baking dish.

You are going to be making layers with the bread, cheese, and mushroom mixture. In between creating the layers, add 1/2 cup or so of the egg and cream mixture over the bread layers, instead of pouring the whole amount on the top when you’re done with the layering.

Begin by removing the crusts from the bread.

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Place the bread slices on the bottom of the buttered baking dish. I use a little cheese on top of the bread, then add the mushrooms, than a little more cheese.

It helps make the layers “stick” together.

Continue making your layers, filling up any spaces between the bread slices if necessary, and when you’ve created the final bread layer, pour all of the remaining egg and cream mixture over the top. The final layer should be the mushrooms.

Wrap the baking dish loosely with foil and bake for one hour. Remove the foil and shake the baking dish to see if there’s any movement. If there is, most likely the middle hasn’t finished cooking. Turn down the heat to 300 degrees, and bake for about 15 minutes more. You can also use a cake tester to make sure the pudding is fully cooked. Just be careful not to overcook.

When the bread pudding is cooked, remove the baking dish from the oven, and set the oven on broil. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the mushrooms and broil until browned.

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Let the pudding sit for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

It can also be made the day before, but re-heat gently. You don’t want it become rubbery.
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I served the bread pudding to my husband with pork tenderloin, but I think it would go with just about any meat.

I would have sprinkled the bread pudding with chives or chopped parsley, but it was raining.
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