If you let the leeks and cauliflower cook long and slow, the combination is heavenly when paired with cheese and eggs. Serve alone or with a green salad for lunch or a late night dinner.
Continue readingPost Category → Breakfast and Brunch
Barely Scrambled Eggs with Indian Spices and Spinach for Two
These eggs can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, alone or with a fruit salad. Of course, you can even supplement with home fries or toast.
Continue readingFrittata
Here’s another great morning dish that can be prepped the night before and cooked in the morning, or even cooked the night before and served at room temperature A frittata is basically a crustless quiche with endless variations; you can choose any combination of vegetables, cheese, and herbs that appeals to you. If you’re watching your carbs, you can leave out the bread.
Continue readingScrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
Of course you could serve this for breakfast or brunch, but it’s also and easy supper on nights when it’s just too hot or too much trouble to turn on the oven.
Continue readingScrambled Eggs with Indian Spices and Spinach
This is one of my favorite brunch items, but it’s also sublime for dinner. The first time I served it for dinner, my children turned their noses up, but after they tasted it, they promptly begged me to make it again, right then and there (which I did), so they could have more.
Continue readingSwedish Pancakes
I like to have my friends test prospective recipes, particularly on their unsuspecting children; kids often seem more open-minded when the recipe isn’t part of their own family’s repertoire. Twelve-year-old Charlie Steinberg isn’t exactly known for his eating prowess, but I had a good feeling about these pancakes. I told him I really wanted him to be honest and that he needn’t worry about my feelings if he didn’t like them. He was adamant. “I swear,” he proclaimed. “I love them. They’re even better than Grandma’s and hers are the best in Vermont.”
Serves 4 to 6.
6 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for cooking
Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
1. Place the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and mix well. Add the milk, melted butter, and salt and mix well. Add the flour and stir well until it forms a smooth batter.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gently add the whites to the flour mixture.
3. Place a large cast-iron skillet or flat griddle over medium heat and when it is hot, add the butter. Place a drop of water on the pan and when it sizzles, pour tablespoons of the batter on the skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes total. Keep pancakes warm in a 200-degree oven until all pancakes are finished.
4. Sprinkle with lots of confectioners’ sugar and serve.
From Warehouse to Your House: More than 250 Simple, Spectacular Recipes to Cook, Store, and Share When You Buy in Quantity (Simon & Schuster, 2006)
Three Breakfast Butters
These butters can gild scones, pancakes, waffles, croissants, or just plain toast. They can be shaped into cylinders, covered in waxed paper, and placed in a plastic bag., then refrigerated or frozen. Slice them into coins for a nice presentation.
Continue readingPaige’s Banana Bread
There is not one unusual or special ingredient in this banana bread – which was created by Paige Retus, Olives’ former pastry chef ¬ – but it is, hands down, the absolute best. In fact, Todd English and I were so inspired when we tasted this bread that we decided to write The Olives Dessert Table with Paige. We figured if she could work this kind of magic with banana bread, she could do anything. And she can.
Continue readingOmelet for two
- 4 large eggs
- ¼- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pinch black pepper, or more, to taste
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
- **Fillings**
- use ¼ - ½ cup of any of the following:
- caramelized onions
- chopped ham
- any kind of cheese
- fruit preserves
- sauteed mushrooms
- smoked salmon and cream cheese
- roasted vegetables
- roasted potatoes
- Combine the eggs, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.
- Heat a medium sized omelet pan or skillet over a medium low flame and add oil or butter, being sure to completely cover the bottom of the pan.
- Add egg mixture. When the eggs begin to set, agitate the pan back and forth so they they completely cover the bottom of the pan.
- Swirl the eggs until they begin to thicken.
- Add filling on one side of the omelet and cover with the other, thereby making a half moon shape. Serve immediately.
Scrambled Eggs for two
- 4 large eggs
- ¼- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pinch black pepper, or more, to taste
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
- Combine the eggs, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.
- Heat a medium sized omelet pan or skillet over a medium low flame and add oil or butter,
- being sure to completely cover the bottom of the pan.
- Add egg mixture. When the eggs begin to set, gently turn them with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking and turning until they are set but still soft and creamy, about 3 minutes.
Other options:
Just before the eggs are completely cooked, add freshly grated Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, caramelized onions, bacon bits, smoked salmon, sour cream, caviar, capers.