BLOGHUNGRY

10 Egg Dishes I Want to Eat

As a kid, Easter was the holiday with all the good candy. Every year, I'd stuff my face with egg-shaped butter creams and tear into a huge bunny-shapped brick of chocolate. What I was too young to realize is that the true meaning of Easter isn't about candy. Easter is really about hardcore brunching. It's the one magic day a year when god-fearing folk and gays come together, belly up to rich egg dishes, and let it rain mimosas or bellinis. I think Jesus would have wanted it that way.

Bacon Polenta and Fried Egg

Prosciutto & Mozzarella with Poached Eggs

Eggs Galette à la Mexicana

Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola Quiche

Honey Apple & Cheddar Egg Sandwich

Cheesy Orzo Frittata with Ham and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Cheese and Zucchini Pleated Quiche

Apple Cheddar Frittata

Eggs Florentine with Baby Spinach and Goat Cheese

Ham Spinach and Gruyére Quiche

Bacon & Egg Quesadillas

Admittedly there is some finesse required to put an over easy egg in a quesadilla, but some challenges are worth undertaking. This recipe makes 8 pretty hefty quesadillas, which are supposed to feed 4 people. You could easily cut it in half if you are amongst dainty eaters.

Bacon & Egg Quesadillas

8  medium flour tortillas
2 ripe hass avocados
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound bacon
8 large eggs
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 can  black beans, rinsed

Place the tortillas in the oven in two stacks; heat to 200 degrees . In a bowl, mash the avocados with the lemon juice; season with salt and pepper.

Working in batches, in a nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp; drain on paper towels. Leave about 2 tablespoons bacon fat in the skillet, reserving the rest of the fat. Cut the bacon strips in half.

Working in 2 batches, in the skillet, cook the eggs over easy; transfer to a platter. Reserve the skillet.

Lay the tortillas on a work surface. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup cheese; top with beans, 1 egg and bacon strips, then fold to enclose.

In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat over medium heat, add 4 quesadillas and cook, turning once, until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Repeat with more bacon fat and the remaining quesadillas; serve with the avocado mash.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Garlic and Lemon

If you are bored of baked potatoes for dinner or want an easier alternative to hashbrowns for breakfast then look no further. This recipe is the easiest most flavorful potato side dish I've ever made. You're welcome world.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Garlic and Lemon

2-3 pounds small fingerling potatoes
1 tsp cloves garlic powder
2 Tblsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Heat oven to 500 degrees F.

Spread potatoes out on a cookie sheet. Coat lightly with extra-virgin olive oil and season potatoes with garlic powder and lots of salt and pepper. Toss and mix until well coated with seasonings. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes. After roasting, toss potatoes with lemon zest and lemon juice. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

10 Scones I Want to Eat Right Now

I am both a scone addict and a Pinterest addict. It's time to use my addictions for good instead of weight gain.

Bacon and Cheddar Scones

Pimiento Cheese Scones

Cheese Dill Scones

Cherry Brandy Scones

Peanut Butter and Jelly Scones

Chocolate Coconut Almond Scones

Chocolate Chip Scones

Maple Pecan Oatmeal Scones

Chcocolate Chip Butterscotch Scones

Pumpkin Scones

Spinach & Lemon Spaghetti Frittata with Feta and Basil

My husband's favorite food is eggs. So, I am always looking for new and exciting ways to make egg dishes. This frittata recipe from In Sock Monkey Slippers is a welcome departure from our everyday eggs.

Spinach & Lemon Spaghetti Frittata with Feta and Basil

6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
 1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup cooked spaghetti
1 cup baby spinach, chopped
3 Tbs feta cheese, crumbled
2 Tbs fresh basil, chiffonade (cut into thin strips)

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine eggs, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.

Roughly chop the spaghetti. In an oven safe 10″ non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat and add the spaghetti or other long thin pasta such as capellini. Add spinach on top of the speghetti.

Next, pour the egg mixture onto the spinach and the spaghetti and lightly stir with a spoon making sure that the egg mixture evenly covers the pan. Simmer on medium-low for about 3 to 5 minutes until the egg begins to set or firm up.

Sprinkle the feta evenly across the top. Turn off heat and place the skillet in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the frittata is cooked through.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes then slide a knife or spatula around the perimeter of the frittata to loosen it from the pan. Carefully and quickly slide the fritatta onto a serving plate. Don’t be scared. If it breaks it will still taste good. Garnish with basil. Slice, serve, and enjoy.

Liberace's Sticky Buns

This recipe from Frank DeCaro's The Dead Celebrity Cookbook is a deliciously crass celebration of a dead gay celebrity. How often can you say that about a breakfast food? These buns are a guaranteed kitchen success and are decadent they could even pass for a dessert.

 Liberace's Sticky Buns

1 cup white raisins
1/4 cup light rum
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
3 packages crescent roll dough
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup whole pecans
Nonstick baking spray

Preheat oven to 325°. Spray two muffin pans with nonstick baking spray. Combine raisins and rum in a small bowl and warm in microwave on high for 45 seconds. Set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter and then stir in spices and brown sugar. Cook, stirring frequently, until it becomes a bubbling syrup. Put a teaspoon of syrup and a few whole pecans in each muffin cup. Unroll one package of crescent rolls on a piece of parchment paper. Pinch seams together to form one flat piece. Drizzle a quarter of the syrup over the dough. Sprinkle a third of the raisins and a third of the chopped pecans on it. Roll it jelly roll style. Cut into 1-inch thick pieces. Place one slice of dough, cut side up, in each muffin tin. Repeat with each package of crescent rolls. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately flip the buns onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Replace any nuts that may have stuck to the pan and serve warm.

Cherry-Almond Clafouti

A clafouti is not a flower or a STD.  A clafouti is a rustic French dessert that's a cross between a pancake and a custard. You can use other fruits, but cherries are traditional and they're still in season.This recipie is from Epicurious, but if you don't like almonds you should try Julia Child's surprisingly easy clafouti recipe.

Cherry-Almond Clafouti

Crust
1/2 cup whole almonds (about 2oz)
1 1/4 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup sugar
8 ounces dark sweet cherries, pitted, halved (about 2 cups)

3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Powdered sugar

Blend almonds in processor until ground but not pasty. Transfer to small saucepan; add milk and bring to simmer. Remove from heat; let steep 30 minutes. Pour through fine strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter glass pie dish; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Scatter cherries evenly over bottom of dish.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs, almond extract, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl until well blended. Add strained almond milk and beat to blend. Sift flour into egg mixture and beat until smooth. Pour mixture over cherries. Bake until set and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Hard Boiled Eggs

I dyed hard boiled eggs with my daughter yesterday. We gave them all away because neither of us can stomach eating them. Luckily, Popmuse likes them and we were able to unload the rest on friends and neighbors. If you like hard boiled eggs here's Martha Stewart's recipe for making them.

Hard Boiled Eggs

12 large eggs at room temp.

Place eggs in a large saucepan. Cover them with cool water by 1 inch. Slowly bring water to a boil over medium heat; when the water has reached a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit 12 minutes.

Transfer eggs to a colander; place under cool running water to stop the cooking. Eggs can be peeled and served immediately. Remaining eggs, with shells on, may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Pear Preserves / Ginger Peach Preserves

In the past year of parenting and the beginning of my thirties, something in me has snapped. I've turned into an OCD cleaning machine who has started making all of his own jams, salad dressings, and BBQ sauces. I've even taken up a new hobby of making terrariums inspired by Twig Terrariums in Brooklyn. Here are the first two preseve recipes I've made. Feel free to send me any of yours at: bloghungry@yahoo.com.

Pear Preserves

4  lbs   pears (whole, halved or quartered)
3 cups water
4 cups sugar
2 lemons, sliced thin

Boil 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water together for 15 minutes. Add pears and sliced lemon and cook 15 minutes. Add remaining sugar and water and cook until pears are clear and transparent and syrup is thick. Pack into clean hot jars and seal at once.

Ginger Peach Preserves

3 lbs  peaches (about 6 cups)
3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Place the peaches in boiling water for 1 minute, or until the skins loosen. Then plunge them in ice water. Slip off the skins, halve the fruit and remove the pits. Cut the peaches into 1 inch pieces. In a large, non-reactive pot, mix the peaches, sugar, ginger, lemon juice and allspice. Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and mounds on the spoon. Ladle into jars and store in the fridge for up to 2 months.

French-Toast Grilled Cheese with Apples

2011 is still all about Rachael Ray for me. I made these a while back and forgot to post them. I bought a loaf of challah bread and cut it into thick slices for the sandwiches. They were redunkulous.

French-Toast Grilled Cheese with Apples

8 slices good quality white bread, each about 1/2-inch thick
Combine 1/3 cup dark amber maple syrup with 1/3 cup stone ground mustard OR use 2/3 cup fig spread
12 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, sliced
1 apple, such as Gala, Honeycrisp or McIntosh, very thinly sliced
3 large eggs
1/2 cup half-n-half or whole milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
A generous pinch cinnamon
Butter

Spread maple mustard or fig spread on bread slices. Build 4 cheese and apple sandwiches.

Heat a griddle pan over medium heat.

Beat eggs with half-n-half or milk and season with nutmeg and cinnamon. Turn sandwiches in the egg and cook in melted butter on hot griddle pan. Grill sandwiches until deeply golden and the cheese has melted.

Cut sandwiches into triangles or 4 square pieces to serve.