CHOCOLATE GRAVY

What could be better than, Chocolate Gravy! This is a rich, dark chocolate sauce is quite a traditional accompaniment for biscuits in the South. It’s also great on pancakes, ebilskivers, waffles, fruit.

Mmmmm an excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast? Don't you just wanna give that person a hug down south that came up with this! I'm betting she was also voted by her kids & their friends as best Mom on the planet! ;) Try it, you too can get the vote!

8 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup cocoa powder
1⁄4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Melt the butter in a 2-qt. -saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, and flour in a bowl; add to the melted butter; whisk. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly, until smooth.


2. Bring to a simmer; cook until thick, 2–3 minutes. Whisk in vanilla.

MAKES ABOUT 2 1/2 CUPS

Fried Ham & Cheese Crepes

When I was a little girl, and visiting my Dad in Richmond Va., there was a restaurant we used to go to called the Magic Pan.  Oh how I loved it. It was a Crepe restaurant, and it was so delicious.  Any fans out there?

My favorite dish was the Crispy Ham Palancitas (Aka - Fried Ham & Cheese Crepes)

They were scrumptious! I have always wanted to figure out how to make these and once again taste a little bit of this heaven.  Here is a recipe that comes close as I can remember.

Crepes3 eggs
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup flour
2 Tbs. butter

Ham Stuffing
1/2 pound Ham — cooked, ground (honeybaked style)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 cup swiss or cheddar

Breadcrumb Coating
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
2 Tbs. milk

Mustard Cream Sauce
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. white pepper

Directions:

1. Place eggs, sugar and vanilla in electric blender.
2. Cover and run on low speed for a few seconds.
3. Add milk slowly while still running on same speed.
4. Add flour in same manner at same speed.
5. Melt butter and add slowly to mixture at same speed.
6. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
7. Using a small Teflon crepe pan, tip pan slowly pour in batter, just to coat bottom of pan. Tilt the pan so the batter will spread completely over the entire bottom; brown one side, flip, brown other.
8. Carefully stack crepes on plate with second brown side up. (Brush pan with oil occasionally.)
9. Stir ham stuffing ingredients well into a consistent texture.
10. Spread 1 tsp., rounded, of ham filling on top of one crepe. Keep at least 1 inch from the edge.

1. Roll up and tuck in corners so it will not leak when frying. Do likewise with all.
2. Prepare breadcrumb coating: blend milk and eggs together, then place flour, egg mixture, and crumbs in separate containers in that order in a row.
3. Take each pancake and cover well with flour, then egg, then roll in crumbs.
4. Fry in cooking oil until puffy and golden brown on all sides. Fry slowly.

1. Serve with mustard cream sauce.

For mustard sauce:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; add flour and stir until smooth.
2. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add broth and half-and- half gradually.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and beginning to bubble.
5. Remove from heat and stir in mustard, lemon juice, and pepper.
6. Keep warm.
7. Arrange palascintas on a serving dish and top with sauce.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do! If anyone out there has a better recipe that pays homage to this wonderful dish, by all means contact me! :)

Semi-Homemade Pop-Tarts

Here's my short cut recipe for semi-homemade batch of pop-tarts real quick. You can even do all the prep the night before and pop them into the oven in the morning. 
These are quick & delicious!

1) Store bought pie crust

2) flling of your choice, I used jam

3) egg

4) sugar for sprinkling on top

Rll out your dough real thin, and cut out rectangle shapes.

 

Use your favorite Jam, preserve or Pie filling.

Spread filling on one half

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fold over to make the Pop Tart shape.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Seal edges with fork, and cut of extra edge.  Make a few vent holes on top for baking.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar on top. 

Place in a 400 degree F oven on cookie sheet with parchment paper for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

The sky's the limit with these babies--you could fill them with jam and top them with a thin icing with sprinkles for the traditional look and feel of the pop tart. 

This is the same Icing recipe that I use to make homemade Cinnabuns.

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk

1.In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, margarine, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar and milk. Beat until creamy.

Spoon mixture into a ziploc baggie, twist one end to force icing into one corner, snip off the end of the baggie & pipe icing over the Pop-tart. You can also just put a spoonful on the poptart & spread with a knife. Add sprinkles.

Another yummy way to make is to go straight for the fatty jugular as my kids like filling them with decadent dark chocolate & topping them with peanut butter icing (photo to come). You're welcome.  Use your imagination, possibilities are endless!

 

Croque Moniseur AKA Jamie's version of A Monte Cristo Sandwich

This is my version of a Monte Cristo Sandwich. Who doesn't love a grilled cheese? This is basically a twist on that but using grown up ingredients. Gruyere cheese, Ham, and then deep frying it.

1. 1 quart oil for frying, or as needed 
2. 2/3 cup water 
3. 1 egg 
4. 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 
5. 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder 
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt 
7. 8 slices white bread 
8. 4 slices Gruyere cheese
9. 4 oz shaved ham (roughly the same as 4 slices)
10. 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
11. 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting (optional)
12. Many add Turkey also, I prefer to leave off. If you choose to add, just add less ham, and the same amount of Turkey in its place. I like both shaved, as it melds better with the cheese, when its fried.

1.Heat 5 inches of oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C). While oil is heating, make the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper; whisk into the egg mixture until smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator.

2.Assemble sandwiches by placing shaved ham on bread, then sandwich them with the Swiss cheese in the middle. Cut sandwiches into quarters, and secure with toothpicks.

3.Dip each sandwich quarter in the batter so that all sides are coated. Deep fry in the hot oil until golden brown on all sides. Remove toothpicks and arrange on a serving tray. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

While the traditional jelly to serve this with is Currant Jelly.  I like mine with Hot Pepper Jelly mixed with a dollop of cream cheese (that has been pre-softened in the microwave for about 10seconds). It sounds odd, but trust me it adds a nice zip to this old favorite!

Also some people like to serve with a Bechamel sauce (fancy name for classic white sauce), I like to sometimes serve with a Mornay sauce, which is basically a Bechamel sauce that adds swiss cheese to the mix.  I will posts these sauces in a seperate post.

This is a great dish for a brunch family get together.

BAKING BACON

I have found that making bacon is a cumbersome task. It spits grease all over my kitchen and you have to constantly watch it and turn it until done.

I came across this tip & fell in love.... Takes the task & makes it easy to indulge... uh oh! :)  Even gets rid of the grease for you & clean up is a SNAP!

Baking Bacon (say it 3times fast)  I promise.... this makes making bacon easy, fast & fabulous!  

1. Take a large baking sheet with edges (jelly roll pan or cake pan) and line with aluminum foil.
2. Lay your bacon pieces on the foil with the pieces just touching. 
3. Bake in a preheated 400º oven for 15-20 minutes depending on personal preference for crispiness.
4. Remove from the oven and serve everyone piping hot bacon at the same time. 

After breakfast, just pull off the foil from the pan and toss. Clean up is done! SNAP

You can also make it in batches & then store it in paper towels in a ziploc baggie. Just warm up in the microwave for 20seconds and you instantly have fresh bacon anytime you want. It keeps well for a few weeks!

Banana Bread French Toast

My boys loves breakfast for dinner, or anytime, and they especially love Banana Bread.  This is a great twist on a classic that they adore, and you will too. C'mon look at this photo, I mean I captured the essence right. Mmmmm ;)

1. Thick (about two-inch) slices of banana bread
2. 2 eggs
3. 1 tbsp milk
4. Pinch of cinammon
5. 1 tbsp unsalted butter
6. Maple syrup
7. Half of a vanilla bean, split and scraped  

1. Banana Bread Slices (Dried-out is best)
2. EGG MIXTURE - Beat the eggs, milk, and cinnamon until well combined.
3. In a nonstick skillet, heat the butter until barely foamy.
4. Thoroughly coat the bread with the egg mixture (dripping off excess),
5. Add to the pan, and cook about two minutes on each side.  

Meanwhile, warm some maple syrup with the vanilla bean.  Throw the seeds and the bean in with the syrup.

Dust with powdered sugar & a dollop of whip cream.

This is sure to become a family favorite. Enjoy!

  

Pop Up Pancakes

One of our favorites is Pop Up Pancakes.

We love to eat Breakfast for Dinner. It’s easy and I have all the ingredients.

This idea came from Ebilskiver's. I like to make those too, they are smaller puffs. I took that recipe & put a little twist on them by cooking these in muffin tins. They cook up as little bigger puff balls and are easy for the kids to eat.

Also they make more at one time then my Ebilskiver's pan makes. Both are good though. I will post Ebilskivers soon, since perhaps I've aroused your curiousity.\

Pop-Up Pancake Recipe – makes 24 muffins or fills a 9×13 baking pan.

1. 1 cup milk 
2. 1 cup flour 
3. 6 eggs 
4. 1/4 cup melted butter 
5. dash salt 
6. 
   
   Preheat oven at 400* 

I like to blend all the ingredients in my blender. I have tried to whisk it or even use the electic mixer, but it seems to get the most smooth with a blender. Then grease your muffin tins.  

Now they are ready for toppings. We love syrup, powdered sugar, and fruit. You could even use fresh Strawberry Jam, or Apple Butter. We usually load it all on and dive in.

 

Homemade Doughnuts

Look at this fun post on making donuts (or is it doughnuts?) Super easy and a lot cheaper than going to the doughnut store! My mom used to always make these for me when I was a kid, especially when I had slumber parties.

This recipe for semi-homemade donuts starts from a can, but comes out baked hot and fresh. Using ready-to-use biscuit dough, these donuts are easy and fast to make.

Supplies for Donuts: 

1. 1/4 – 1/2 cup cooking oil – vegetable or canola 
2. I like to use the tubes of generic buttermilk biscuit dough  
3. tongs 
4. paper towels 
5. confectionary's sugar 
6. cinnamon and sugar mix 
7. small circle cutter – I always have used a juicer that you put into an orange to suck the juice out. It make a perfect small donut hole as well. Another idea for a little bit bigger holes is using a medicine cup that came from children’s medicine. Most of you probably have this already in your cupboard.

By the way these biscuits go on sale all the time!

Open the biscuit can and spread all the rolls out. Then using a small circle cutter, press out a donut hole right in the middle.

Drop in the deep fryer or use a skillet with a bit of oil. When they turn golden, flip over. Be Careful and remove with tongs from hot oil. I love them best with Confectionary sugar. Place some in a ziploc bag, 1 or 2 at a time. You can also do the cinanmon and sugar this way or use a shaker.

They are soooo good hot! Enjoy being the coolest mom in the universe!