Yesterday I whipped up this Today Original Recipe with Willie and Natalie... Caramel Pumpkin Bread Pudding. I made it over the weekend, too, and it's truly ridiculous. Perfect Thanksgiving dessert turned into Black Friday Breakfast. I mean, if you're going to participate in that madness, it's probably best you carb-load that morning, am I right?
If you missed the segment or want the recipe you can check it out here.
For such a simple dish, I sure have a lot of additional info to cover regarding the construction of this beautiful bacon, cheddar, and spinach strata. First of which, is the somewhat unusual name. Whoever invented this recipe apparently thought it looked like layers of rock, known in geological circles as, “strata.”
I guess it sort of does, and probably would a lot more, if we used a deeper dish, and did more layers. Regardless, even with just one layer of filling in the middle, you’ll still be looking at a gorgeous casserole, which should thoroughly impress your brunch guests…bottomless Mimosas or no.
As I mentioned in the video, if you want something a little eggier, a little more quiche-like, just simply increase the amount of egg custard used. As long as your pan is deep enough, you could as much as double the eggs and cream in this.
Speaking of the cream, this is a very rich dish, so you may want to cut the cream with milk. In fact, many people use all milk for this, but I do enjoy the extra butterfat the cream provides. As usual, let your conscience be your guide.
Above and beyond that, this recipe just begs for personalization. I’m not sure what your favorite omelet ingredients are, but I do know they would work in this, and work really well. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 12 portions:
1 pound loaf of day old bread, cubed
12 large eggs
2 1/2 cups heavy cream, milk, or any combination thereof
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch cayenne
pinch nutmeg
1 pound bacon, sliced and cooked crisp
1 pound fresh spinach, wilted, and squeezed dry (or enough thawed, drained frozen spinach to cover one layer)
12 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, divided (use 1/2 over the first layer of bread, 1/4 over the spinach, and the last 1/4 over the top layer of bread)
- Bake at 350 F. for 45 minutes or until set. Then broil for a minute or two to brown the top.
Yesterday I was honored to help launch the TODAY Food Club. If you're still unfamiliar with it, it's an online community where people can share recipes and connect with on-air talent, chefs and Today Show staff. It includes monthly challenges, weekly tips and meal-plan ideas (lord knows I need that), and the chance to win prizes and be featured on air! Instead of just an online place to find recipes, it will be a place to have a conversation and receive feedback. Food is my favorite thing to talk about (duh), so I couldn't be more excited about this!
Yesterday, I made the infamous Spaghetti Pie (which was Today.com's number one recipe for 2015), and Today Food Stylist, the lovely Alli Simpson, made her family's Ultimate Banana Bread (truly the best I've ever had). It was a treat to be there for such a special event. Go join the club, share your recipes, get your friends to vote for you, and maybe I'll see you on the Today Show someday soon :)
Alli and I (top) and some of the fabulous Today Food team (below)...
After making this insanely delicious Spaghetti Pie the other day (as seen on my Instagram page), I started imagining what other dinners I could make in a pie pan, and because it was Tuesday my mind instantly went to tacos! Taco Pie! But not just any taco pie, no, no... this particular dish is only disguising as comfort food (which is what it tasted like, oh man). This hearty but healthy casserole has lean meat, the protein and fiber from beans and the nutrients from a whole lot of squash you won't even know you're eating. By the way do beans have fiber? I don't know, it just sounded right to say.
At the last minute I decided to add a frozen package of cooked squash into the meat (the pureed kind). It melted beautifully, and balanced out the spice of the meat in a sweet and subtle way. My kids loved it (well, two of them did, not the middle one who would live off of Skittles if she could), and had NO idea I had tricked them into eating something healthy. And by the way, I ate two slices topped with avocado. IT WAS SO GOOD.
1 can refried beans (you probably won't use it all)
2-3 cups Mexican blend grated cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for a few minutes, until onions begin to soften. Add ground turkey and sauté until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning and water and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, and then lower heat and simmer until sauce begins to thicken. Add thawed squash, and stir to make sure everything is well incorporated. Remove from heat. Spray a 10-inch cake or pie pan with cooking spray. Add a small amount of the taco sauce and spread with a spatula. Place a tortilla in the pan, and then spread a layer of refried beans on top with a spatula. Top with a third of the meat, then a third of the cheese and finally a third of the taco sauce. Place another tortilla down, and repeat with the beans, meat, cheese and sauce. Place your last tortilla down, top with beans, the rest of the meat, the rest of the sauce and ending with the rest of your cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.
This cookie is bananas. Half chocolate chip, half brownie cookie. Now that I know how easy it is to make two different doughs and roll them together into one perfect cookie, I think the possibilities are endless, don't you? WHAT UP, CHRISTMAS COOKIES?! I'M TALKING TO YOU, BOO. Sorry I don't know what that was. I used this recipe but I cut the chocolate chip cookie dough in half. I've written the word "cookie" way too many times in this post. Cookie.
Sometimes you don’t have a good reason for not loving a certain recipe, and that’s how it is for me with sweet potato pie. It just does not do it for me, and I don’t even know what “it” is. However, I thought the same flavors could work for a holiday-inspired sweet potato muffin, and I was thrilled with the results.
These are perfect if you have leftover sweet potatoes during the holidays, but if not, totally worth cooking a few just for this easy recipe. I microwaved mine for about 6 or 7 minutes, until they were very soft, but roasting, or boiling will also work.
By the way, we’re not using sweet potatoes for our sweet potato muffin; we’re using yams, which are actually just incorrectly named orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.So, I guess never mind.
As I mention in the video, these muffins are just a little bit of frosting away from being cupcakes. I’ve never understood the allure of mini marshmallows on a sweet potato casserole, but something tells me some “fluff” would work well on these, as well. I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 24 Sweet Potato Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup melted butter 2 cups mashed sweet potato or “yams” 1 cup chopped pecans, plus more for the top demerara sugar for the tops
- Bake for 25 minutes at 350 F. or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
I had some crispy farro cakes at a restaurant a while back, and thought they would make for an interesting video, but when I started to research various recipes and techniques, I discovered something a little surprising; there was no such thing as a “pure” farro cake.
Every recipe I came across had some type of filler used to help bind the mixture together. I didn’t really understand this, until I proceeded to make a batch using nothing but cooked and cooled farro. They completely fell apart in the pan, and I ended up with something more like crispy fried rice. Not a bad thing by any means, but not farro cakes.
After a few more experiments, I discovered that by using a little egg, and a touch of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, I was able to make it work with no non-ancient grain additions. The whole key is the crust. By letting the first side cook until a well-browned, crispy surface forms, the cakes develop enough structure to make the flip possible.
One thing I failed to mention in the clip; you should check your mixture for seasoning before frying the cakes. I used a good amount of salt when I cooked my farro, but you should still taste and adjust.
And while these were great with the crème fraiche and golden trout roe, there are so many ways these could be otherwise used. As usual, I’ll be lurking on Twitter and Instagram to see what you come up with, so fair warning. I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 6 farro cakes:
1 cup farro, not rinsed
3 cups water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 springs thyme
3 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed
1/2 cup finely diced onion
- simmer covered about 45 minutes until very tender, drain well, but DO NOT rinse
Then add:
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce (about a 2-inch square piece) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (if you use real Parmigiano Reggiano, and grate it on a microplane, you’ll get about 3/4 of a cup)
1 large egg
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup olive oil for frying
Halloween Candy season may be over, but Pumpkin has not gone out of style just yet. I saw these online the other morning at 5AM because my 14 month-old is all, SCREW YOU TIME CHANGE, THIS FEELS LIKE 6AM STILL, and I realized I actually had everything I needed to make them! Chocolate chips, pumpkin puree, almond butter, pumpkin pie spice and honey. That's it. A dark chocolate shell with a creamy pumpkin butter center. Oh, and sea salt on top because chocolate can barely go without it these days. They were easy to make and delicious (however I recommend popping them in the fridge to let the bottom chocolate harden before you add the filling and top).
Enjoy these. Enjoy your weekends. Enjoy your sleep if you're getting any (I hate you).
So, Halloween came and went. We had a really fun party for the kids and their friends - 14 kids in total. They really enjoyed "mummy sausages dipped in blood", "grape caterpillars", "icy gummyworms" (one little girl sat petrified for several minutes, believing those were real) and "graveyard muffins". Lots of fun!
However, we didn't carve a pumpkin. I couldn't find a good one in time, and then I sort of just ran out of time. We had some other decorations, but Titus was disappointed since he had looked forward to a pumpkin soup. (Not that you actually want to make soup from your carved pumpkin, but he doesn't know that...) So, last night I made this lovely soup instead. Very yummy! Well, I thought so at least - neither the kids nor the husband were fans. Oh well... Roasted Butternut Squash soup
1 small butternut squash - peeled and cut into large dice 1 onion, finely diced 1 carrot, finely diced olive oil 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon about 1 litre chicken stock 100 ml cream salt
Start by tossing the squash with a little olive oil and salt, and roast in a 200°C oven for 20-25 minutes. It should be lightly browned.
In a soup pot, heat some olive oil and sauté carrot and onion with coriander and cinnamon until soft - about ten minutes. Add the squash dice, and the chicken stock. Cook for at least ten minutes on low heat, make sure everything is nice and soft.
Use a blender, or an immersion blender, to make the soup completely smooth. Stir in a little cream if desired (always desired in my family), and season with salt and pepper to taste.
We served this with crispy fried bacon and sour cream and a nice sourdough baguette.
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