Showing posts with label brunch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brunch. Show all posts

Monday, November 13, 2017

Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart #BakingBloggers

For a Christmas brunch or a Sunday lunch, this stuffed plum tomato tart with a savory black olive shortcrust is pretty enough to be the star of the meal.

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.

Do you ever come across a new ingredient in the grocery store that you just have to buy, even if you have no idea what you will make with it? I do! My most recent purchase was a container of mini plum tomatoes. Talk about cute!

Well, I couldn’t just cut them up and put them into a salad because then, how would you know how cute they were? Right? I decided that the best way to showcase them would be to stuff and bake them. And the best way to get them to stay upright would be to make them part of a tart.

This is a bit fiddly to make since you have to empty the tomatoes in order to fill them, but look at how pretty it turned out? Totally worth the time and, really, not a lot of effort.


Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust

The flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.

Ingredients
For the black olive shortcrust:
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup or 60g shortening
1/2 cup or 40g minced black olives, well drained
3-4 tablespoons cold water

For the plum tomato tart filling:
16 baby plum tomatoes (mine weighed about 1 lb 2 oz or 500g)
1/2 cup or 28g fresh breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic
Small bunch chives (about 15g)
3.5 oz or 100g mozzarella, grated
5-6 small anchovies fillets, drained (for a vegetarian tart, replace these with salty Kalamata olives)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
1/2 cup or 50g finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Method
Make the pastry dough by lightly combining the shortening with the salt and flour, until you have crumbles. Fork through the minced black olives.


Add the cold water a little at time, mixing it in with a fork, until the pastry can form a ball. You can see my method, without the olives, in detail here: How to make a flaky pie crust.


Wrap the dough in cling film. Chill.


Halve and empty the plum tomatoes, reserving the liquid and flesh you have removed. I used a melon ball scoop, which made this part really easy. Leave the tomato halves to drain cut side down on paper towels.



Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Lightly grease and line your 8 3/4 in or 22cm spring-form tart pan with baking parchment.

To make the stuffed plum tomato filling, mince the garlic, chives and anchovies. Mix them with the grated mozzarella, breadcrumbs and enough of the tomato insides to moisten.


Roll out the chilled olive pastry crust and ease it into the prepared tart pan. Trim the pastry to fit or fold it over and make a decorative edge.


Top with another piece of parchment and baking beads.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Remove the beads and parchment and bake another five. Remove the tart case from the oven and brush the bottom with a little olive oil.

Stuff the tomato halves with the filling and put them cut side up in the tart case, close together so they support each other to stay upright. I piled them all in and then held one at a time to fill, then replaced it in the crust.


Beat your eggs with the milk. Add the Parmesan and a good few grinds of fresh black pepper and mix well.

Carefully pour the egg mixture around the stuffed tomatoes. Give the whole tart another couple of grinds of fresh black pepper.

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.


Bake for 35-40 or until the egg is set and the tomatoes are slumping.

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.




Cut into slices. Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.

Today I am joining a group of avid bakers in a new group called Baking Bloggers. Our organizer is Sue from Palatable Pastime and for our inaugural post, she has chosen PIE as the theme. Check out all the other lovely pies and tarts, both sweet and savory, that we are sharing.

Pin it! 

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.
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Sunday, October 1, 2017

Spicy Beef Cheesy Corn Taco Muffins

Love tacos but need for them to be more portable, less messy to eat? Make my spicy beef cheesy corn taco muffins. These savory muffins are made with spicy canned tomatoes and cornmeal. They turn leftover ground beef seasoned with taco spices into a great mobile breakfast, brunch or lunch option.

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Beef Cheesy Corn Taco Muffins - These cheesy muffins made with spicy canned tomatoes and cornmeal turn leftover ground beef seasoned with taco spices into a great breakfast or brunch option.

The weekend I made these muffins was a get-‘er-done sort of weekend. We ran errands and crossed to-dos off the list that had been languishing there for ages. On day two of the weekend – that would be Saturday here – a song came on that reminded my dear husband of one of our favorite restaurants in Houston, Texas. “Let’s go to El Jardín for dinner!” he says. “You are a cruel, cruel man,” I responded. What we wouldn’t give to be able to eat at El Jardín anytime!

When my elder sister first started working in Houston, using her relatively freshly earned law degree, her office was just down the road from what would become our favorite Mexican restaurant, in a part of town that is not the most upscale, if you know what I mean. But the margaritas are inexpensive before evening dinner service and the food is deliciously prepared and served with a smile. The décor is cheerful, with brightly painted wooden chairs with straw-covered seats, colorful tile-topped tables and lots of tissue paper flowers and banners of papel picado, those decoratively snipped Mexican folk art tissue squares.

Even when we are in Houston, El Jardín is still a hike from our home but we make a point of going there whenever we get the chance.

So, the short end to this long story is that we had to have Mexican food for the dinner that night. Had to. That’s all. It wasn’t El Jardín but tacos with all the fixings were the best I could do on short notice, after two long days of getting ‘er done.

When you brown more than 500g (1.1 lb) of ground beef for tacos and you have only two people for dinner, you are going to have leftovers. These muffins are the perfect use for the leftover spicy beef, extending your Mexican meal through breakfast or brunch or even lunch the next day.

Leftover taco meat? Make Spicy Beef Cheesy Corn Taco Muffins!

Think of them as portable tacos. No leftover meat? Next time, make extra, just so you can make these muffins. You won’t be sorry.

Ingredients
1 cup or 150g fine yellow cornmeal 1/2
1/2 cup or 65g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 225g sour cream
1 1/4 cups or 10 oz or 280g Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
7 oz or 200g (about 1 1/2 cups) leftover seasoned ground beef for tacos
8 oz or 225g extra sharp cheddar or half cheddar and half Monterrey Jack cheese

Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and grease your muffin pan liberally with non-stick spray or butter.

Grate your cheese, if not already grated. Put a handful or so aside to top the muffins before baking.

Measure your cornmeal, flour, salt, baking soda and grated cheddar into a large mixing bowl and mix well.



Measure the sour cream and oil into a small mixing bowl. Add the eggs and the can of Ro-Tel tomatoes – juice and all. Whisk to combine.



Fold your wet ingredients into your dry ones until just mixed.



Set a little of the seasoned ground beef aside for topping the muffins before baking and fold the rest into the batter.


Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups.


Sprinkle the top with the reserved cheese and beef.

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Beef Cheesy Corn Taco Muffins - These cheesy muffins made with spicy canned tomatoes and cornmeal turn leftover ground beef seasoned with taco spices into a great breakfast or brunch option.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until you can see that the sides are turning golden brown.

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Beef Cheesy Corn Taco Muffins - These cheesy muffins made with spicy canned tomatoes and cornmeal turn leftover ground beef seasoned with taco spices into a great breakfast or brunch option.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Remove from the pan, loosening gently with a knife if necessary, and cool further on a wire rack.

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Beef Cheesy Corn Taco Muffins - These cheesy muffins made with spicy canned tomatoes and cornmeal turn leftover ground beef seasoned with taco spices into a great breakfast or brunch option.

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Beef Cheesy Corn Taco Muffins - These cheesy muffins made with spicy canned tomatoes and cornmeal turn leftover ground beef seasoned with taco spices into a great breakfast or brunch option.

Like spicy foods with a Mexican flair? You might want to try my chicken and black bean enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce, my easy breakfast Chilaquiles Rojos con Huevos Revueltos – Tortillas with Salsa and Scrambled Eggs or my Sopa Seca de Fideo - Spicy Mexican Noodles. All three are delicious and will satisfy your spicy cravings.

And if you love tacos as much as we do, you are going to be a huge fan of this week's Sunday Supper. Check out all the delicious taco recipes we are sharing today. Many thanks to our event manager Em Beitel for all of her hard work.

Breakfast, Dessert, and Alternative Tacos

Lunch and Dinner Tacos



Pin it! 

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Beef Cheesy Corn Taco Muffins - These cheesy muffins made with spicy canned tomatoes and cornmeal turn leftover ground beef seasoned with taco spices into a great breakfast or brunch option.
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Sunday, June 18, 2017

Chili Cheese Omelet

A fluffy omelet stuffed with sharp cheddar then topped with hearty spicy beef homemade chili, this chili cheese omelet is my take on my husband’s favorite dish from the House of Pies in Houston, Texas.

Food Lust People Love: Try my hearty spicy beef chili on top of a fluffy cheese omelet, great for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Omelets make regular appearances for weekend breakfasts at our house, especially if there are leftovers that need using up. If you need inspiration, check out my Omelets with Super Powers post.

But since it’s Father’s Day, today is all about what the fathers want. I chatted with my dad and he said he’d like a beef kidney dish that my grandmother used to make. Sadly, it seems that recipe has been lost. Not that Daddy is with me right now, but I thought I’d ask for future reference. I’ve been researching Cajun kidney recipes and hope to find one similar for sometime when we are together. If anyone has any leads, let me know. Also, I have no idea where to buy beef kidneys. This is going to be a challenge.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned in yesterday’s hearty spicy beef chili post, my husband asked for a chili cheese omelet.


We’ve been frequenting the House of Pies (or House of Guys, as we call it) separately since I was in high school and he was in college, and together since 1986. He always, and I mean, every single time, orders the chili cheese omelet. It comes with a choice of potato – his is always cottage fries - and toast, biscuit or English muffin. Today, tater tots would have to suffice.

Chili Cheese Omelet

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
2 whole large eggs
1 large egg white
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
4 oz or 113g sharp cheddar, grated
3/4 - 1 cup of spicy beef chili, warmed – your favorite or use my hearty spice beef chili recipe
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Optional extras:
Chopped onions
Sliced fresh jalapeños
Chopped cilantro

Method
Whisk the eggs well and then add the milk, whisking again. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.


Melt the butter in a small non-stick frying pan and cook it until the water evaporates and the butter begins to color.

Pour in the eggs and turn the fire down to medium low.


Occasionally push the cooked eggs back and let the uncooked eggs run under the cooked part.

When the eggs are almost cooked through, add most of the cheese to the top of the omelet.


Use a wide spatula to fold the omelet in half, enclosing the cheese. When the cheese has melted, slide the omelet onto a warmed plate.


Top with warm chili and an extra sprinkling of cheese. At House of Guys, the chili cheese omelet automatically comes topped with chopped onion but Simon always orders his without. And he wants me to tell you that you have to have cottage fries (or tater tots) to dip in the chili.

Food Lust People Love: Try my hearty spicy beef chili on top of a fluffy cheese omelet, great for breakfast, lunch or dinner!


Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Try my hearty spicy beef chili on top of a fluffy cheese omelet, great for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Happy Father's Day to my sweetie! 

This week my Sunday Supper family are sharing their dishes for Father's Day. Many thanks to our event manager, Em, and our host, Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures for all of their hard work behind the scenes. Check out our Sunday Supper Father’s Day Menu Ideas. 

Sides Dad Will Love

Mains for the Main Man

Dad's Favorite Desserts


Pin this Chili Cheese Omelet! 

Food Lust People Love: Try my hearty spicy beef chili on top of a fluffy cheese omelet, great for breakfast, lunch or dinner! #SundaySupper
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Sunday, April 16, 2017

Baked Chili Maple Bacon

Kick your brunch bacon up a notch by brushing it with chili-spiked maple syrup. This baked chili maple bacon is cooked in the oven, for crunchy bacon without the splattering grease.



I am a huge fan of bacon for breakfast or brunch, especially when it is combined with sweet and spicy elements like chili peppers and maple syrup.  Today my Sunday Supper group is sharing brunch recipes that can be made ahead of time. I suggest you bookmark this post for Mother's Day.

Ingredients
1 lb or 450g thick cut smoked streaky bacon
1 small hot red chili, stem removed
1/8 cup or 30ml maple syrup

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Place your bacon strips single file on wire cooling racks set in two baking pans.

Use a mortar and pestle to grind the chili pepper, even the seeds if you like things spicy, into a fine paste. Add in the maple syrup and stir well to combine.



Bake the bacon for 20 minutes, switching the pans from top to bottom shelves in the oven midway through.

Remove from the oven and brush with the chili maple syrup. Return to the oven and bake for 5 more minutes.



Remove from the oven and turn the slices of bacon over. Brush with the rest of the chili maple syrup. Return the bacon to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until the bacon is done to your liking.



Enjoy warm or to save it for the next day, wrap the baked chili maple bacon in foil and store in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven the next morning, still wrapped in the foil, or remove the foil to warm in the microwave.



Many thanks to our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections and our host, Cindy of Cindy's Recipes and Writings. Check out these great links from our Sunday Supper tastemakers.

Make Ahead Sunday Supper Brunch Recipes

Breakfast Pastries

Eggs

Sides and Veggies

Sweets

Pin it! 

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Monday, May 30, 2016

Roasted Peach and Bacon Muffins #MuffinMonday

Roasted peach and bacon muffins are sort of sweet and sort of savory, really the best of both worlds. 

It’s Muffin Monday again! And also Memorial Day in the United States, which is the day we remember and honor those who have died in active service in any branch of the United States military. Many families take advantage of the three-day weekend to gather for reunions or to hold family celebrations. And, of course, this time of year is also all about graduations and graduation parties. So many opportunities to bake and share muffins with your friends and loved ones!

If you are a fan of sweet and salty treats, you are going to love these roasted peach and bacon muffins. Don’t forget to scroll down to see all the other bacon and peach wonderfulness that my fellow Muffin Monday bakers are sharing. We didn’t plan the theme but after everyone else had added their titles to our group, I was motivated to create a muffin that would fit in.

Ingredients
6 slices thick cut streaky bacon
2 peaches – just ripe but not soft
Pinch flakey sea salt
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
1/3 cup or 66g brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180 ml milk
1/3 cup or 80ml bacon fat (rendered from frying the bacon) plus extra for greasing pan (or use butter or oil)
2 large eggs

Method
Fry the bacon slices until crispy and remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Leave the bacon fat in the pan to cool.

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C.

Cut your peaches in half and remove the pits. Slice them in wedges.

Place the wedges on a baking pan. Use a spoon to drizzle some bacon fat over each peach wedge. Sprinkle them with a pinch of flakey sea salt.



Roast in your preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes and then turn the wedges over and roast for a further 5 minutes.

After turning them over.


Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. They are going to be pretty soft at this point. Use a metal spatula to scrape them up. Reduce heat of the oven to 350°F or 180°C.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.

Chop the peaches and the bacon into pieces, setting aside 12 bits of each for topping the muffins before baking.


Add your chopped peaches to the flour and use a fork to mix them in and separate them from each other, coating them with flour.


In another bowl, whisk together milk, bacon fat and eggs.

Add all the milk mixture to flour mixture.



Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened. There should still be some flour showing. Then fold in your bigger pile of bacon.



Generously grease cups (I used bacon grease but you can use oil or butter) and top of 12-cup muffin pan.

Divide your batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Top each with a piece of the reserved bacon and roasted peaches.



Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.



Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing muffins from pan.



Enjoy!


If you are a fan of bacon or peaches, this is going to be your favorite Muffin Monday so far! Check out all the great combinations we have for you this month.


#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.


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Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Bacon Honey Mustard Biscuits #FoodieExtravaganza

Super full of bacon with a good hit of sweetness from the honey, these bacon honey mustard biscuits will be a favorite on your breakfast or brunch table. 

This month our host for Foodie Extravaganza is Kathleen at Fearlessly Creative Mammas and she has exhorted us to help her celebrate her southern roots by baking buttermilk biscuits. Apparently it's Buttermilk Biscuit Day on May 14th. Who knew? Being from the southern United States myself, I have several biscuit recipes already in my repertoire, like these make ahead biscuits that are frozen and can be baked as you need them which is very handy! I could also have shared my aunt’s made from scratch biscuits, the ones I make most often, but she got the recipe from her mother-in-law and it includes instructions that are hard to quantify, like “add just enough milk.” How much is just enough? Ah, therein lies the secret of Mrs. Davis’ fluffy biscuits.

I was trolling the internet and came across a recipe for maple syrup biscuits with bacon which sounded fabulous. The addition of bacon to any recipe is a good thing. All those from maple syrup producing regions, please cover your eyes for this next admission: At our house, Aunt Jemima Butter Lite syrup is our maple syrup substitute. We love that stuff. It's a bit thin though so I wasn't sure how it would behave in biscuit dough.

You know what also goes with bacon?  Honey and mustard – think Christmas ham. Mine always has a honey mustard glaze!

Serve these guys warm and they will be gone in no time.

Ingredients for 12 biscuits
1 pound or 450g streaky bacon, cut into 1/2-inch or 1cm pieces
1 3/4 cups or 220g flour, plus extra for the work surface
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 115g chilled butter
1/3 cup or 80ml honey
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1/3-1/2 cup or 80-120ml cold buttermilk – just enough till it hangs together like a dough

Method
Fry your bacon pieces in a large pan until they are nicely browned but not too hard. Drain them on some paper towels. I use some newspaper from the recycling bin and put a piece of clean paper towel on top so the bacon isn’t touching the newsprint. Works like a charm and saves on paper towels.

Sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Cut the chilled butter into 1/2 in or 1cm cubes. Use a pastry blender to cut them into the flour mixture, until the little butter pieces are tiny and covered in flour.



Add in the bacon and stir to coat the bacon with the flour mixture.

Add in your honey, mustard and about 1/3 cup or 80ml of the buttermilk. Start folding the ingredients together, adding the rest of the buttermilk if it seems too dry.



Flour your clean work surface and scrape the dough out onto it.

Flour your hands liberally and knead the dough two or three turns. Press the dough out till it’s about and 1 in or 2.5cm thick.

Flour your biscuit cutter or a large glass and cut the biscuits out and put them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment or a silicone liner.



Pop the whole pan into the freezer to chill while you preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.


When the oven is preheated, bake the biscuits for 18-22 minutes or until they are nicely browned.



Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving warm.

My original plan was to brush these with melted butter and honey when they came out of the oven but I can assure you that they don’t need it. They are chock full of bacon and just sweet enough from the honey already inside! They go ever so nicely with a sunny-side-up egg.


Enjoy!

How do you like your biscuits? We've really kicked them up a notch this month!



Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out here.

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