Showing posts with label make-ahead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label make-ahead. Show all posts

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Baked Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwiches

Baked Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwiches are the perfect make ahead breakfast for three or a crowd of 20. Assemble the night before and bake them up hot and fresh when your guests wake up.



I must confess that my go-to breakfasts for a crowd are usually pancakes, waffles or muffins. I make my life easy in the morning by getting organized the evening before, measuring out the dry ingredients into a big bowl and whisking together the wet ingredients in another bowl. I pop the wet ingredients in the refrigerator.

All that’s left to do in the morning is to combine the two and cook the batter, a process so simple that even I can do it while simultaneously sipping on my first cup of coffee. To measure ingredients in the morning, I’d have to be on my second cup to ensure any degree of accuracy. I’m sure many of you can relate.

This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing great recipes to serve when you are hosting a sleepover or slumber party.  I doubt my make-ahead batter tips are news to most of you so I decided to branch out a little. Baked Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwiches take a little more time but you save that on clean up!

Ingredients per person
1 bread roll
1 slice ham
1 medium egg
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely grated sharp cheese
Sprinkle chopped green onions or chives

Extra equipment: aluminum foil cut in squares large enough to wrap your bread rolls individually

Method
(If baking immediately, preheat your oven to preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.)

If baking the next morning, start here:
Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the top of your bread roll at a slight angle, like you would the top of a pumpkin for carving. Set aside.

Use the knife to cut around the hole so that you can remove the soft inside of the roll. Save it for another use like breadcrumbs or stuffing. You want to get the walls of the roll quite thin so that the heat can reach the egg quickly when we bake this.





Dry the ham slice with a paper towel and fit it into the roll, pressing down on the bottom to create more space for your egg. Don’t tear the ham or your egg will leak through to the bread roll, which we do not want.

If your eggs are very fresh, you might be able to skip this step: Crack the egg into a slotted spoon with tiny holes to let the very liquidy part of the egg drain away, leaving behind the rest of the white and the intact yolk.

Put the egg in the ham “bowl” in the roll.



Grind on some freshly ground black pepper then add the cheese on top. Sprinkle with some chopped green onion or chives.

Put the top back on the bread roll.

Wrap the whole roll completely with a piece of foil and set on a baking tray. Repeat as many times as necessary to feed all of your guests.



The baked ham, egg and cheese sandwiches can then be refrigerated overnight to be baked fresh and hot the next morning.

When you get up the next morning, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and remove the baking pan from the refrigerator.

Once the oven is hot enough, put the pan with the sandwiches in and bake for about 15 minutes. Pull one out to check how cooked the egg yolk is. Pop it back in for a little longer if the egg is still a little too runny for your liking. You are starting with cold ham, eggs and cheese so the time will vary by how cold they were and how soft you like your egg yolks.

N.B. If you make these and bake right away without refrigerating, they will take a shorter time to cook. I tested it both ways, baking one immediately and baking the other three the next morning. I was very happy with the results either way.

Once done to your liking, remove from the oven and leave to cool enough to handle. Hand out foil-wrapped baked ham, egg and cheese sandwiches and napkins to your hungry crowd. No plates to wash! Or put them on plates and get fancy.



I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m thinking these could even be baked over a campfire in a Dutch oven or in a covered barbecue pit, away from the direct heat. Wouldn’t they be great for a Scout campout?

What's your favorite dish to bring or make for a slumber party? If you are looking for some great new ideas, Sunday Supper is here to help. Many thanks to our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections and our host, Marion of Life Tastes Good.

Breakfast

Snacks

Desserts


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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Chocolate Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Deep rich chocolate cookie dough studded with mint and chocolate chips freezes beautifully so you are ready to bake up homemade chocolate chips by the time the oven preheats. These will disappear as fast as you can bake them.



You’d think I would know better.  I should know better!  Most of my adult life I’ve lived in places where I either needed to bring special items with me from the States or stock up quickly when I see them in the stores.  Reams of expat correspondence and countless conversations through the years have been devoted to where to buy what and, “Oh, my goodness, the soft toilet paper has come in at CV Central!” or “The advent calendars are here at Marks and Spencers!” and the like.

But I’ve gotten complacent living in Dubai.  I can buy most everything I need and it usually comes in great abundance.  Sometime too great.  I happen to know, because I have watched it with horrified interest, that the delivery of Borden’s Eggnog from the last Christmas season is still on the shelves at my local grocery store.  (The “best by” date is September 2013 but it’s covered by a sticker in Arabic.)  But I didn’t anticipate the run on Hershey’s Mint Truffles Kisses at all.  They appeared last week and I picked up a bag and fondled it but I didn’t buy because I didn’t have a plan.

Then I made a plan, for a mint chocolate make-ahead Christmas cookie that would be even more fabulous with a mint truffle Kiss on top. And now BOTH of my nearby grocery stores are out, fresh out, already. So I’ve left some plain (still fabulous) and topped some with peppermint Kisses and still others with dark chocolate Kisses. If you can find the mint truffle Kisses in the green bag, give them a try and send me a photo. I think they’d be beautiful. And if you are a fellow expat, don’t bother saying, “You should know better.” I do. I really do. Deep sigh.

This month our Creative Cookie Exchange group is baking up cookie dough that can be made ahead and frozen until you are ready to bake so make sure to scroll down to the bottom and check out the rest of the links.  We’ve got some great ones for you!

Ingredients for about 3 dozen cookies
These were a gift from my sister, brought from the States.
1 cup or 225g butter, at room temperature
1 cup, firmly packed, or 200g dark brown sugar
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
1/3 cup or just over 26g unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the special dark.)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 oz or 283g bag mixed dark chocolate chips and mint chips

Optional to decorate: A variety of Hershey’s Kisses

Method
If baking right away, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your baking pan by greasing it lightly or lining it with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine your flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.


With electric beaters or in your stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar, until they are light and fluffy.


Add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined.



Now add in the chocolate and mint chips and beat again briefly.


Roll the dough up into a thick sausage shape with cling film and chill for about 10 minutes in the freezer.  (Or for as long as several weeks if you aren’t baking immediately.  In this case, let the dough thaw for about 10 minutes before trying to cut your slices.  This also gives your oven time to preheat.)

It's not pretty but it is pretty delicious. 


Cut slices of the dough and lay them out on the prepared pan with enough space between them so they don’t run together as they bake.

This dough had been frozen for about 30 hours, then thawed for 10 minutes before slicing.


Once your oven has preheated, bake for 10-12 minutes or until just set.   Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about 5-7 minutes before adding the Kisses or trying to remove them from the pan with a spatula.

Just out of the oven! 


If you’ve added Kisses, do not touch the candies until they have had a chance to harden up again.  The whole Kiss gets soft from the heat.  You can pop the cookies in the refrigerator if you are in a hurry.

With Kisses

Enjoy!

Unadorned but still delicious

To join in the fun of the Creative Cookie Exchange, just complete the steps below:

1.  Write a blog post with recipe and original photo. The theme this month is make-ahead freezer cookies for the holidays.  The post should describe how to freeze the dough and also how to bake the dough when you are ready. We would like the recipe to be one you’re making for the first time, and photos must be original.
2.  Post the Cookie Exchange badge somewhere on your blog so others can join in the fun:
Badge Code: should work for all types of web sites, blogger, self-hosted and free.

Creative Cookie Exchange

3.  Make a good faith effort to visit and comment on the other cookies in the Linky party.  We all love cookies so that should be easy!
6.  LINK your blog post below using the Linky tool.

You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes.  Be sure to check out our Facebook page, our Pinterest Board, and our monthly posts. You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!  

Here are this month’s great make-ahead recipes: