Mom’s Baked Spinach Soufflè

It’s only early November, but I’m already dreaming of mom’s traditional Christmas morning breakfast: baked spinach and cheese soufflè.  This wonderfully delicate, cheesy egg dish is loaded with fresh chopped spinach leaves and sprinkled with coarse cracked black pepper. I love a generous slice — hot out of the oven — with a couple of crispy pieces of toast on the side and a hot, black cup of coffee. Delic!

I made the souffle recently for dinner and it was a fabulous meal and it reheats well. And although it’s not the healthiest recipe out there, it’s loaded with protein!

Baked Spinach and Cheese Soufflè

1 large container of 2% cottage cheese

6 large eggs

1/4 lb butter, cut in small cubes

1/2 lb velveta cheese cut into thumbnail size pieces (can also use cheddar)

1 lb bag spinach cut into ribbons

6 tablespoons flour

salt and pepper

(1) One at a time, mix the eggs with the cottage cheese in a large bowl. Then, add butter and cheese and combine.

(2) Stir in flour — two tablespoons at a time. Add the spinach and coat with cheese mixture.

(3) Pour the mix into a buttered 9×13 pan and bake for 1 hour or until knife comes out clean (325 glass / 350 metal).

*Soufflè can be made ahead of time and refrigerated before baking.

Iced Apple Coffee Cake

I haven’t made it out to pick apples this fall, but I did recently endeavor to do the next best thing: picking apples from among the mounds of varieties in wooden crates that line the tents just outside the Eastern Market on weekends. The apples — Gala, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, and Fuji – are trucked in directly from the orchards of West Virginia and rural Maryland.

Returning home with a bag full of the fall fruit is then the perfect reason to break out the recipe book and cook up all but a handful to be saved for lunchtime eating. This iced apple coffee cake is great for putting your fresh-peck of tart apples to good use and makes an awesome breakfast sweet to accompany your coffee or tea. It’s moist and semi-tart on the inside with a light, vanilla sugar glaze on top. Vanilla yogurt and cinnamon add a dimension of flavor.

Iced Apple Coffee Cake

For the Cake:
1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tart cooking apples peeled, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons orange juice
1⁄3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

For the vanilla glaze:
3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

(1)Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round springform pan.

(2) Toss the apples with the juice. Then, in a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cardamom and cinnamon. Add to the apples and toss to coat. Set aside.

(3)  Combine the butter, yogurt, granulated sugar and vanilla and beat together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

(4) In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions to the creamed mix. Beat well until smooth before gently folding in the apples until evenly distributed.

(5) Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.

(6) Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, the  milk and the vanilla until smooth and pourable. While the cake is warm, drizzle with the glaze. Let the cake cool to room temperature.

“The Brick” at Market Lunch

If you’re a breakfast fan, the Market Lunch at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill is the place to be on a Saturday or Sunday morning. The food counter, on the north end of the South Hall, is a huge draw; but don’t be intimidated by the long line that snakes around the kitchen’s single long table.  It moves quickly and the pay off is well worth it: the food is fresh, cooked to order, and a real bargain.  And don’t panic that you won’t have a place to sit and enjoy your meal — there’s always space to sit at the counter since workers help facilitate the turnover.  At the top of the menu is one of the most unbelievable breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had (!!):  ”The Brick” — egg, cheese, potato and meat on a toasted portuguese roll.

The thick-cut smoked bacon is crispy and meaty, earning two thumbs up. But the ham, sausage, turkey sausage and scrapple all appeared to be equally compelling choices.  The grilled new potatoes have slightly crunchy skin and warm, pillowy insides – all topped with melted cheddar cheese. Add a fried egg in between – with a little hot sauce – and you’ve got a killer sandwich. I was very impressed with the raw ingredients here and the freshness: despite it’s name, it was not dripping in grease and didn’t deliver a punch to the gut.  If you have appetite to spare, definitely get a side order of yellow North Carolina grits and/or the “Blue Bucks” — blueberry buckwheat pancakes.

Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love a crunchy cookie with lots of “stuff” in it — nuts, chips, oats, raisins, coconut, peanut butter… Certainly not all those things at once.  But, the combination of a few of those ingredients in a single cookie always pleases the palate. These oatmeal-coconut-chocolate chippers are crispy and hearty. Delicious with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee!  This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies:

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/8 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet, mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup flaked coconut

(1) Preheat oven to 350.

(2) Cream butter and sugars in a bowl until light and fluffy. Then add the egg and vanilla.

(3) Whisk dry ingredients together and then fold into the butter mixture. Add chocolate chips and coconut.

(4) Drop tablespoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool cookies on a baking rack.

Oven-Fried Chicken with Balsamic Glazed Carrots

Having lived in Georgia and South Carolina, I can appreciate the amazing flavors of Southern cuisine. But I’ve never quite been able to stomach all the grease that’s often involved.  So, here’s a healthier take on mashed potatoes and buttermilk fried chicken I tried:  it’s packed with juicy flavor but not dripping in oil. And, using the oven makes it easier to prepare and clean up than frying on the stove: a definite “plus” for work-night cooking.

I marinated my boneless, skinless chicken breasts — which I pounded out to half-inch thickness — in a buttermilk marinade for several hours in a ziplock bag in the fridge.

Buttermilk Marinade

3/4 cup of buttermilk

Juice of one lemon

4 chopped garlic cloves

1 diced yellow onion,

1 teaspoon of dried thyme

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper

Before encrusting the chicken, be sure to pat each breast dry with a paper towel first. Then, dip in egg — letting excess drip off — and dredge in Panko breadcrumbs mixed with herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Lay the chicken on a wire rack atop a baking sheet before baking in a hot, preheated 375 oven.  Mine took 20-25 minutes — but baking time will vary by oven.  The outer crust should look toasted brown and crispy! (Good news about this marinade is that it keeps the chicken fairly moist even if you slightly over-bake.)

While the chicken is “oven-frying,” prepare the carrots and potatoes on the stove.  In a small sauce pan, saute several cups of carrots in one tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Once the carrots get tender — about 5 minutes — add two tablespoons of good, aged balsamic vinegar and one tablespoon of light brown sugar. Continue to cook the carrots, coating in the balsamic glaze, until the liquid is reduced by about half.  These are incredibly tangy and tasty on the side!

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Cake

Buttermilk is one of those ingredients that I usually cook with in streaks: It’s sold in quart or half gallon sizes at the grocery store but I usually end up only needing a little bit to add tang or richness to a particular dish, meaning lots leftover for something else.  After playing with buttermilk for my sticky biscuits last week, I’ve had some hanging out in the fridge — hence the inspiration for this dessert making its debut on PBMilk.

This buttermilk chocolate chip cake has an emphasis on the butter — there are two (!) sticks in this large loaf cake.  One whole stick is used to create a streusel/crumble topping with brown sugar and flour that bakes down into the cake.  The result is a a crispy, buttery shell and a rich, dense, dry pound cake.  The bittersweet chocolate chips — added when it comes out of the oven — show some love by getting all warm and gooey.

This is a yummy dessert, but something is missing to my taste.  The buttermilk flavor is too subtle and there aren’t enough chocolate chips in the batter.  In my next crack at this one — and my recommendation to those who decide to try this at home — I’ll up the chippage in the batter by at least 1/4 cup and also juice up the buttermilk factor by a 1/8 to 1/4 cup.

Eastern Market on Capitol Hill

Every great American city has a grand, central marketplace that reflects its unique history:  In New York, it’s Fulton Fish Market; in Chicago, it’s Walter Street Market; and in New Orleans, it’s the historic French Market.   And since 1873 in the nation’s capitol, Eastern Market is where District natives have been coming for fresh regional produce from the fields of rural Virginia and Pennsylvania and seafood (crab!) from the Maryland coast.

On weekends outside the recently-restored South Hall, regional farmers and local artisans set up tents to sell their goods.  In the summer, expect to find awesome West Virginia peaches and northern Pennsylvania blueberries. Fall is apple and squash season with great varieties from area orchards.  Inside South Hall, which is open daily, browse the cases of homemade deli meats and sausages and fresh cuts of poultry, pork and beef. I also high recommend stopping by the “Market Lunch” – renowned for its crab cakes and blueberry pancakes.

Spontaneous Bake: Sticky Biscuits

I first made these back in January, and tonight I was craving them again. They are as fabulous as I remember them — sweet, sticky oatmeal-pecan-raisin rolls. Nothing like a little weeknight “baking therapy” at the spur of the moment!  These hit the sweet spot. Yum.

Brunch at Cookshop

A recent Sunday morning excursion through New York’s Meatpacking District reminded me why it’s one of the neighborhoods I love most: edgy architecture, trendy nightlife, bold people, and a fantastic brunch scene. After a walk down the city’s popular, new High Line Park – a converted old elevated railway — I stopped at Cookshop (10th Ave and 20th St.) for brunch al fresco.

The menu features seasonal and local ingredients in fare like the fresh ricotta-spinach frittata, homemade beef brisket and the semolina-raisin french toast. They have some killer pastries as well. We loved the pecan sticky bun and the coffee cream filled donut. The latter was particularly unique and delicious!

Pick up the High Line at Gansevoort and Washington Streets and walk north to 20th St and Tenth Ave, the end of the park.  There’s a coffee stand and a bunch of benches and chairs along the way. If it’s a nice day, definitely worth stopping to admire the wildflowers and urban architecture.  Once you reach the end, Cookshop is across the street on the corner. A great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Haute Chocolate

I love hot chocolate — and generally all types of chocolate. But “haute” chocolate?  What’s so special about the expensive, designer stuff that draws people to shell out several dollars for a single truffle, let alone a small square brick of “plain”?  I guess I’m still a rookie chocolate connoisseur trying to find out.

This small birthday gift of four exotic truffles was a step forward in my chocolate education. They’re from Chicago-based Vosges Haut Chocolate, whose advertised mantra is “peace, love and chocolate,” and each chocolate reflects an “East meets West” flavor theme.  Talk about exotic:  I’m still not sure what curry powder is doing mixed with milk chocolate; why wasabi is being coupled with a sweet; or how salty kalamata olives can add to the creamy goodness of white chocolate. But truth be told: the subtle interplay of flavors did actually make for a tasty and sensory, not to mention artistic, experience. I enjoyed.

LEFT: “Black Pearl” — ginger, wasabi, dark chocolate, and black sesame seeds

RIGHT: “Naga” — sweet Indian curry powder, coconut, and milk chocolate

LEFT: “Olio d’Oliva” — extra virgin first-press olive oil, white chocolate, and dried kalamata olives

RIGHT: “Red Fire” — Mexican ancho and chipotle chili peppers, ceylon cinnamon, and dark chocolate (spicy!)