Buttery Herb-Gruyere Toasts {served with soft-boiled eggs}

This is yet another Smitten Kitchen creation. I adore Smitten Kitchen - I am smitten with Smitten Kitchen (sorry, I had to). Her recipes are so doable and ALWAYS delicious! Her cookbook comes out this Fall and you can bet I am pre-ordering that baby!

I made this for breakfast for myself a few weeks ago and boy, it hit the spot! This would be perfect for brunch, or even an afternoon munch. The yolk from the egg creates a perfect sauce for the salty, crunchy cheese-sprinkled toasts... yum!

What you need:
16 sourdough toast fingers, 1/2" thick
4 Tbls. butter, melted
1 tsp. dijon mustard
salt
pepper
1/3 c. finely grated Gruyere cheese
2 Tbls. finely grated Romano cheese (or parmesan)
1 Tbls. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme

What to do:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place bread cubes in a large, shallow bowl.
Whisk together mustard and butter and drizzle over the top of the bread.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cheeses, and herbs.
Toss to coat.
Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray and scatter the bread cubes on the sheet.
Bake until crisp and golden, about 20 minutes.

Serve with soft-boiled eggs (you can find instructions on how to do this on the internet - just use Google!), making sure to soak up every last bit of yolk into that crispy toast!

Licking my fingers,

HK

01.27.2012 | Buttermilk Biscuits

I hate to admit this, but I did not take any pictures from 01.17 through 01.21 (just 4 days!) because I came down with the flu on the night of the 18th... I was down for the count until that next Monday, and even then not up to par. But! I had a lovely newborn session on the 22nd, which MORE than makes up for the 4 photos that I missed during that time, and makes up for the 4 more days of photos I missed since then due to editing and preparing their disc...

Today, though, I am back in full-swing (hopefully, fingers crossed) with my photo-a-day, self-given assignment and, a little bonus, this one comes with a recipe!

Since I started working only 4 days a week (Fridays off!!), Scott and I have been so blessed to have Friday mornings to spend together. We have made it a tradition to sleep in wake up around 8:00, make a yummy breakfast and coffee, and play a few rounds of backgammon before Scott heads off to school for the day.

This Friday morning, homemade southern buttermilk biscuits! Yum! I also have a recipe for sausage gravy that I will post next, so stay tuned for that!

The KEY to light, fluffy, buttery biscuits is MINIMAL HANDLING. Do NOT over knead your dough! This will result in tough, chewy biscuits (yuck.)

This recipe comes from Alton Brown on foodnetwork.com

What you need:
2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 T. butter, cold
2 T. shortening
1 c. buttermilk, chilled

What to do:
Preheat oven to 450
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
Using a fork, work butter and shortening into the flour mixture. Work quickly, as you don't want the fats to melt. The mixture will be crumbly.
Make a well in the flour mixture with your hands and pour in the buttermilk
Stir with a spoon until just combined; do not over mix. The dough will be very sticky.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface, dust the top with a bit of flour, and gently fold the dough over itself 5-6 times
Press into a 1/2-1 inch thick disc
Cut out biscuits using a 2" biscuit cutter, making sure to push straight down and straight out - do NOT twist the cutter, as this will prevent your biscuits from rising properly!
Place biscuits on a baking sheet so that they just touch
Reform scrap dough, working as minimally as possible, and continue cutting until all dough is used
Bake until biscuits are tall and lightly golden on top, 15-20 minutes (mine were done in 15).

Serve with butter & honey, or with sausage gravy (recipe to come!)

Yum!

Salivating,

HK

Mema's Monkey Bread

The smell of monkey bread baking in the oven sends me straight to Hearne, TX, walking into my grandparents kitchen after a quick stroll home from Sunday church. I'm wearing a handmade dress with poofy sleeves and a smock, hair pulled half-up into a large, handmade bow. My bangs are plastered to my forehead and my white stockings are stained with the dust from the road.

It's amazing how smells can evoke memory. And every time I bake monkey bread, I see my grandmother.

This is her recipe. A few decades old, but still brings life to my kitchen today :) Enjoy.

What you need:
1 cup Kellogg's All-Bran cereal
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
1 cup luke warm water
2 packages dry active yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups flour
1 stick butter, melted

What to do:
Mix All-Bran, oil, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Pour in boiling water and mix.
In a small bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar until dissolved.
Combine eggs and salt, and add to the All-Bran mixture.
Add yeast mixture and blend
Gradually add 2 cups of flour at a low speed, then add the remaining 4 cups.

Separate the dough into 2 parts.

Drop onto a floured surface and knead until just tough, not sticky (this is a very sticky dough, so you may need more flour than you think...).
Roll each ball to 1/2 inch thick and cut into rounds.
Dip rolls into the melted butter and place butter-side-down into 2 Bundt pans (you can also use 2 13X9 pans).
Pour remaining butter over the top of the rolls.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, then 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Where is the picture of the fully baked rolls?

I don't have one. Because we ate them. All. That's how good they are.



Floured hands,

HK