French Crepes
Yield 6-7 18”crepes
Ingredients
- 3 cups milk
- 4 eggs
- 6 Tablespoons melted butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
Instructions
- Combine wet ingredients in blender
- Blend on low till well-combined but not frothy
- Add dry ingredients
- Blend on medium JUST till combined with no dry spots
- Allow to rest for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours
- Ladle 6 oz onto greased, hot crepe pan ( 400*F )
- Turn when GBD and add ingredients to top half.
- Flip bottom half over top to cover ingredients, flip in thirds, garnish and serve
Classic French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 slices challah, brioche, or texas toast bread any buttery bread with good texture will do
- 1/2 cup maple syrup warmed
Instructions
- Lay slices of bread in single layers on sheet pans, and allow to dry overnight, or in a 200°F oven for 1 hour.
- Whisk together cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla and pour into a shallow container.
- In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Dip bread in egg mixture and allow to soak for 10 – 15 seconds per side.
- Fry slices until golden brown, then flip to brown the other side.
- Serve on a warmed plate with syrup, butter, and choice of toppings.
Handmade Hashbrowns
Instructions
Prep Potatoes
- Shred 2 russet potatoes (either peeled or unpeeled) with a cheese grater and place shredded potatoes into a bowl of cold water.
- Stir potato shreds around in the water to loosen the starch. Drain the starchy water, refill the bowl with more cold water and repeat stirring and draining the potatoes until the water runs clear.
- Drain as much water off of the potatoes as you can, squeezing them between several layers of cheesecloth.
AS PATTIES
- Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick saute pan or griddle over medium-high heat.
- Combine ½ medium onion, finely chopped, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, and 1 egg to shredded potatoes until evenly distributed. Form into patties about 1/2 inch thick.
- Season with salt and pepper and cook without disturbing for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
- Flip the hashbrowns and cook the other side for another 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from heat, season with additional salt, and serve.
FREEFORM
- Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick saute pan or griddle over medium-high heat.
- Transfer dried potatoes into the hot pan and spread into an even layer. Season with salt and pepper and cook without disturbing for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
- Use a spatula to flip the potatoes in several sections to cook the other side. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from heat, season with additional salt, and serve.
Notes
- Hash is any dish consisting of chopped meat, potatoes, and fried onions. The name is derived from French: hacher, meaning “to chop”. It originated as a way to use up leftovers. In the USA by the 1860s, a cheap restaurant was called a “hash house” or “hashery.”
- “Hash browns” were originally known as Hashed Brown Potatoes
- Corned Beef Hash is popular in New England and is the traditional breakfast on St. Patty’s Day – cubed corned beef, cubed potatoes, pan fried with an egg on top.
Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 Cups AP flour
- 3 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 – 2 ½ cups buttermilk more buttermilk = thinner pancakes
- 2 eggs
- 3-4 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted (more butter = more browning)
- Neutral oil for cooking
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300*F, then turn off. The prewarmed oven will keep cooked pancakes warm while the rest finish cooking.
- Heat a large non-stick pan (or griddle) over low heat for five – ten minutes, then raise temp to medium.
- Sift together dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center.
- Whisk together wet ingredients: Buttermilk, eggs, sugar, melted butter. Pour into well.
- Gently stir everything together until all ingredients are combined. Don’t over-mix — it’s okay if there are a few lumps.
- Add a drizzle of oil to the pan or griddle. Ladle 1/3-1/2 cup of batter onto the skillet. Cook the pancake(s) on one side until bubbles start rising to the surface (2-4 minutes).
- Flip the pancake(s) and cook for another minute or 2.
- Serve the pancakes hot from the skillet or keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.
Notes
- Pancakes are a quick bread made with the muffin method – liquid fat combined with wet ingredients stirred briefly into sifted dry ingredients.
- Pancakes exist all over the world and it seems each culture has its own unique take on them: French Crepes, Jewish potato latkes, Irish boxty, Russian blini, Welsh crampog, Indian poori, Hungarian palacsinta, and Dutch pannenkoeken.
- The name “pancake” became standard in 19th century America. Previously, they were called indian cakes, hoe cakes, johnnycakes, journey cakes, buckwheat cakes, buckwheats, griddle cakes, and flapjacks.
Southern Tomato Grits
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup quick cooking grits
- 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 diced green onions
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies
- 2 lightly beaten eggs
- 4 oz cubed processed cheddar cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F.
- In a saucepan, bring the water and milk to a boil. Add the salt and slowly add the grits and return to a boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. While stirring the grits add the butter and stir until butter is melted. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the grits are thick and creamy. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Saute the onions in the remaining tablespoon of butter for 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup cheddar and onions to grits and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the tomatoes and mix well. Stir in the beaten eggs. Pour the grits into a greased oven safe dish and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top during the last 5 minutes of cooking time
Notes
- Grits are made from a less sweet, starchy variety of corn, such as dent corn. The corn goes through a type of processing that soaks the dried grains in lye or another alkali for several days, which removes the hard hull; the resulting grain is referred to as hominy. When purchasing grits, you will find hominy as well as white and yellow corn, instant and stone-ground varieties.
- Food Fact: Grits are the official food of South Carolina.
- History: The word “grits” is derived from an Old English word “grytt,” which means coarse meal.
- Polenta is an Italian version of grits. It’s made from cornmeal, so it has a significantly different texture and flavor. It is prepared similarly and can look like grits, which is where the confusion may lie.
- Origin: Even before the European explorers came West, the Indigenous peoples of North America were eating a dish of mashed corn, as corn was a prevalent crop.
Frittata Formula
Italian Baked Omelet – While not a "formal" dish in most Italian households, it is a regular meal consisting of whatever you can find and cook with eggs and cheese. It is the Italian version of "leftovers for breakfast."
Ingredients
- 8 large or extra-large eggs
- 2 tablespoon half and half
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or butter
- 2 cups pre-cooked filling
- 1 cup finely grated cheese
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375*F
- Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl. Add your dairy of choice and the salt. Whisk just until the egg yolks and whites are blended. Whisk in grated cheese.
- In a large, oven-safe saute pan, warm the olive oil or butter over medium heat. Add the vegetables, starting with chopped onions or other dense vegetables. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, then add any softer vegetables such as zucchini. Cook until those vegetables are tender, then add any softer vegetables (like spinach) and meat (like bacon or sausage). Season filling with salt.
- Whisk the eggs once more and pour the mixture over the vegetables. Stir with a spatula briefly to combine and distribute the mixture evenly across the pan. If you reserved any cheese, sprinkle it on top of the frittata now.
- Once the outside edge of the frittata turns lighter in color (about 30 seconds to 1 minute), carefully transfer the frittata to the oven. Bake for 7 to 14 minutes, until the eggs are puffed and appear cooked, and the center of the frittata jiggles just a bit when you give the pan a shimmy.
- Remove the frittata from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool. Garnish with herbs, slice with a sharp knife, and serve.