My New Favorite Breakfast: Jam & Bread Pudding

Sometimes I get into a rut in the kitchen. It can be due to the ingredients in my pantry, the ease of a recipe, or my sheer laziness. One such item is Cafe Beaujolais Coffeecake, a breakfast favorite. Torn out of the Food section of the San Francisco Chronicle two decades ago, this recipe is from Mendocino's famous Café Beaujolais. Delicious and easy to make, it is my default breakfast dish, great for larger crowds and holidays. But I’ve been looking for a companion dish, something that is easy and goes together quickly. Scanning my archives of clippings, I found it. Sitting there, waiting to be seen for five years!

Jam and Bread Pudding is a recipe I clipped from Food and Wine in December of 2005. Why I have never made this before is beyond me, and is clearly a mistake on my part. It takes about 30-35 minutes from start to finish and the ingredients are simple. I’ve served it twice now and it gets raves each time.

It is somewhat delicate in the mouth, due to the use of challah or brioche bread, and has just the right amount of sweet for kids and adults alike. The original recipe suggests you serve it with maple syrup, but there is absolutely no need. It is terrific all on its own.

I used homemade strawberry jam but I think this would work well with seedless raspberry, plum, or peach jam as well. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Jam and Bread Pudding

From Food and Wine, December 2005

One 1-pound loaf challah (or brioche) bread, sliced 1/2 to 3/4 -inch thick

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons strawberry jam or preserves

4 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon whole milk or half-and-half

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange half of the challah in the dish; tear the slices to fit. Spread 3/4 cup of the jam on top; cover with the remaining challah.

Whisk the eggs, sugar, 2 1/2 cups of the milk and the vanilla and pour over the challah; press to soak and brush with 4 tablespoons of the butter. Cover with foil and bake for 24 minutes, removing the foil halfway through, until the pudding is set; remove from the oven.

Preheat the broiler. Blend the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk with the confectioners' sugar.

Add the remaining butter and jam and stir until the glaze is smooth. Spread all but 1/4 cup of the glaze over the pudding and broil until the glaze is golden. Drizzle the bread pudding with the remaining glaze and serve.

An Organized Cooking Style

I am a Virgo*. Many say that makes me well organized, methodical, efficient, and apparently I cook in that same manner. And it works…for me.

It makes perfect sense to set out all my ingredients prior to starting a recipe. The French call this mis en place, “everything in place.” Then as I use each item, be it flour, sugar or a spice, I put the remainder away. Once I have come to the end of a recipe, my counter should be empty except for the finished product. In this way I know I have used all the ingredients. I don’t do this with everything, as I wing it a lot with savory dishes. But I am pretty faithful to this preparation in all things sweet or bread-related. I have had a few disasters in the past when I have failed to do so (like bread pudding without any sugar).

This method also keeps me from opening cabinets or drawers to retrieve ingredients or tools when I have dirty hands. Just as important, is using this technique when teaching someone to cook. Starting them out with good habits, like mis en place, gives them an edge in delivering a successful final dish. Success means they want to try again, try something new. And when a novice cook is unfamiliar with a kitchen, ingredients or tools, it keeps them from getting flustered in the middle of a recipe.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t improvise from time to time and throw something in spur-of-the-moment, like chopped pecans into my buttermilk banana muffins or some fresh orange zest into chocolate cupcakes (to celebrate the Giants World Series final game).

I’m not saying that this is the best method for everyone, but it does seem to make my kitchen life easier. What works for you?

* Out of curiosity I checked out the traits of a Virgo woman, and this description—while it has a few misspellings which make me crazy (part of my nature)—is scarily accurate. Kinda makes me a believer in astrology.

Experimentation: Bacon Candy

My newest fixation is cupcakes. I love the individual portions, the fun ways to frost them, and how much flavor you can bake into each bite. Oh, not to mention the joy on peoples’ faces when they see them in the cake stand on the counter. Anyone entering my house knows that baked goods that appear in the cake stand are free for the taking, and very few are shy about it.

The one flavor I’ve been really wanting to make is maple-bacon. (I subscribe to the theory that everything is better with bacon.) But I haven’t been completely satisfied looking at the recipes for the cake, frosting, and bacon candy, so I decided that I would take matters into my own hands and create something I was happy with. Thus began a day of experimentation, starting first with the bacon candy.

I wanted to try various methods of making the candy, so I started by cooking bacon first. Given that the bacon would be used in candy, I used a good, high quality bacon: Wellshire Dry Rubbed Center Cut (all natural, raised without antibiotics). I like the heft of the pieces and it has a good flavor (it is both thick sliced and applewood smoked). It is available at Whole Foods and you can order it online (for about $2/lb cheaper).

I took 6 slices of the smoked bacon and cut each in half. I decided to slow bake (300 degrees) the pork strips to get an even cook and to preserve the flat shape of the bacon. I remember reading about baking bacon on Cooking for Engineers, although he used a much slower oven and put the bacon on racks. It seemed to be a good way to get the bacon just right for the candying. Baked at 300 degrees on a baking sheet took about 50 minutes. I did turn the bacon about two-thirds of the way through, but I do not think this is strictly necessary. What I got at the end of the cooking process was a flat, evenly colored, chewy piece of bacon. No burnt or overly crisp edges. Perfect for making bacon candy.

My first experiment involved melting 1/3 cup of raw turbinado sugar in a small sauté pan to make a dry caramel. I started this on a low heat but because turbinado sugar is larger and harder granules than plain old granulated sugar, it did not melt readily. I turned up the flame to med-low to get a melt. Once there, I turned the flame to low and dropped in 2 pieces of the bacon. Turning them once and cooking for about 30 seconds, then taking the pan off the heat. I removed them to a parchment-lined baking rack to cool. (Note that if you cook on too high of a heat or for too long, your caramel will become burnt – so watch very carefully.)

Second, I made a dry caramel with granulated white sugar and did the dip, 30-second cook method. This caramel was much thinner than the turbinado sugar, but yielded a heavier caramel coat.

Third: brown sugar two ways: I packed brown sugar on one side of two pieces of bacon and put them in a preheated sauté pan. I let them cook on low until the sugar had melted on top and then flipped the bacon to cook the sugar in. I also tried this a second way by dredging one piece of bacon in brown sugar, packing it on both sides (which is a bit difficult to do). I then put it in the preheated pan, cooked until the sugar melted and then flamed the gas up high to really melt the sugar good onto the bacon.

Fourth: I heated maple syrup to a light boil and sauteed two pieces of bacon for 30 seconds.

Fifth: Ditto #4 but with molasses.

Once all was said and done Mr. B and I did a taste test. Great way to start the morning, I might add.

The white sugar caramel completely encased the bacon into a hard shell. It was stiff as a board but did cut fine with kitchen shears. It was crunchy and stuck to the teeth with a lot of chewing needed to get to the bacon flavor. Mr. B thought this tasted like caramel corn. Too much sugar/caramel for my liking.

The turbinado sugar caramel was darker than its white sugar counterpart and not as thick on the bacon, but just as hard. It cut fine with kitchen shears and had more depth of flavor. Not quite as crunchy as the white sugar caramel and I really liked the flavor and the way it would hold up as a garnish on a cupcake.

The two-sided brown sugar was also a favorite. Both single- and double-sided brown sugar bacon were slightly overcooked due to the candying method. The edges got crispy and they looked the worst by far. But they cut easily and were crispy and crunch with more bacon flavor than sugar. This could be a very good method if the bacon started out slightly undercooked to compensate for the fact that a second cooking period occurs.

The maple syrup and molasses were both sticky—the maple more so. Given that, they would not work as a garnish. But the molasses was the best looking by far, shiny but not hard. The maple flavor was OK but not great, while I loved the molasses flavor, albeit found it too strong for the cupcake purpose.

The consensus is that either a turbinado caramel or two-sided brown sugar candy coat should be used to make the bacon candy for the garnish.

One experiment down, two to go (cupcake batter and frosting).

Buttermilk Banana Muffins

I found myself with some extra buttermilk and bananas this week and in searching for a suitable recipe for both found a wonderful recipe on Taste of Home. These muffins are light in every way – both in cake and flavor. This is not the overwhelming thick banana taste of my favorite banana bread but much more subtle and perfect for breakfast with its crumb topping. I like a lot of topping, so I doubled that part of the recipe. I have also found that adding ½ cup chopped pecans or ½ cup mini chocolate chips enhances the recipe ever so slightly.

Muffin:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

4 tablespoons cold butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill 20 muffin tins with paper liners.

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add bananas and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. I used a full size ice cream scoop. One slightly overflowing scoop is perfect.

For the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar and oats. Cut in butter until crumbly. (You can use your hands for this.) Sprinkle a rounded tablespoonful over each muffin. I use a small ice cream scoop for this. One rounded scoop is a good amount. Do not push down the crumb topping onto the muffin.

Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans.

Yield: 20 muffins.

On Sharing

First, let me say that I have been terribly remiss in posting. We’ve had a lot of visitors in the last two months who have graced us with their presence, so I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. But between enjoying our friends and family, I have just been working too hard. Not that I’m not still working hard, but its 6 a.m. on a Saturday, the house is quiet, and I don’t have it in me to work until another cup of coffee makes it way through my system. So, I thought I’d tell you about the sharing experience I had with my friend, fellow food blogger and writer extraordinaire, Tea of Tea and Cookies (and author of The Butcher and the Vegetarian).

Tea lives in Seattle but had occasion to come down to the Bay Area for a few days. She called and wanted to cook with me in my new kitchen. Can’t say I blame her, it really is a wonderful working environment. She proposed marathon gnocchi and pesto-making session. She showed up with a big box from the farmer’s market with a dozen bunches of basil and various other ingredients and we set to work, with an ice-cold gin and tonic. To keep our whistles wet.

And it was fun. We work well together in the kitchen, even though both of us were clearly exhausted, had not had enough sleep and were overworked. Something about being in the kitchen instantly makes us happy. Most of the time it felt like a choreographed dance, working together. She peeled the cooked potatoes while I riced them. She massaged the egg and flour in, and we rolled, cut, and scored the gnocchi. She cleaned the basil, while I pulled off the clean leaves. Many hands lighten the load. And all the while chatting.

We laughed at our attempt to properly score the gnocchi, with various shapes and sizes that would probably make an Italian nonna wince and shake her head in disgust. We constantly tasted the pesto and lamented the fact that we had peeled 9 heads of garlic, but only needed 3. She shared her wonderful experience at Mighty Summit and revealed a bit of her life list. I got to tell her about my upcoming trip with Brilliant Daughter to the U.K. and France. (Departure date just one week away!)

Next thing you know, four-plus hours have flown by. We’ve made tubs and tubs of pesto and a double batch of gnocchi—enough for 12. As we cleaned the kitchen, we snatched bites of gnocchi bathed in brilliant green pesto, the soft pillows melting the mouth and the whole thing leaving us with a breath strong in garlic. We washed the dishes, cleaned the counters, swept the floor of basil debris and smiled at our accomplishment.

At the end of the night, we both lay flat on our backs, she on the floor, me on the couch, and let out a big sigh. While we have cooked together before, this time it seemed more effortless. We were able to share the task at hand, but carry on a conversation like we were sitting around on the porch relaxing. It was joyous and exhausting, all at the same time. Which means that I look forward to sharing my kitchen again with Tea…any time.

Suburban S’mores

I’m not going to get a vacation this year. No Pinecrest Lake in my summer plans. Even though we bought a new tent, it will not have a chance to leave its box until next year. So I had a bit of a pity party.

I was making homemade graham crackers for my sweet little Cora, who is coming to visit from England.

As I was making them I got to thinking how good they would be in s’mores.

So as soon as they came out of the oven I started in making homemade marshmallows.

And when those were cooling, I went down to the store and bought some Hershey’s Special Dark bars. So that’s how I spent my Sunday, by making by hand the goodies for s’mores.

Of course, we ran into one small problem: no campfire. And we don’t own a fire pit, portable or in-ground. I guess we could have built a fire in the fireplace, but when its 80 degrees in the house, that’s not such a good idea.

So we did what any good suburban camper would do, we fired up the 6-burner BlueStar range, got out our skewers, turned on the overhead fan and roasted some of those marshmallows!

MMMM, good…..