Breakfast + Brunch

Challah French Toast Bread Pudding

June 7, 2010 By Steve Dunn 14 Comments

This started out as a Bon Appetit recipe years ago, but we’ve tinkered with it over time to come up with this luscious, yet easy indulgence. I think the only thing we haven’t changed is the use of Challah, because it is absolutely perfect in this dish. My favorite thing about this treat is that it is made in its entirety the night before serving, so in the morning, you just have to pop it into the oven, and set your timer. It is so easy, that I can even manage it before my first cup of morning coffee, and THAT is saying something.

Bouchon's Quiche Lorraine

December 1, 2009 By Steve Dunn 25 Comments

OK.

This is not a recipe for the casual, "I just like to throw it together" kind of cook, and certainly not one you will be whipping up in a rush on a weeknight, but if you have any interest at all in making what is likely the best quiche on the planet, I urge you to stop clicking on your mouse and hang with me here for a while.

It also is not a recipe that you can give your kids free reign over, but it does have plenty of elements that the kids can help with, and I encourage you to make them part of the process. Not only will most kids LOVE this quiche, but I think it important that we make the effort to train our next generation in the fine art of quiche making, an art that is still alive and well in Europe, but sadly died here in the States in the "real men don't eat quiche" days of the early 80's. Americanized quiches baked in factory-made, soggy pie shells, with over-cooked, curdled custards make me want to scream….our kids deserve better, don't you think?

This dish is actually not difficult to make, but as with every recipe Chef Thomas Keller creates, it IS exacting, and therein lies its brilliance. Keller is not one of those chefs who lives on the bleeding edge of culinary adventure, like Heston Blumenthal, Feran Adria, or Grant Achats. These guys make their livings pushing the edge of the envelope with regard to cooking technology and high tech ingredients, that allow them to reconstruct food in ways that leave diners giddily questioning what exactly it was they just ate.

In contrast, what Keller does better than anyone else is rip classic dishes down to their most basic elements, and then reconstruct them using only the finest ingredients, and with such a finely honed and thoughtful technique, that the end result is a dish that is instantly recognizable for what it is, but is of a quality that has been elevated almost beyond measure. When finished, you will immediately recognize this dish as a quiche, but what you will have created will make every other quiche you have tasted seem like a cheap, plastic imitation. Successfully creating this dish will not require technical wizardry on your part, but it will require a tight eye on a few key details. The rewards for your vigilance will be ample, I assure you. You game?…..Then let's go.

Anadama Bread

November 18, 2009 By Steve Dunn 12 Comments

I had never heard of Anadama bread until we were presented with a couple of loaves by a friend of ours about a year ago. As I recall, the whole episode went something like this……

Ding-dong….the doorbell rings, and I hop up to answer it……

HERE…HAVE SOME DAMN BREAD.

Huh?

TWO LOAVES OF DAMN BREAD TO BE PRECISE, HOT OUT OF THE OVEN. I MAKE IT ALL THE TIME, IT’S A BIT OF A SPECIALTY OF MINE.

Excuse me?

YOU KNOW…..I THOUGHT I’D BRING SOME BY AS A SORT OF HOUSE WARMING GIFT, A LITTLE WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIND OF THING. I MAKE THE BEST DAMN BREAD IN TOWN!

Oh…. I get it, this is like when George and Mary Bailey (Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed) bring bread, salt and wine to the Martini family when they move into their new home in “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Only Mary’s presentation was a bit more, how shall we say, lyrical?

You remember what she said, don’t you?

Bread.....That this house may never know hunger!
 
Salt......That life may always have flavor!

and Wine…..That joy and prosperity may reign forever!

Ahhhh……Donna Reed, she was something special wasn’t she? Broke the mold after she was made I dare say, and she had such a way with words. Of course that was a gentler time, and given that we now live in a faster-paced world, there’s something to be said for a more direct approach as well, like “HERE, HAVE SOME DAMN BREAD!”

JEEZ, I SAID “HERE HAVE SOME ANADAMA BREAD”….DO YOU NEED A HEARING AID OR SOMETHING?

Oops….help me Clarence, it’s time to earn your wings!

Bran Muffins Even Your Kids Will Like

October 13, 2009 By Steve Dunn 13 Comments

A bold claim, I know.

Just the mention of the word “bran” will have most kids turning tail and heading for the hills, but if you can get them to try these, I betcha they’ll be hooked…..hey, have I ever lied to you? This is a muffin that I make in double batches to freeze for a quick, healthy re-heatable breakfast or snack. They get their moist texture from pureed raisins, which along with a little brown sugar, make them perfectly sweet, but not overly so. They are dense, rich, packed with flavor, and because they don’t finish with a crown, but rather a flat-top, they are oh-so-fun to stack!

The recipe is Nancy Silverton’s, perhaps you’ve heard of her? She is thought by many to be the preeminent pastry chef in the States, and her famed La Bea Bakery in L.A. enjoys world-wide acclaim. I bought her cookbook “Nancy Silverton’s Pastries from the La Brea Bakery” some time ago, but it wasn’t until I read a recent blog post by David Lebovitz raving about these muffins, did I decide to give them a try. I am so glad I did.

Chorizo and Spinach Frittata

October 9, 2009 By Steve Dunn 1 Comment

Making a frittata, much like a fried rice, is a great way to use up all the left-overs in your fridge. Pick a few main ingredients that will define your flavor profile, and then feel free to toss in little remnants of past meals that are hanging on, begging not to become a science experiment in the back of your refrigerator.

The dish is endlessly versatile, can be tossed together in minutes, is great hot or cold, travels well, can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. As long as you like eggs, it is a nearly perfect food. I’ve even thought of making a large one each Sunday, strictly for use throughout the coming week. A slice is great re-heated for a quick breakfast, can be a healthy addition to a school lunch, and a satisfying meal on the fly with a quick salad as you race between appointments on your evening schedule.

Madeleines

September 15, 2009 By Steve Dunn 26 Comments

“The fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. I think on this point, most of us would agree.

But did you know that the same can be said for young girls?

Well, I’m here to tell you that this strategy is equally effective when attempting to vie for a young chica’s affections, especially if what you’re offering to put in her stomach is something, that warm out of the oven, is as delicate and delicious as a homemade madeleine.

It was to this simple recipe that I turned shortly after I started dating my second wife, when I felt a little “sweetener” would help to warm the hearts of her two young daughters. To be fair, Muppet and Peyton seemed OK with me dating their mom from the get-go, but I must say that the introduction of madeleines to their world certainly helped to grease the path of my acceptance into their lives.

Vanilla – Spice Granola

June 9, 2009 By Steve Dunn 4 Comments

6:30 AM…..Grunt, groan, sigh….the fridge door opens, a cursory glance at the contents apparently yields nothing interesting. The ritual is repeated next at the freezer, and then at the breadbox before the inevitable question is tossed my way.

"Hey dad, what's for breakfast?"

I'm not even sure why I bother to answer, because regardless of what I say, the only response I ever get in return is; "Is that all?" "We never have anything good for breakfast anymore!" Repeat this dialogue (if you want to call it that) four more times, once for each of my kids stumbling into the kitchen, and you have a pretty accurate depiction of my morning routine lately. I suspect that the deterioration in the morning 'tude is just part of their end-of-the-school-year restlessness, but it seems an opportune time to add a new player to the breakfast rotation in any event. Something that is nutritious, easy to make, can do double duty as an afternoon snack, and most importantly, will get my kids off my @#$ about not having anything good to eat for breakfast. The choice is simple, delicious and obvious.

Granola.

Slip this word into a chat you are having with anyone over the age of 30, and the image in their mind’s eye is liable to be this; granola, the breakfast of choice for birkenstock and tie-dye wearing tree-hugger hippies weaving hemp plant-hangers while listening to The Grateful Dead. You know, munchy fodder for “crunchy-granola” types.

Mention granola to a group of kids sitting around the breakfast table, and you’re likely to illicit a sea of sour faces and the following dialogue; “keep that nasty bowl of tree bark and weeds far away from me, just the smell of it is making my eyes itch….I must be allergic."

Such a bad rap for what CAN be a delicious and nutritious staple of healthy eating. Of course, the poor rep is not entirely undeserved. Most pre-made granola on the market today falls into two broad categories, it either does taste like a bowl of bark mulch and pebbles, or it has been so highly processed and “sugared” in order to appeal to the bulk of our mass market cereal eaters, that it should not even be considered a cousin, eight times removed, of real granola.

There are some terrific artisanal granolas on the market these days, but at a cost of $10-15 for a 16 oz. bag, even our hemp-weaving hippie friends (who have been known to spend great sums for weedy things sold in bags) choke at the cost.

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