Weekend Cooking: Food & Wine's 20 Best Breakfast & Brunch Recipes (Kindle Edition)

Hello and welcome to Weekend Cooking! I don't know about you but breakfast and brunch are two of my favorite meals to cook. There are so many possibilities and there is no right or wrong combination. You can let your imagination go wild and you don't even have to have fancy ingredients. It's also a prefect way to use up leftover items in your refrigerator. That's why when I saw Food & Wine Magazine's 20 BEST BREAKFAST and BRUNCH RECIPES available for an amazing .99 at the Kindle Store, I jumped on it!

What's Inside...

Within this 61 page collection are favorite recipes from chefs and cooks, as well as Food and Wine's very own test kitchen. These recipes are not complicated - they are simple, elegant and smart ideas that I'm sure I'll be using often. The categories include: Egg dishes, such as omelets, frittatas, and sandwiches, to breakfast biscuits, pancakes, and muffins. It covers a wide range of dishes that would please even the pickiest palettes.  

Each recipe includes a beautiful photo of the finished product along with a brief introduction to the recipe by it's contributor. As a foodie, I always find it interesting to know the inspiration behind the development of a good dish. 

My Thoughts:

After purchasing a cookbook, I am always anxious to flip through the recipes and mark the ones that appeal to me. Many times, I am disappointed by either the 'special' ingredients I'd have to buy, or the difficult cooking method that makes me wary. But I am thrilled to say that when I scanned these recipes, I didn't have those feelings at all. There were many recipes that I immediately wanted to try and the ingredients were right there in my pantry. That made a huge impression on me right away. Another thing I like about this cookbook is the portion sizes. In some cookbooks, the recipe makes enough portions for a small dinner party and that is just way too much food for two or three people and I always have to cut the recipe in half and hope it turns out. That isn't necessary here. The photos that are included are very nice and even though the Kindle version doesn't do them justice, you still get a clear idea of what they're supposed to look like. I also enjoyed the introductions because, as a lover of foodie television, over the years, I have become familiar with certain chefs and its fun getting to know them a little better through their food. 

One of the recipes that I tried immediately was from Chef Spike Mendolsohn from Washington, D.C. Chef Spike was a contestant on Top Chef in the earlier seasons and though he didn't win the title of Top Chef, he has made quite a name for himself and has been very successful. His recipe for White House Honey-Oat Muffins jumped out at me right away. The dish was inspired by the honey bees that have made the White House their home. 

WHITE HOUSE HONEY-OAT MUFFINS

iNGREDIENTS

3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1.  Preheat the oven to 375. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, mix the oats with the whole-wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, coriander and salt.

2.  In another bowl, whisk the honey with the buttermilk, canola oil and eggs. Pour the honey mixture into the dry ingredients; mix just until combined.

3.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for about 18 minutes, until they're golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.  Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  

I like this recipe because these muffins are perfect for breakfast: They're not too sweet because there's no sugar, only natural honey and they're made with half whole-wheat flour and oats. They are so simple to make and they turned out beautifully the very first time. I have one of these muffins with a cup of yogurt and I've got a great breakfast without feeling like I've been bad. If you're lucky enough not to have to worry about fat intake, you could spread a little honey butter on your muffin and that would be divine!

So that's just one of the many recipes that caught my eye from this cookbook. There are many more that I intend to try and I'll share them here on another Weekend Cooking post. The decision to add this cookbook to your Kindle Library is a no-brainer, especially considering you can pick it up for .99 right now! I promise you won't regret it! 

For more Weekend Cooking posts, please stop by Beth Fish Reads each and every Saturday for more foodie ideas and recipes. 

20 BEST BREAKFAST and BRUNCH RECIPES

Author: Food &Wine Magazine

Publisher: American Express Publishing Corporation

Published: December 20, 2012

Length: 61 pages

Source: Purchased

Weekend Cooking: Soup Season is Coming!

I realize that for many people, Fall weather is still a dream, but we are in the last stages of warmer weather and I, for one, am really looking forward to all the wonderful recipes of Fall. So I just couldn't resist sharing my new recipe for a hearty soup I developed earlier this week. I love a nice hearty soup, especially one that I can put into the crockpot, forget about it and this recipe is perfect for that as well!

I call this my Hearty Potato, Bean and Kielbasa Soup.  Kielbasa has always been a staple in my family and we've prepared it just about every way you can imagine. But I especially like it in soups. It has such great flavor and the longer the soup sits, the better it gets. First I'll show the stove-top method for this deliciously flavored soup. It only takes about 40 minutes to make, which is another reason I love it.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 nice sized carrot, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, mined
32 oz. chicken broth (or half chicken/half beef)
2 large russet potatoes, cubed
1 can cannelloni beans, undrained
1 pd Kielbasa, sliced and halved (if you like smaller pieces, quarter the slices)
1 can cream soup (celery, chicken or mushroom)
8 oz.(or 1 soup can full)  whole milk
white mushroom caps, sliced (optional)
1 Tbsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

In a large soup pot, saute carrot, celery, onions and garlic in olive oil until tender. About 5-6 minutes. Add garlic last so it doesn't scorch and get bitter-tasting. You'll also want to season these with a pinch of salt and pepper so the flavor is layered throughout. Then add cubed potatoes and stir around for just a minute, then add broth and bring to a nice simmer. Add basil, oregano and bay leaf, or whatever combinations of seasonings you prefer. Stir and cover simmering until potatoes are just tender. Add sliced kielbasa and beans. Continue simmering for several minutes, then add cream soup and milk. Continue to simmer while soup begins to thicken a bit. If you like a thicker soup, you can add a milk/flour thickening to get your desired thickness. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until heated through - about 5 minutes. If you are adding mushrooms, do so now. Remove and discard bay leaf before serving. This soup is delicious served with slices of crusty bread.

If using a crockpot, simply put all ingredients and seasonings in crockpot, adding liquids last. Give it a nice stir to combine and cook on low for 8 hours or until vegetables and beans are soft.

One great thing about this recipe is that the longer it sits, the more flavor the kielbasa brings to the soup.  Another thing I love is that you can do so many variations of this recipe depending on what you have in your pantry. If you don't like the beans, omit them and add two more potatoes. Or add a can of whole kernel corn to make it more like a chowder and add some sweetness to the dish. You could even add a pinch or two of Cayenne pepper for a spicy soup.

When I made the soup earlier this week, it made great leftovers and reheated perfectly. It kept its consistency - not thick but also not runny. It was perfect for my taste. And I hope it is for yours too. This is the type of soup I thrive on and I'll probably never make it the same way twice. That's the beauty of it. I hope you will try it out and if you do, I'd love to hear how you liked it. Thanks for allowing me to share my love of soup with you.

For more great cooking posts, be sure to stop by BethFishReads for Weekend Cooking every Saturday!

Weekend Cooking: A Soup Craving

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. (Novels about food, non-fiction, cookbook reviews etc.) that is hosted each week by Beth Fish Reads. If you have a food related item you'd like to share, just jump on over there and post your link.

It's been a while since I've participated so I'm really happy to be here today with a new recipe to share with all you foodies.  The recipe I am featuring is one of my own that I kind of just made up as I went along, based on my craving lately for polska kielbasa. I am also a huge lover of soup, especially this time of year so I came up with this hearty soup that is so easy, you can just toss everything into a crockpot and let it do it's thing! Or it can also be done on the stove top in a relatively short time. Now, on to the recipe...

 HEARTY POLSKA KIELBASA BEAN SOUP

Ingredients:

1 lb polska kielbasa, cut in slices, then halved or quartered (depending on how big a bite you want)

1 can kidney beans (light or dark), drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 large onion, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, diced

4 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth (58 oz total)

1 Bay Leaf

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in crockpot except for tomatoes and cook on low setting for 6-8 hours. Add tomatoes last and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and enjoy!

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This recipe is so easy and versatile that you can change it and add whatever kind of bean or veggie that you like. The flavor comes from the kielbasa and the corn gives it just a touch of sweetness. However, if you are on Weight Watchers like me, or you are counting your fat intake, you can use low-fat or fat free turkey kielbasa, sodium-free broth and omit the corn (too much natural sugar).  My mom doesn't care for corn, so if I were making this for her, I'd add some fresh, shredded cabbage shortly before serving instead of the corn.  If your not a big bean person, you could substitute Ditalini pasta for some of the beans. Its a small, round pasta noodle that wouldn't overtake the soup. 

With the weather turning cooler this weekend, this soup will be just the thing to get me through.  I can't wait to dig in with a piece of fresh Italian bread - that I picked up from the bakery! If you do get the chance to try my recipe, I'd love to know if you liked it. Or if you have substitution ideas, please share them! 

Thank you for visiting today and allowing me to share my foodie ideas! Have a wonderful Saturday!