smiley side up

savory biscuits make the best bookends for bright and early weekend breakfasts. bake those biscuits and while they're still piping hot, stuff with your favorite morning meats. my go-to combo is ham, fried egg and better cheddar.

Smiley Breakfast Sammies for Two
2 fried eggs 
4 slices ham
2 slices cheese of your choosing
2 savory biscuits (recipe below)


Savory Biscuits
½ c milk 
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
¼ cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup grated cheese (cheddar or cheese of your choice)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat together the milk and the egg and then set aside. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture, working until you have no butter lumps bigger than a pea. Add the green onions and cheese and toss to mix. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, reserving just a little bit of the milk-egg mixture to use as a glaze. Bring dough together gently with a wooden spoon. Turn dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead it a few times. Pat dough into a round, approximately ½-inch thick, and use biscuit cutter or small glass to cut into rounds. Place on an parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, glaze biscuits and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and fill with your breakfast sandwich fixings.

You can't have cake for breakfast...

...unless it's FRIED cake with SYRUP!!!these cakes are so sweet and tasty, even Henry tried to sneak a bite.
this recipe comes from the the one Ms. Martha Stewart. Serve with warm syrup and a little butter.

HOT CAKES

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Assorted toppings, such as butter, maple syrup, confectioners' sugar, honey, jams, preserves, sweetened whipped cream, or chocolate syrup
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 200 degrees; have a baking sheet or heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), and egg. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened, do not over mix; a few small lumps are fine.
• 
  
• Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel. For each pancake, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 2 to 3 in a large skillet).
• 
  
• Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. You'll have 12 to 15 pancakes. Serve warm, with desired toppings.

zucchini bread

when a zucchini is staring you straight in the eyes, it's best to make a bread, you will not win that stare down. Dan's mom gave me two HUGE zucchinis from her neighbor's yard.  I used one to make these two loafs of bread.  I shredded the other one and froze the shreddings, I am hoping to break it out of the freezer at a later date, probably for a special occasion and bake something else.  Zucchini bread is really a lot like carrot cake, only we don't call it cake, even though it has all the same ingredients. Because it is a BREAD and not a CAKE it means you are allowed to eat it for breakfast.

This trial run, I did half whole wheat flour and half regular.  Although it makes for a healthier final product, it also made it slightly dry and a little more dense.  I'd recommend either doing one cup of whole wheat and two cups of regular or, better yet, use all white flour. 

ZUCCHINI BREAD  
Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil (or a mix of the two, I used 3/4 veg and 1/4 olive)
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans or line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the eggs. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon,cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit) in a separate bowl.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Le Gibassier: It's What the Ladies Man Eats for Breakfast

With a family wide fondness for anise and an apparent shortage of baked goods containing it (save for the Bake Shop sweet rolls in AK, which, surprisingly, don't fare too well on the plane ride home) we were ecstatic to stroll into Portland's Pearl Bakery expecting a nice croissant treat and find something even better. Le. Gibassier. You don't even need to know how to pronounce it in order to appreciate its deliciousness. I think it's French. It doesn't matter though, great flavors know no language barriers and never judge you for mispronunciations.

Since Amy was still here and has been thinking about making them for a while (and since my mom keeps a note in her iphone to remind her what they're called in case she ever wants to look up the recipe and make them), we decided to give it a shot and see how accurately we could replicate them at home.

If you don't have a kitchen scale at home, now is a good time to make friends with someone who does. If you don't want to make new friends purely for exploiting them for their kitchen appliances, then you can save $10 and go buy your own. Either way, it's pretty much impossible to make this recipe without a scale.

LE GIBASSIER

(Adapted from Advanced Bread and Pastry by Michel Suas)

For the sponge
85 grams bread flour
39 grams milk
11 grams egg 25g
1/8 tsp instant Yeast

Combine, cover and ferment at room temperature for 12-16 hours.

For the final dough
326 grams bread flour
95 grams egg
81 grams granulated sugar
7 grams salt
12 grams yeast
60 grams butter (cold, but pliable)
60 grams olive oil
Juice of one orange
28 grams water
7 grams anise seed
zest of one orange
82 grams candied orange peel
Sponge

Pour liquids, then sponge into the bowl of the mixer. Add dry ingredients except sugar, candied fruit, zest and anise seed. Incorporate all slowly for about 2 minutes. Put the dough hook on the mixer and knead for 9-11 minutes on medium speed. The dough should have a great deal of gluten strength and hold a strong window. Slowly sugar. Incorporate before each new addition.

When a nice dough window can be formed, add the butter. Bring the dough back up to an intensive consistency, with very strong gluten formation. Add candied fruit, zest and anise seed at the lowest speed, just to incorporate. Place rounded dough into oiled bowl, cover so no crust forms, and ferment for 1 hour.

Round the dough lightly into a boule, let rest for 20 minutes.

Roll to about 3/4" thick and cut into desired shapes. Lightly cut 3-4 slits on top of the shapes if you wish to. Place on parchment-lined pan and let rise again for approximately 1 1/2hours. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown, about 10-15 min. Brush with melted butter and toss in granulated sugar.