Brunch « (y)our food choices™

Our Stout and Cheddar "UK Soufflé"

When going on a vacation there are certain things you must do to prepare. Of course, there is the obvious packing, getting a cat sitter, and stopping the mail, but there’s are the little things like eating what ever is left in your fridge to avoid having to toss it out. You become a little creative in the dishes you prepare and sometimes, if you’re really lucky, the dish comes out tasting very good.

Rosemary Scented Pan Roasted Veggies

The night before we traveled to London we had very little left in our fridge – some vegetables that we pan roasted with rosemary and some fixings for a souffle, or so we thought. We were short on milk and didn’t think it would be wise to go purchase more since whatever we bought would be past its prime when we returned, but we did have some flat stout beer in the fridge from a leftover Beach Chalet growler. So, after doing a little research and thinking, hell, why not, we created a souffle using a mix of the last of our milk, stout beer and Irish Cheddar. The result was a UK, French mash-up that was one of the best souffles we’ve ever whipped up. The coloring was a nice tan though not as pristine as a typical souffle, but the taste was uniquely delicious, and the souffle rose higher than any we’ve tried before. The resulting souffle is a sort of fluffy ‘rarebit’ that pairs perfectly with toasted crusty bread and a nice salad. Give this one a try and tell us what you think!
Cheers,
Jason & Steve

Recipe: UK Soufflé

Soufflé Prep

4 Tbsp butter, plus 1 tsp

¼ cup flour

¾ cup whole milk

¾ cup stout beer

6 eggs, separated

¼ tsp dry mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dash of Cayenne

½ cup grated English or Irish cheddar

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for dusting soufflé dish

Pinch of cream of tartar

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart soufflé dish well (or several small ramekins of your choosing) then lightly dust the interior with grated Parmesan cheese, set aside.

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt the 4 tbsp butter. When it begins to foam, add flour and whisk constantly until mixture begins to darken slightly. Add milk and stout while whisking to avoid creating lumps. Continue to whisk for a couple of minutes until mixture begins to thicken. Remove pan from heat and stir in salt, pepper, cayenne, mustard and cheeses. Next, whisk in egg yolks one at a time, again being careful to incorporate them quickly to avoid scrambling them.

Beat egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar in a spotlessly clean bowl until soft peaks form. You can do this by hand or with an electric hand or stand mixer. Once whipped, stir a few tablespoons of egg white into the cheese mixture until completely incorporated. Add remaining egg whites and fold them in gently with a rubber spatula to avoid breaking their volume (Bittman uses his hands).

Pour the batter into your prepared soufflé dish and bake in the center of your oven for 30 – 40 minutes (less if you’re baking small soufflés). Bake until a rich golden brown. To test, insert a wooden skewer into the center. The skewer should be just lightly moist. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Remember, a soufflé waits for nobody. Everything you plan to eat with it should be ready and on the table before you take the soufflé out of the oven. It will lose volume almost immediately after leaving the heat of the oven so time is of the essence. Use a couple of large spoons to scoop it from its dish and plate it while steaming hot!

Bon Appetit!

It’s Sunday morning, and there’s no better reason to sleep in. With little to do this morning, and with breakfast being a quick and easy fix, why wake up and spend the time cooking? Yesterday, I made a batch of waffles while Steve fried up some bacon. We had plenty left over and we even reserved the pan the bacon was fried in so we could sauté some pears and apples in the leftover fond. Our breakfast yesterday was a simple waffle and bacon with maple syrup. This morning though, we upped the ante for brunch with a sauté of apple and pear, a couple of waffles, crumbled bacon, with a drizzle of maple syrup and yogurt topped with blood orange segments on the side. It was such a feast we definitely needed to take a long walk in the park to work off some of the calories.

Saturday’s Simple Breakfast: Waffles and Bacon

I used Bittman’s quick buttermilk waffle recipe from How to Cook Everything, substituting ½ of the flour with whole wheat flour to make it a little healthy. Frying the bacon is a pretty easy thing to do. The only thing to remember is patience. You’ll want to render the bacon slowly so it doesn’t burn. A quick tip we picked up from America’s Test Kitchen is to roll each slice individually and then freeze the rolled slices for a latter use. This way you can purchase a large quantity of bacon and always have it on hand. If you own a microwave oven just pop a few slices in and defrost. If you’re like us, and don’t own one, just place the frozen bacon rolls in the pan on very low heat. As they defrost, unroll using two forks. It’s a bit time consuming but it’s well worth the effort.

Blood Orange Yogurt

After the bacon is cooked, pour the grease in a small ceramic container for later use. Never pour hot grease in a plastic container. (It’s great to fry potatoes in, or sauté onions, or substitute the grease for anything that you would normally fry in butter.) Add a little butter to the pan and sauté a couple apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, or chopped pineapple (whatever fresh fruit is in season that goes well with bacon). Allow the fruit to brown slightly and soften.

Enjoy your breakfast with the Sunday paper and a cup of coffee. It’s Sunday after all and there’s no better day to relax and indulge.

Cheers!

Jason & Steve

Rich Buttermilk Waffles (from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or up to half whole-wheat, graham, rye, buckwheat, etc.)
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¾ cups buttermilk or 1 ½ cups sour cream or plain yogurt thinned with ¼ milk
2 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Canola or other neutral oil for brushing on waffle iron

Preheat the waffle iron and brush lightly with oil.

Combine all the dry ingredients. Mix together the buttermilk and egg yolks. Sir in the cooled butter and vanilla. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Whisk the egg whites to form soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites, in two parts, into the waffle batter.

Depending on the size of the waffles, use an ice cream scoop or ladle to add enough batter to fill the waffle maker, but not too much so that it oozes out the sides. Cook for 3-5 minutes and keep the waffles warm in the oven.

The waffles can also be cooked, cooled, and frozen for a quick and easy breakfast any day of the week.