This pancake is super easy & so much fun to make! I love watching it puff up… and it’s delicious, too.  If you’ve never made one before, give it a try. I’d love to hear from you, if you do.

Dutch Baby Pancake
Yield: One 10” Dutch Baby

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1⁄2 cup flour
1⁄2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp lemon zest, optional
Pinch of salt
4 Tbsp butter

METHOD
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
You will need a 10-inch frying pan.
Combine eggs, flour, milk, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
Put the skillet on a medium high and let it get hot.
Add the butter, let it melt, being careful not to let it burn.
Carefully pour batter into the pan.
Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and golden.
Lower your oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 5 minutes longer.
Remove pancake from oven.
I like to top it with some powdered sugar.
Cut into wedges and serve at once topped with whatever you like (options below).
Enjoy!

GARNISHES: Syrup, powdered sugar, squeeze of lemon, jam, cinnamon sugar, fresh berries, banana, chocolate syrup, sliced cooked apples, nuts, sweetened ricotta, peaches, mango, pineapples, chocolate chips, whipped cream, etc.

Quiche is perfect for any meal! I made this for brunch, served with a side salad. Soup is also a great accompaniment, since colder weather is on the way.

Truth be known, quiche is great for using up those few veggies you have in the bin, or leftover cheese. I used Gruyere and Manchego cheese in this quiche because I happened to have some leftover pieces. Any cheese will work. This would be great with cheddar and jack, or Swiss would be delicious! It’s basically an egg pie. So once you get the base of eggs and cream, it’s ready for whatever veggies and cheese you like.

INGREDIENTS
1 Pie Crust (homemade or store-bought)
5 large Eggs
1 cup Heavy Cream (or Half and Half)
2 Scallions, thinly sliced
1 cob of Corn (corn cut from cob)
1 small Red Bell Pepper, diced
2 cups Cheese, shredded (I used Gruyere and Manchego)
1 tsp Granulated Garlic
½ tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt
Ground Black Pepper, to taste

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Get your pie crust ready in the pie pan, and set aside.
In a large bowl beat together 5 eggs and 1 cup of cream (or Half and Half).
Stir in the scallions, corn, red bell pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to incorporate.
Stir in the cheese of your choice and carefully pour into the pie crust, being sure to distribute the filling evenly.
Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, or until top is firm and feels set when you gently touch it.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Serve warm and enjoy!

Note: if top starts to brown before it is fully cooked, you can place a sheet of tin foil loosely over the pie to keep it from getting too brown.

You will be amazed how easy these are to make and they only take about 12 minutes to bake… but in that little bit of time they will also fill the house with the scent of cinnamon. Hope you give this recipe a try. They’re delicious!!

Makes about 10-12 rolls

INGREDIENTS
For Dough:
2 packages Dry Yeast
¼ cup warm Water
1½ cups Buttermilk
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
¼ tsp Soda
½ cup Vegetable Oil
4½ cups All-Purpose Flour

Filling:
½ cup Butter, melted
1¼ cups Brown Sugar, packed
1½ tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Raisins, optional

For Icing:
1 cup Powdered Sugar
2 Tbsp Milk
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

METHOD
To prepare dough:
In the bowl of your electric mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water.
Heat buttermilk until warm.
Add buttermilk, sugar, salt, soda, oil, flour and yeast and mix together using the paddle attachment.
Cover and let rise 15 minutes.
Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 10 x 18 inches.

In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for filling and spread on dough.
Roll up rectangle; cut into 1½-2 inch pieces, and place cut side up in a buttered 9 or 10 inch round cake pan, leaving center empty.
Let rise 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bake rolls for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

While the cinnamon rolls are baking, you can make the icing by mixing sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth.
Ice the cinnamon rolls once they have cooled down.
Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict is one of my favorite breakfasts to order out… but it’s also one of those dishes that you can become easily disappointed it. Why?? Because it’s all about the Hollandaise Sauce.

Since I’m such a Hollandaise snob, I now make Eggs Benedict at home, where I know the Hollandaise will be perfection. It’s so easy to make wonderful Hollandaise Sauce.

I served the Eggs Benedict with some potatoes that I fried up with some onions and peppers.

This serves 2 people (2 eggs each) or 4 people (1 egg each).

INGREDIENTS
Hollandaise Sauce (make ahead and set aside)
4 Pieces of Canadian Bacon or Ham, warmed
4 Eggs
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
2 English Muffins, split and lightly toasted

METHOD
Prepare the Hollandaise Sauce and set aside.
Place 4 pieces of Canadian Bacon or Ham in a frying pan on low, just to warm.
Add water to a saucepan (about 4 inches deep, just enough to cover the eggs).
Add in the vinegar and turn on medium to boil.
Once the water boils, turn it on low and carefully add the eggs into the water.
I usually crack the eggs, one by one, into a ramekin, then slide them into the water.
Once all the eggs are in the water, turn the heat back up to medium and allow the water to come to a low boil.
After a few minutes, the eggs are ready to come out of the pan.
You don’t want to overcook them, the yolk should still be runny.

Assembly:
Place the ham onto the lightly toasted (and buttered if you like) English Muffins.
Place the poached eggs on top of the ham.
Stir the Hollandaise Sauce and spoon onto the hot poached eggs.
Sprinkle with a little pepper, if desired, and serve right away.
Enjoy!

I’m super excited to share some news… My daughter and I are opening a recreational cooking school here in Murfreesboro, TN called “The Curious Kitchen”. That’s why I haven’t posted in a little while. I’ve been super busy getting some of the new business things in line, like signing the lease, designing the space, website, creating the calendar of classes, business licenses, tax licenses, resale numbers, etc. Looking forward to choosing the color theme, picking out the tables & chairs, selecting dishes, and so on. We’ve already started a Facebook page for The Curious Kitchen and would love for you to stop by and give us a “like” if you haven’t already. We’ll be posting progress updates on the page as we go along and hope to be open soon!

Even more exciting (to me) than the cooking school, is that my daughter, Rachel, is moving from Los Angeles to Nashville! We will be working together and she’ll be living just a half an hour away!! I’ve missed her so much since I moved to Tennessee 3 years ago. The move was hard, but the most difficult part was leaving my daughter in California. At that time, she was attending Cal State Northridge, plus being a California native, she had no desire to move to Tennessee. Since that time, she has graduated from college, and fallen in love with a Georgia man. So, although I’m not the total reason for her move to Tennessee, I’m extremely happy that she will be here. And she and her boyfriend are only a 2 hour drive apart.  

I’m sharing these corn muffins with you because not only do I love these muffins, they’re one of my favorite recipes to make. Super easy & super delicious! They’re basically cornbread, in muffin form. If you’d like, you can bake them in a baking pan or cast iron skillet, just butter the pan before you put the batter in.

These go perfectly with salad, soup, and or course… BBQ!

To make them even more special you can add some diced jalapeno into the batter… or top them with shredded cheddar & jack cheeses a minute or two before you take them out of the oven. Yum!

Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Sugar
2 sticks Butter, room temperature
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 cup fresh Corn
3 cups Flour
1 cup Cornmeal
2 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Parsley or Cilantro, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp Salt

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In the bowl of your electric mixer beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs.
Mix in the milk and the corn.
Stop the mixer and add in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, herbs and salt.
With the mixer on low combine just until they are blended.
Spoon the batter into the baking cups.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool and remove from the pan.
Enjoy ~ I love mine with butter!

Oh Polenta… so deliciously creamy, garlicky and cheesy. This dish was incredible!

Being Italian I was very familiar with polenta, but when we moved from California to Tennessee a few years ago, I was introduced to grits.

So, what’s the difference between Polenta and Grits?? Well, if you Google this question, there are lots and lots of opinions, and it was confusing. The good thing about living where we do, is that there is a Grist Mill nearby where I can buy fresh ground grits, corn meal and polenta! This is what they say…

One pass of the millstone: Grits
Two passes of the millstone: Corn Meal
Three passes of the millstone: Polenta (Corn Flour)

If you don’t have a grist mill nearby (and most folks don’t), you can buy my favorite polenta online ~ Bob’s Red Mill Organic Polenta. I sure hope you will, and give my recipe a try!

Garlic Shrimp over Cheesy Polenta

INGREDIENTS
For the Polenta:
2 Tbsp Butter
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
4 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic Polenta
1/4 cup Half & Half (or milk)
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

For the Shrimp:
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
5 Garlic Cloves, minced
20-25 large Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped fine
1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
Dash of Black Pepper

METHOD
For the Polenta:
In a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat add the butter and garlic cloves.
Stir and cook for just a minute.
Add in the stock and salt.
Slowly stir in the polenta.
Allow to come to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer.
Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often.
Mixture will thicken and polenta will soften.
Stir in the half & half and Parmesan Cheese.
Allow to simmer another 5 minutes or so.
Taste and add in more salt, if needed, and some black pepper.
Cover to keep it warm as you make your shrimp.

For the Shrimp:
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add in the minced garlic and shrimp.
Sauté over medium heat for about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.
Turn off heat and stir in the parsley, salt and pepper.

Serve the warm polenta topped with shrimp.
Enjoy!

When we lived in Los Angeles I would buy bran muffins from Il Fornaio, they were so good. Then we moved to Tennessee, and I started buying bran muffins from Mimi’s Restaurant. My husband likes to have a bran muffin every morning for breakfast before work (during the week). Not only does he love the bran muffins from Mimi’s, but I love them, too. They’re so good and now I can make them at home! This recipe is the closest I’ve come in my experimentations, so I thought I’d share it with you.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Milk
1/3 cup Raisins
1/3 cup dark Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Honey
2 Tbsp Molasses
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1 Egg
1 cup Flour
1 cup Wheat Bran
4 Tbsp Pecan meal (or just finely grind up some pecans)
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt

Glaze:
3 Tbsp Butter, melted
3 Tbsp Sugar
3 Tbsp dark Brown Sugar, packed
2 Tbsp Honey
2 tsp Water

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend milk and raisins together until a paste is formed.
Place the milk/raisin mixture into the bowl of your electric mixer, or a large bowl.
Add in the brown sugar, honey, molasses, vegetable oil and egg.
Mix on medium speed until everything is well blended.
Stop your mixer and add in the flour, wheat bran, pecan meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Mix just until moistened.

Quickly make the glaze:
In a small, microwaveable bowl, melt the butter for 40 seconds until melted and hot.
Add in the sugar, brown sugar, honey and water.
Stir until everything is melted and it becomes the consistency of caramel.
Place about 1 tablespoons of the glaze into each of the 12 muffin tins, dividing the glaze evenly among the tins until there is no glaze left.
Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full.
Do not overfill the muffin cups, there should be exactly enough batter for 12 perfect muffins.
Bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Immediately invert the baked muffins onto a foil or wax paper covered baking sheet to cool.
Enjoy!

Note: These muffins will keep in the refrigerator, in an airtight container for a week to 10 days. Or you can place them in a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Yep, one muffin is missing! I couldn’t resist and had to have a nice warm one fresh outta the oven. So good!!