Creme Brulee French Toast

If you are in the mood for total decadence, this is the breakfast for you! Thanks once again to my friend, Brittney, who announced she was making this recipe for her family on Easter. I knew I had to try it so I begged for the recipe, and now I can share it with you!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
Bread, sliced, to cover butter mixture

(a big french loaf or baguette is perfect--sliced about 1-inch thick.)
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups Half-and-Half/Single Cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

1. In a saucepan, melt butter, brown sugar and corn syrup.

2. Pour into 9 x 13 glass pan. Arrange bread slices on top.

3. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, half and half, vanilla and salt.

4. Pour egg mixture over the bread. Cover and chill overnight in the fridge.

5. The next morning, bake uncovered at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Using a spatula, flip pieces over to serve, so brown sugar is on top. :)

ENJOY!!!!

Egg & Bacon Breakfast Baskets

I saw this fun recipe in my 200 Really Easy Recipes cookbook and decided to make it for D for Valentine's Day breakfast--the cute cherry tomatoes in the middle of the egg mixture reminded me of breakfast cupcakes! Note: See Vegetarian option below.
Ingredients (Makes 8 baskets, serves 4):

Spray olive oil, for oiling muffin tin

75g (3oz) butter, melted

150g (5oz) smoked bacon rashers, rind removed, diced

(Note: we used cubed pancetta pieces)

2 eggs

125 ml (4fl oz) double cream/heavy cream

2 Tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese

8 cherry tomatoes on the vine

16 slices white bread (or wheat bread)

salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. First cut the crusts off the bread (try to make even squares) and discard, then flatten each slice by rolling over it firmly with a rolling pin, and brush each slice with the melted butter. Next place 8 squares diagonally on top one other 8 squares and carefully press them into eight muffin tin holes that had been sprayed with the olive oil. Bake the squares for 12-15 minutes until crisp and golden. Meanwhile fry up the bacon/pancetta pieces and prepare the egg mixture in a bowl by beating together the eggs, cream, cheese salt and pepper, then pull the bread baskets out of the oven to cool slightly.

After draining the fried pancetta, I divided it between the 4 bread 'baskets' and then poured the prepared egg mixture over the pancetta (about 2 tablespoons of egg mixture per basket is plenty). Last top each 'basket' with a cherry tomato, then place back into the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until eggs are set.

Note for Vegetarians: You can make this vegetarian by substituting fresh spinach for the bacon/pancetta. Cook the spinach with a small pat of butter in a frying pan until wilted, then add the spinach to the cases instead of the pancetta before pouring over the egg.

Sydney Sunrise Smoothie

This yummy little breakfast treat came to me from a great cookbook I picked up while living in Australia in 2000, called Sydney Food, by Bill Granger, who runs Bills Restaurant in Sydney. It's so simple, and now that I have a great mango-slicing gadget, chopping up mangoes is a cinch!

(handy mango slicer)

All you need is:

1 cup/8 fl oz./250ml orange juice

1/2 of a mango, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 ripe banana, sliced

2 tablespoons yogurt, any variety (30ml)

- we used strawberry probiotic yogurt

Place all ingredients in a blender (or glass if using an immersion blender) and blend until smooth. Serves 1-2.

Healthy French Toast with Banana Topping

Today I'm posting a link to another blog, Eating Bender, where I found this recipe (and photo).

http://eatingbender.com/sunday-brunch/french-toast-the-bender-whey/

I made it this morning and it was delicious! Since liquid egg whites aren't available here in the UK, I went ahead and used 1 large egg. I also used vanilla soy milk instead of vanilla almond milk, which I can't find here. I found Whey Protein Powder at Holland & Barrett's, and used about 1 Tablespoon. Finally, I doubled the topping and used 1 whole banana + 1 Tablespoon syrup. It probably adds some more calories, but I think it made it tastier. Enjoy!

Scrambled Eggs w/ Pancetta, Asparagus & Orzo

For the pasta lover--you can even have pasta for breakfast! This is a great way to use up the remains of a bag of orzo (which I've been using a lot of lately!). I'm not usually a huge fan of asparagus as part of a breakfast dish, but I figured no vegetable could possibly taste bad after being stir-fried with pancetta & onions, and this was delicious. This recipe came from Giada de Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta, but I substituted baby bocconcini mozzarella instead of smoked mozzarella (which is expensive and not as easy to find here in England). It was fast & easy to make and made a delicious Sunday brunch with some fresh toasted Italian or sourdough bread.

Breakfast Pasta Scramble (serves 4--easily halved for 2 persons)

1/2 cup orzo (rice shaped pasta)

10 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 oz./100g smoked or plain mozzarella, torn or cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

4 oz./125g pancetta or bacon, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

8 thin asparagus stalks, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions:

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, and drain.

2. Whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and basil, set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the asparagus & saute for until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the orzo to eggs and stir to coat. Add the egg mixture to pan. Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture until the eggs are softly set, about 3-4 minutes. Serve warm.