Tasty Tuesday: Egg Muffins

So, I found this recipe on Pinterest and I made a couple minor changes (some good, some...well, not so much). Here's the original recipe and link (with my notes in brown). It's an easy, fairly quick breakfast. I didn't take a picture because I ate them too fast. Sorry.

Broccoli and Italian Sausage Egg Muffins from (Snacking in the Kitchen)

Ingredients (I cut this in recipe in half because it was just for my mom and me. We each got three muffins).

1 pound Italian Sausage (sweet, mild, hot variety depending on your preference)
1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup chopped onion

Ditto any other vegetable you want to add if you want to be weird like that (my dad likes peas)
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (or half and half depending on how you're feeling that day)
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (I actually used coconut oil, but I wouldn't suggest doing this unless you don't mind the coconut flavor overpowering everything else.)
1/2 tsp baking powder (I wouldn't even measure this, I'd just use a pinch because it didn't really seem to make much of a difference.)
salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed (I used cheddar instead. Mmm, cheddar).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly (or not-so-lightly. Your call. I didn't use enough and it was terrible trying to clean the pan afterwards) spray a 12-cupcake pan with oil.Spoon out the sausage and broccoli mixture evenly into each cupcake.
5. Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and broccoli. (I just used my measuring cup, because seriously, who needs to get an extra utensil dirty?)
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (Or cheddar, if you're cool like me.)
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Yeah, so they were pretty good but, like I said, I didn't grease the pan sufficiently and cleanup was a bitch. I also added in chopped onion, which was delicious, but I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and it didn't blend well so I ended up eating straight chunks of coconut oil in my eggs. Hey, I never said I was chef or anything.

Also, Justine made something like this for me in Boston and it was way better. Justine, you can go ahead and send me that recipe...

Tasty Tuesday: What Harry Eats

I'm too lazy this week to do anything but copy and paste a recipe from another site (don't worry, I included a link back to the original.) I picked this one because a) it's adorable, b) it's Harry Potter, and c) it's near Halloween.

"Golden Snitchcakes

From http://www.mugglenet.com/misc/rosmertas/goldensnitchcake.shtml

Ingredients:

• 1 box vanilla cake mix (and required ingredients required according to package)
• 2 tubs of buttercream frosting
• 1 package white melting chocolate
• yellow food coloring

Directions for Snitches:

Step 1: Line the bottom of two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.

Step 2: Prepare the cake mix according to package directions.

Step 3: Fill the cupcake liners to 2/3 full of batter.

Step 4: Bake according to package directions.



Directions for Wings:

Step 1: Melt the package of white chocolate according to package instructions.

Step 2: Spoon melted chocolate into a small ziplock bag. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut an extremely small piece of a bottom corner of the bag.

Step 3: Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Gently squeeze the ziploc bag to pipe the shape of a wing. Use butter knife to smooth the chocolate. Repeat process to create 2 wings per cupcake.

Step 4: Place cookie sheet and parchment paper with wings into the freezer to harden.









Directions to Assemble Golden Snitchcakes:

Step 1: Place 2/3 of frosting in bowl and add some yellow food coloring. Mix together and adjust color as necessary until it becomes the desired shade of gold.

Step 2: When cupcakes are completely cooled, use butter knife to spread the frosting over each cupcake.

Step 3: In a separate mixing bowl, mix remaining uncolored frosting with yellow food coloring until it is a lighter gold color than the cupcake frosting.

Step 4: Spoon this frosting into another small ziploc baggie and cut the corner extremely small.

Step 5: Gently squeeze this bag to pipe swirl pattern onto each cupcake.

Step 6: Take the hardened wings out of the freezer (they should easily peel away from parchment paper). Use a dab of remaining frosting to stick two wings on the side of each cupcake. ENJOY!!!"

Tasty Tuesday: Duke Wellingtons

I recently read Great Gatsby for the first time. So, in keeping with a theme, I decided to re-title this recipe as a something 20's related. I hope you enjoy! 
 

Duke Wellingtons (an appetizer):

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds beef tenderloin (or filet mignon), cut into 24 (1-inch) cubes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• 5-10 ounces of spinach (as desired)
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the beef dry with a paper towel and season all sides with salt and pepper. Quickly sear the beef on 2 sides only until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes total; do not overcook. Transfer to a plate to cool.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook until beginning to brown and release liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue cooking until mushroom mixture dries out, is golden brown and onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in white wine. Let cool.

3. Preheat to the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
4. On a work surface, roll 1 sheet of puff pastry to a 10 by 14-inch rectangle. Put teaspoon-sized mounds of mushroom mixture on the pastry, evenly spacing them in 4 rows of 3. Top the mushroom mound with a piece of beef, seared side up. If desired, insert spinach between the mushrooms and the beef). With a sharp knife, cut the pastry into even squares around the meat and mushrooms. Working 1 at a time, pull 2 opposite sides of pastry up over each beef piece, then fold the ends over the top to make a packet. Invert and arrange the packets seam side down on the baking sheet and press them lightly to seal the pastry. Repeat with the remaining beef, mushrooms, and pastry.
5. Bake the Wellingtons until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven to a serving platter and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving. 

Tasty Tuesday: Dracula's Kiss

Halloween is pretty much my favorite holiday. That's not really true. I kind of love all holidays. But Halloween is always loads of fun. And, sadly, I'll be in class this Halloween. So to get into the spirit early, this year I decided to finally finish reading Dracula. If you've been an avid reader, you'll know that I don't particularly love Twilight, but I do love me some vampire tales.

(If you haven't been an avid reader, I suggest you get with the program.)

I videotaped every rerun of Buffy when I was a freshman in high school. I watched True Blood religiously, until it got all weird (second season). I read the Vampire Diaries books and I DVR the show. And I did, in fact, read all of the Twilight novels because, terrible as they are, they suck you in (no pun intended).

(If you're at all interested in hearing my full rantings on Twilight just go here. And here. Oh, and here too. I think you probably get the picture.)


But, I have to say, one of the best vampire novels of all time and one of my personal favorites, is Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, which is told from the perspective of a young girl that is searching for her missing father. (Without giving anything away, there's some connections to Dracula). The reason that this novel is so great is because it's not just about a vampire, but about the man who became the vampire. And because I'd never read Dracula, I felt like I was owing it to Kostova to read the inspiration for her masterpiece.

So, like I said, I finished Dracula last night. I tried to read it last summer but found some other shiny thing to distract me instead. But I'm glad I gave it another chance, because not only does it help me make better connections with the Historian, but so many other literary and cultural references as well. Not to mention, it is deliciously creepy.

So, in honor of Dracula, I present to you this cocktail recipe that I found at here.

Dracula's Kiss:

Dracula's Kiss is a haunting cocktail for Halloween parties. The drink creates two layers: the bottom is red with grenadine and the top is black with cola. Add spiders to the drink or hang them on the glass for a ghoulish finishing touch. Both Smirnoff and Effen make great black cherry vodkas. (I would stick to Effen, though, because Smirnoff always gives me heartburn).

Ingredients:

• 1 oz black cherry vodka
• 1/2 oz grenadine
• cola
• maraschino cherries for garnish

Preparation:

1. Coat the bottom of a highball glass with grenadine.
2. Add ice and vodka.
3. Fill with cola.
4. Garnish with cherries.

Tasty Tuesday: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have not tried this recipe yet. But when I lived with my roommate, her mom sent us some similar treats. They were delicious. I can't wait to try this one out. Here's to hoping I get a break from homework sometime soon. Semi-regular sleep would also be good...

Here's the recipe, borrowed from Spork or Foon:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies adapted from Joy the Baker

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola or corn oil

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips, or any chip you like

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool cimpletely.

Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Be sure to check out other amazing recipes at Spork or Foon!