eggs

Dutch Chocolate Profiteroles

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen?  Dutch Chocolate Profiteroles!  These yummy tender confections have a chocolate filling that will satisfy any sweet tooth.  Once the shells are made, you can utilize a time-saving option.  Simply change the filling to Breyers Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream and sprinkle it with powdered sugar. Your friends will think you spent hours in the kitchen. 

DUTCH CHOCOLATE PROFITEROLES

Cream Puffs:

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 whole eggs

Heat oven to 400°.  Heat water and butter to rolling boil in saucepan. Stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about I minute; remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at once, continue beating until smooth. Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until puffed and golden, 35-40 minutes. Cool away from draft. Cut off tops; pull out any filaments of soft dough. Fill puffs with chilled cream filling. Replace tops; dust with powdered sugar. Refrigerate until serving time.  Yield: 6 cream puffs. 

Cream Filling:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons cornstarch 

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups half-and-half

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

Garnish:

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/4 c semi-sweet mini chocolate morsels 

Mix sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in half-and-half gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks. Blend into hot mixture. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla; cool. 

Yellow & White Cake Mix Cookies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Yellow & White Cake Mix Cookies! I never want to live in a world where there are no cookies. I’m one of those people who insist on tasting a freshly baked cookie, still warm from the oven. My kitchen, my rules. I also like the idea of choices. By taking a simple cake mix and ramping up the extra ingredients, I was able to offer my family plain, powdered sugar, and turbinado sugar cookies. Does that mean I needed three taste-tests? I’ll never tell. 

YELLOW & WHITE CAKE MIX COOKIES

Ingredients:

15-ounce box yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Powdered sugar, for rolling

Turbinado sugar, for rolling

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the yellow cake mix, eggs, and oil together in a large bowl; stir. The batter will be thick. Fold in the white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts. Use a cookie scoop to form the cookies. Place them two inches apart on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until the cookies appear slightly brown on the edges. Allow them to cool slightly before rolling in powdered sugar or turbinado sugar. Cool on a wire rack. Repeat baking steps until all the cookie dough has been used. 

Peruvian Cheese Potatoes

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Peruvian Cheese Potatoes! My friend, Gian, encouraged me to try a dish from his native land, Peru. He described it as a traditional appetizer so popular it has become the national dish: Papa a là Huancaína. Because it’s basically boiled potatoes covered in a spicy cheese sauce, he explained it as chile-warm, delicious, creamy, and satisfying. Strangely enough, this appetizer is served cold, similar to the American Potato Salad. It taste nothing like it, though. The jury is still out on whether I will make it at home again. I’m thinking the next step is to order it in an authentic Peruvian restaurant. Perhaps they’ll share a secret or two. 

PERUVIAN CHEESE POTATOES 

Ingredients:

8 yellow potatoes, whole

4 lettuce leaves

Huancaína Sauce (see recipe below)*

2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

Mixed olives, pitted

Instructions for Potatoes:

Heat a pot of salted water to boiling. Add the potatoes. Boil the potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork, approximately 20 minutes. Drain the water and allow potatoes to cool. Arrange lettuce leaves on a platter. Halve the potatoes and place on top of the lettuce. Pour Huancaína sauce over the potatoes. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs and pitted olives. 

*Ingredients for Huancaína Sauce:

1/2 cup aji amarillo paste

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup evaporated milk

2 cups white queso fresco cheese

4 saltine crackers 

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

*Instructions for Huancaína Sauce:

Warm oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the aji amarillo paste, chopped onion, and minced garlic. Sauté approximately 3 minutes, or until the onions have softened. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool. In a food processor, combine the chile/onion mixture, and evaporated milk. Blend well. Add the queso fresco cheese and saltine crackers; blend until smooth. The sauce should be thick. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Granola Banana Bread

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Granola Banana Bread!  Ever wonder why banana bread is so popular? First of all, it conjures up pleasant childhood memories. Remember playing outside all day with the neighborhood kids and returning home as hungry as a wolf? One foot in the door told you mother had baked a wonderful surprise. The pleasant aroma of bananas wafted through the house, intermingled with cinnamon spice sweet bread. You knew it had her stamp of approval because permission was granted to have a slice even before dinner was served. Which brings me to reason number two. Banana bread is one of Life’s comfort foods. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. 

GRANOLA BANANA BREAD

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 ripe bananas, plus 1 banana sliced horizontally 

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 cup cinnamon almond granola

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, overlapping on the sides. Set aside. In a food processor, cream together butter and sugar. Add 2 bananas; mix until bananas are mashed. Stir in flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Pulse, alternating with milk, until mixed. Add vanilla extract. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Press both halves of the remaining banana onto the top of the batter. Lightly press the cinnamon almond granola over all. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Remove loaf from the pan and allow bread to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before slicing. 

Devil’s Food Cake Mix Brownies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Devil’s Food Cake Mix Brownies! Most of us began a love affair with chocolate long before we were ever old enough to date. First there was the anticipation of climbing onto the kitchen counter to grab the coveted candy bar in a chubby little fist, out of sight from mother’s watchful eye. Then came the rich aroma of seduction as it was being unwrapped layer by layer. The lure of delicious expectation became a natural mood enhancer, which required quick-thinking. Never mind that baby sister was starting to fuss and attract attention, wanting her fair share. Long before she began a full-blown wail of rebellion, the entire chocolate bar was stuffed in brother’s mouth, chewed up like a dog treat, and swallowed with greedy satisfaction. Until…….. mother leapt into the room as graceful as a gazelle and gasped! She quickly deducted from the melted goo around his mouth that he had just consumed her entire supply of chocolate-flavored laxative guaranteed to work effectively on a constipated child. What can I say? My brother ate the whole thing and I never did get a single bite. Thankfully so, Chocolate is still my friend today. 

DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE MIX BROWNIES 

Ingredients:

15-ounce box Devil’s Food Cake Mix

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

2 teaspoons espresso powder

1 cup semi-sweet miniature chocolate chips, divided

Vanilla Ice Cream, for serving

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray an 8”x8” baking pan with nonstick oil. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, olive oil, lightly beaten eggs, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. Stir until smooth. Fold in 3/4 cup of miniature chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips on top. Bake 25 minutes, or until  a cake tester comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting. Serve with vanilla ice cream. 

Another Egg Salad Recipe

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Another Egg Salad Recipe! Just what you need…….another way to make egg salad at home. What’s the mystery, you ask, rolling your eyes and shaking your head from side to side. Well sometimes those extra calories in mayonnaise can blow up a diet, if you know what I mean. Besides, I’m a huge fan of olive oil and fresh basil to make a dish flavorful. Sweet vidalia onions are a nice compromise to its distant cousin, the purplish-red onions, so you choose which way to go. Fair warning, though, this scaled down version of egg salad won’t stick together like glue. You’re better off eating it with a fork, spooning it onto a bed of baby spinach leaves, or scooping it off the plate onto a multigrain cracker. 

ANOTHER EGG SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients:

4 hard boiled eggs, cooked and chopped

1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt

2 stems fresh basil leaves, snipped

Instructions:

In a serving bowl, combine chopped hard boiled eggs and sweet onion pieces. Drizzle olive oil over all. Sprinkle Himalayan sea salt to taste. Add fresh basil snips. Gently toss and serve.

Festive Breakfast Pizza

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Festive Breakfast Pizza! Whether you prepare a holiday brunch for invited guests or gather ’round the table in your pajamas, this recipe is a winner. Simply because, everyone loves pizza! You now have an excuse to eat it for breakfast, even if you’re “Home Alone”. It has baked eggs, it has shredded potatoes, it has crumbled sausage, and gooey cheese all together over a golden deep dish crust. So there you have it. Bring out the holiday movies, set up the TV tray, and eat pizza for breakfast. Permission granted. 

FESTIVE BREAKFAST PIZZA

Ingredients:

1 pound pork sausage, ground

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper 

1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic Seasoning*

1 green pepper, chopped 

2 ounces pimentos, diced

1 cup hash brown potatoes, shredded 

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 

1 tube prepared pizza crust

5 eggs, beaten 

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage until cooked and crumbly. Drain well. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, white pepper, and Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic Seasoning. Microwave chopped green pepper on HIGH for two minutes. Combine diced pimentos, green peppers, and sausage. Mix well. For a deep dish pizza, roll out pizza crust and press into an iron skillet bringing dough up the sides of the pan. Layer with sausage mixture, hash browns, and cheddar cheese. Whisk eggs and milk together. Pour over the pizza. Top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes or until eggs are set and crust is golden. 

*I receive no recompense for recommending Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic Seasoning. 

Original Spinach Salad

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Fabulous Fixings: Original Spinach Salad! Presenting a superfood that practically gives you super powers. Remember the comic book character, Popeye the Sailor Man? (Okay, I’m dating myself.) Flashback: Popeye would eat spinach through his pipe to tackle insurmountable situations.  It seems parents everywhere took advantage of this children’s cartoon character to encourage kids to “eat your spinach”. Did it work, you wonder? Not even close. Spinach is one of those veggies I didn’t learn to like until I became an adult. Go figure. 

ORIGINAL SPINACH SALAD

Ingredients:

1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2” pieces

12 ounces baby spinach leaves

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

5 tablespoons bacon fat

1/2 cup olive oil

5 tablespoons garlic wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons raw honey

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Instructions:

Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large nonstick pan. Remove bacon to drain on paper towels. Reserve the bacon fat portion for the dressing. Place the baby spinach, chopped eggs, chopped tomatoes, and half the bacon into a large salad bowl. Gently toss; set aside. For the dressing, use the same pan. Warm the reserve bacon fat and olive oil. Add the garlic wine vinegar, raw honey, and Dijon mustard. Whisk together. Warm through. Dress the salad with the bacon dressing. Gently toss. Sprinkle remaining bacon bits on top. Serve immediately. 

Za’atar Quail Eggs

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Za’atar Quail Eggs! This isn’t just another hard-boiled egg post that makes you go “meh”. It’s one that will take you on an adventure; an adventure for the tastebuds. Everyone has figured out that eggs keep midday food cravings at bay. Imagine bringing your lunch to work, let’s say a half a dozen quail eggs, rolled in a crown of za’atar seasoning and sea salt. Already people are gathering around the refrigerator to see what makes them so special. You could tell them quail eggs provide more protein, have a rich taste, are hypoallergenic, and can boost the metabolism. But don’t get carried away. Otherwise come break time you may discover only 3 quail eggs in your lunchbox and suddenly everyone is too busy to chat. 

ZA’ATAR QUAIL EGGS

Ingredients:

12 quail eggs, natural farm raised

1 teaspoon sea salt 

2 teaspoons za’atar seasoning 

Instructions:

Gently place quail eggs in a medium pan of cold water. Bring to a boil for 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Immediately transfer eggs to a bowl of water filled with ice to completely cool. In a shallow dish, combine sea salt and za’atar seasoning. Carefully peel each quail egg, removing tiny bits of shell and membrane. Roll each egg in the za’atar mixture to coat. Set upright on a platter or place eggs on a bed of mixed greens to serve.