Secret Recipe Club - June

Brownies with a Twist

Chris writes: The school year is finally winding down. Exams are being graded. Papers are being handed back with sighs of relief, regardless of the grade. Prom pictures are being taken. Retirement parties are being given. Summer is fast upon us. Finally, time to cook again.

This month as part of this our SecretRecipeClub community blog we were asked to choose from Kristy's blog Gastronomical Sovereignty. This blog has it all: appetizers ranging from bruschetta to fried squash blossoms with chevre, soups, salads and mains for all of the ‘vores” (that’s carnivore, herbivore and omnivore for you non-biology-teachers out there), as well as a nice selection of sides and sauces. But most importantly, it has desserts. Yeah, that is the one that caught my attention. When I stumbled upon the brownie recipe from a guestblogger that used bacon fat and maple syrup as its primary ingredients I thought, “Yep. We have a winner!”.

This recipe is designed to make 4 to 6 ramekin chocolate lava brownies. Since I was only able to locate two of my ramekins I felt an experiment was in order and tried making them in a cupcake pan instead. It didn't turn out as bad as I thought it was going to. Actually, as I look across the rack of the dozen small coffee-infused, maple-bacon chocolate lava cakes one word keeps coming to mind -- “breakfast”. Think about it: bacon, eggs, maple syrup, coffee AND chocolate! That's a breakfast that would make Bruce Jenner happy. Well... the Bruce Jenner from our childhood that is. 

Yeah, tomorrow may be Monday and it may be the start of the last week school, but starting off my day with one of these cakes is going to make things a whole lot easier. This recipe is as easy to make, as it is delicious to eat. A big 'Thanks' to Kristy for turning us on to a new guilty pleasure. We have plans on revisiting her blog soon to try a few of her more healthy meals.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup of strong coffee (if you aren't a coffee fan, chai tea might be tasty)
1/2 cup bacon grease (liquid or room temperature)
1 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup flour 
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa powder (We used Dark Chocolate powder)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

What to Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, blend wet ingredients in a food processor, add dry ingredients and process until just mixed. Pour batter into into 4-6 small ramekins or a small baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes and let the brownies sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serves 4-6. Refrigerate leftovers.

Dry ingredients

Mixed with wet ingredients

Whisk

Pour

Bake

Done!

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bread Pudding

We created this amazing brunch concoction over Christmas break, when we had lots of time to rest, relax and enjoy time in the kitchen. Its inspiration, in fact, was a Christmas gift from Amy's bestie Karen - a piece of  "Temp-tations" cookware. Isn't it gorgeous? Not only is it non-stick, but it can go straight from the  fridge to the oven to the table. We especially love the pretty glass trivet (also serves as a lid!) and the iron rack that come with it, making it so very table-ready. 

Since Karen is in New Orleans, we wanted to make something inspired by the Big Easy. After plenty of consideration and exchanging various ideas, the two of us finally came up with this: Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bread Pudding, a play on the ubiquitous sandwich. This savory bread pudding is fluffy and custardy, with salty and smoky bites of bacon and tangy cheese. Loved it, and it was perfect for our new cookware! Perhaps we'll make it again today, since we have a SNOW DAY! 

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 large eggs

4 slices bacon

1 shallot, minced

5 cups cubed day-old French bread

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley

kosher salt and ground white pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 and spray the baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk together milk, cream, eggs, salt and white pepper in a large bowl; set aside. Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towels, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Cook shallot in bacon fat over medium heat until golden, only about one minute. Add bacon, bread, cheese, cooked shallots and dried parsley into custard mixture so that all bread is covered; allow to soak for about 1/2 hour. Transfer mixture into baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Fried Egg Sandwich Nachos

School's out for summer! And we couldn't be happier or more relaxed already. Sure, we have a few school-related things to take care of still, but generally, we are on a well-deserved vacation, and we started it off right. On the first official day of our summer, Thursday morning, we made "Fried Egg Sandwich Nachos" for breakfast. This yummy dish has all the makings of a fried egg sandiwich (eggs, bacon, cheese), but is in nacho form, sort of like an American-style huevos rancheros.

We started by laying out some nacho chips on an aluminum-foil-covered baking pan. We then chopped and fryed a few slices of bacon and sprinkled the pieces over the nacho chips. Next came the eggs, fried in the bacon fat, sunny-side up because they will be finished under the broiler. We placed the eggs on top of the bacon, then laid strips of American cheese over the eggs and broiled the whole thing until the cheese was melty and the eggs were cooked to our liking (over medium).

Don't worry. We understand that this is not a dish to be eaten often. But it is a dish worthy of the first day of a long, lazy, summer vacation!

Fried Egg Sandwich Nachos

(this recipe makes one plate, enough for two to share)

Ingredients:

20-24 nacho chips

3 slices uncooked bacon, chopped

3 eggs

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 slices American cheese

Lay out the nacho chips onto an aluminum-foil-covered baking sheet. In a large skillet, cook the bacon pieces until crispy. Drain onto a paper towel, reserving the bacon fat in the skillet, then sprinkle over the chips. Return the skillet and bacon fat to high heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook to your liking (we did them sunny-side-up because they will cook more under the broiler). Slide the eggs onto the nachos. Cut the cheese into strips and lay the strips over the nachos. Heat the broiler to high and broil the nachos until cheese is melted and eggs are cooked. Slide the nachos onto a plate and enjoy!