Posts Tagged breakfast

Black Pepper Biscuit Sandwiches with Spicy Tomato Jam

There are three things I want you to know about this recipe. (Maybe four.)

1. I made tomato jam for the express purpose of slathering it on a biscuit sandwich. A few months ago I had brunch with my friend Kelly at a little spot in Portland called Bakery Bar. I don’t recall all of the specifics of the biscuit sandwich we ate, but I do remember that it was ridiculously tasty. I do know that there was tomato jam on the biscuit sandwich and it was magical. I’ve been wanting to recreate it ever since. So that’s exactly what I did.

2. I went on a canning frenzy in the past couple of weeks. Summer is ending, and thus I’ve felt the urge to preserve and can. It’s my way of making the season last. (If you’re curious, I canned tomato sauce, tomato jam, bourbon peach butter, bourbon pickled peaches, and my “famous” 24 hour dill pickles.)

3. I adapted this black pepper biscuit recipe from Bobby Flay, which makes me feel like an ass. I’m not one to call names, but I loathe Bobby Flay. I don’t like his restaurants and I don’t like his “southwest” brand of cooking, and I certainly can’t stand that he tries to put jalapeno peppers in everything. I’m just not a fan of him. However, his recipe for black pepper biscuits happens to be great. I may not like the guy, but I’ll give credit where credit is due.

4. Biscuit sandwiches are practically impossible to photograph. I’m a big fan of runny yolks, and I am totally unwilling to cook my eggs “over hard” just for the sake of a pretty photo. So, I attempted to photograph this biscuit sandwich and it quickly dissolved into a yolky mess. A delicious, wonderful, yolky mess. So I snapped one photo (which turned out okay) and then gave up on trying to take photos and ate the sandwich instead.

In any case, the following is a recipe for black pepper biscuits, tomato jam, and brief instructions on how to assemble these tasty breakfast sandwiches. Enjoy!

BLACK PEPPER BISCUITS
(Slightly adapted from Bobby Flay)
Makes 8 biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, plus a little more for the tops of the biscuits

Method:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, pepper, and salt. Pulse a couple of times to ensure the ingredients are combined. Sprinkle the butter pieces over the flour mixture, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Slowly pour in the buttermilk and pulse until the dough just barely comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a circle, until it is 3/4 of an inch thick. Using a 3″ biscuit cutter (or juice glass!), cut out the biscuits and place them on a lined baking sheet. Combine the remaining scraps of biscuit dough into a 3/4 thickness and repeat the process until all the dough is used. Brush the tops of the raw biscuits with cream, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and fluffy. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

SPICY (HEIRLOOM) TOMATO JAM
(Adapted from Sassy Radish)
Makes 4+ pints

Ingredients:
5 pounds heirloom tomatoes*, roughly chopped
2 small yellow onions, diced
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
1 green apple, finely diced
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

*Note: I used a mix of heirloom tomatoes from my garden (including cherry tomatoes). Really, any tomato will do!

Method:
Place all ingredients in a large pot or Dutch oven and stir to combine. Over medium heart, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and allow mixture to simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 hours, or until the jam is dark and thick. Stir occasionally.

Transfer jam to clean, sterilized jars. If canning, boil jars in a hot-water bath for 20 minutes. If storing in the refrigerator, the jam will keep for 2 weeks (or more).

TO ASSEMBLE THE BISCUIT SANDWICHES:

Ingredients:
2 black pepper biscuits
Sharp cheddar cheese
Tomato jam
4 slices of bacon
2 eggs

Cook the eggs and bacon to your liking. I prefer a sunny side up egg and crispy (almost burnt!) bacon. But, really, this is your biscuit sandwich and you get to make it the way you want.

Split the biscuits in half, and slather a good amount of tomato jam on one half of the biscuit. On the other half, place a hearty slice of sharp cheddar cheese. If you want your cheese extra melty, place under the broiler for a few minutes.

Place a fried egg atop each biscuit, and adorn with bacon slices. Add a bit more tomato jam if you desire. Serve immediately and enjoy immensely!

Kimchi Breakfast Bowls

Nich and I went out to brunch a couple of weeks ago and ordered a few things to share. I don’t recall anything else we ate that morning, but I do know we had a delicious breakfast bowl with a fried egg and kimchi. I’ve been craving it ever since.

The funny thing is that I’ve been making a similar rice bowl – Eggs in a Nest – for years. I just never thought to add kimchi into the mix.

I’m not sure why, but the kimchi makes all the difference. It’s tangy, it’s funky, and it’s good. (If you’re not a fan of kimchi, then you’re out of luck. But you should seriously reconsider. Kimchi is wonderful!)

In addition to the funky goodness of kimchi, this recipe is also great because it can be made a million different ways. I basically just sauteéd a few vegetables I had in the fridge (green beans, onions, red bell peppers, kale) and tossed them atop some brown rice. I then topped that with a healthy portion of kimchi and a fried egg. Lastly, I poured kimchi juice (the fermenty goodness left in the jar) and Sriracha over the whole thing.

I devoured the whole bowl in seconds and felt like a champ. I highly recommend you do the same.

KIMCHI BREAKFAST BOWLS
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients
1.5 cups cooked brown rice
2 eggs
1 heaping cup of kale, roughly chopped
1 small red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly
Olive oil
Salt & pepper, to taste
Various other fresh vegetables: zucchini, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snap peas, etc.
1/2 cup kimchi, at room temperature (homemade or store bought. I’m a sucker for Choi’s Kimchi, which I get at the PSU Farmer’s Market in Portland. It’s SO stinking good.)

Optional sauces: Sriracha and/or Gochujang

Method:

If you made your rice ahead of time and left it to cool (or stored it in the refrigerator), warm the rice in the microwave or on the stovetop. If your kimchi has any liquid in the jar, pour a little of the kimchi juices into the rice to season it. Stir, and set aside.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet. Once the oil is hot, add in the onions. Cook for 1-2 minutes before adding in the rest of the vegetables (except for the kale). Season with salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Once the vegetables are cooked (and starting to caramelize), add in the chopped kale. Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat down to low, and allow the greens to wilt. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the kale (and other veggies) are fully cooked.

Divide the rice between two soup bowls. Portion the kimchi and the sauteed vegetables between the two bowls of rice. Set aside. In the same pan you used to cook the veggies, fry two eggs.

Once the eggs are cooked to your liking (I like the yolk nice and runny!), place a fried egg atop each rice bowl. Douse with a hefty squirt of Sriracha (or Gochujang. or both!). Add salt and pepper if needed.

Recipe Swap: Coconut Brown Rice Pudding

It’s our first recipe swap of 2012, and I’m only a few days late to the party. (Oh well! Better late than never, I suppose…)

As many of you know, I’m part of the Burwell General Store Recipe Swap. The swap consists of 25 foodies and writers from all over the world, and each month we re-interpret a vintage recipe (selected by Christianna of Burwell General Store) and post our creations on the first Sunday of the month.

This month, Christianna selected this recipe for the swap: Zabaglione for Two.

I was a bit flabbergasted by this recipe. First off, I had to google Zabaglione as I had no idea what it was. The images that appeared on my screen horrified me: it looked like a rich, lumpy, custardy mess. Granted, this recipe came at a bad time – I had just started my January detox and was feeling particularly over-sugared from the holidays. I couldn’t stomach the thought of a heavy custard. I decided that I needed to transform zabaglione into something light and healthy.

The only problem was that I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to pull off this transformation. I was stumped.

After a lot of thought, I finally decided to make a coconut milk brown rice pudding. It’s vegan, gluten free, and it doesn’t contain much sugar. And, most importantly, it’s easy to digest. It makes my belly happy. And as of right now, a happy belly is a top priority.

I won’t bore you with all of the details, but I do think it is worth mentioning that I have IBS.

Meaning: my stomach hates me.

I’ve tried various medications, elimination diets, fasts, probiodics, kombucha, vitamins, herbs, and more. I’ve been tested for various diseases and allergies, but everything comes back negative. In my opinion, IBS is the diagnosis doctors give you when they can’t figure out what’s wrong with your digestive system. So, I just do my best to take care of myself. I try to listen to my body. I started a detox on January 1st, because I wanted to cleanse after the holidays. I drank a lot of chicken broth and ate a lot of veggies. And the funny/tragic thing is, my stomach felt even worse during the cleanse. I was downright miserable. Nothing I ate or drank (or didn’t eat or drink) seemed to help.

I just didn’t have the heart to cook anything, let alone create a recipe for the swap.

But, I gave it a couple days and gradually I began to feel better. I allowed myself to dream of delicious and tummy-friendly recipes that might work for the swap. And then I remembered an amazing rice porridge I had for breakfast a couple years ago at a local brunch spot in Portland. I specifically remember that I ordered the porridge because I wasn’t feeling well and it was named something clever like “The Belly Pleaser”. It was made with coconut milk and had fresh mango on top. I loved it (and so did my stomach).

So this is my ode to “The Belly Pleaser”. It’s no zabaglione, to be sure. But it is a pudding — a pudding that happens to be vegan, gluten free, low-sugar, and is quite easy on the stomach. It also happens to taste wonderful. And that, my friends, is a fabulous thing.

Coconut Brown Rice Pudding
Adapted from The Witchy Kitchen
Note: This recipe uses pre-cooked brown rice, so make sure you factor that into your cooking time. Once the rice is cooked, however, this recipe takes 5-10 minutes to throw together.

Ingredients:
2.5 cups pre-cooked short grain brown rice
1 can (14 ounces) of light coconut milk
1/4 cup soy milk (or dairy milk)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon cinnamon (plus cinnamon stick for garnish)
1 teaspoon vanilla*
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cardamom pods
1/4 cup golden raisins (plus more, for garnish)
Slivered almonds, for garnish

*I think this recipe would be incredible with real vanilla bean, I just didn’t happen to have any at home when I made this. Vanilla extract works nicely, I just think that real vanilla would be killer.

Method:
Heat coconut milk, soy (or dairy) milk and sugar together in a medium sized pot. Until warm. Whisk in corn starch and vanilla. Add in rice, 1/4 cup of golden raisins, and cardamom pods and bring to a simmer. Stir constantly and reduce heat if necessary. Allow mixture to gently simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.

Once the pudding has thickened, remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve warm, with a dusting of cinnamon. Garnish with almond slivers and extra golden raisins. Can also be enjoyed cold.