Naked Breakfast #3: Tinkering with Recipes: An Experiment

I love cookbooks. I don't have many, but those I do have are very well utilized. In most books, the pages stick together with flecks of food from use. Little pieces of dough or broth substitute as bookmarks for recipes previously made and I liken the spotted pages to my own version of battle scars.

When I first began to cook, I would follow the recipe exact. I used TONS of measuring devices and got flustered when a step was accidentally missed. Now, I may use my 1 cup to roughly measure all dry ingredients and just wing any of the wet. I sub turkey for sausage, cilantro with basil, soy milk for 2%, etc. And I ALWAYS add more garlic and onion than called for!

Its all about what I want the flavors to be. What began as a constant gamble has slowly developed into a more consistent product.

Dish: Blackberry & Mascarpone Tart with Red Raspberries
Film: The Shadow


1 tube (approx 18oz) sugar cookie dough (let soften)
1c blackberries
2c red raspberries
8oz Mascarpone (let soften)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4c sugar

*sub out the fruit as you see fit. Also, dont feel required to mix any with the mascarpone...the original calls for cream cheese instead w/o fruit mixed in...its all how you want to do it!

-Spread out dough on a pizza round and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.
-Cool completely (I took the round directly from the oven to the fridge-it only took 20 minutes to cool that way!).
-While crust cools mix together mascarpone, sugar and almond extract. After smooth, slowly mix in blackberries.
-Spread mixture on cooled crust, then top with red raspberries.
-Refrigerate til served.

Enjoy!

My love affair with Fake Meat

Dont ask me when it started, but I have always had a weird fascination with meat alternatives. I believe it started when I have my first veggie-hot dog at a college graduation party when I was 18. Ever since, I have subjected numerous boyfriends to my experiments with this phenomenon.

Now, I will begin by saying I have had MANY failures. More failures than successes. So much so that Ive had exes perform interventions by cleaning all the soy products out of my apartment, refuse to eat my food until I showed them the real meat packaging or swear on children I dont even plan on having that the meat is real...but I cant help it! Every time I see Boca or Morning Star, my brain starts whirling and I just get excited about all the possibilities this could create for the food industry! Fake meat success is my holy grail!

I will testify that I have been mostly single for two years (not because of my cooking!). This has created a problem for me because I became so used to cooking for two, I quickly was making HUGE meals for just me...and eventually I was making HUGE meals for the garbage can. So I began purchasing the individual 'chicken' and 'beef' patties by Morning Star. They were a reasonable size to cut up for salads, a quick protein snack, etc. and they tasted great! They are also healthier and less greasy than the real thing. My favorite thing to do is use them for salads.

Today I wanted a cheeseburger. Today I wanted a SPECIFIC cheeseburger. I wanted a Whopper! I love all the stuff they put on Whoppers, the mayo, the onion, the tomato...I love how they are some of the messiest hamburgers around. But today I didnt feel like leaving my apartment and I JUST went grocery shopping!

So I went into the kitchen, opened the freezer and began my first Cheeseburger Salad.
And let me just say...YUM!

Cheese Burger Salad

-Lettuce of choice (Im a fan of romaine) in ones desired amount
-1 or 2 Morning Star Grillers Prime patties, nuked in the microwave, according to directions on box. Cubed after cooking.
-Burger toppings...(Tomato, Onion, Pickle, Mayo, etc...) of choice-just like in a restaurant! I used relish as a substitute for pickle. It had the same effect and was easier to eat.
-Shredded Cheese (again, use what you like, I had colby jack handy).

For Dressing:
-Ketchup, Mustard & Mayo (Plus or minus according to preference)

*I didnt have any tomatoes and with the addition of the ketchup I didnt find them necessary. Use tomatoes as a substitute for ketchup as a healthy alternative!

This salad was wonderful! It totally kicked my cheeseburger craving and didnt make me feel bad about myself later! Plus, it was much cleaner than a Whopper!

Enjoy!

The beginning of the Naked Breakfast...so I guess its foreplay...

What started out as a simple breakfast between a friend and I has rapidly morphed into an event dubbed, 'Naked Breakfast'. Now, I wish I could say this was me paying homage to Jamie Oliver by dissecting classic breakfast dishes, but in fact, I'm not. Nor are we eating our pancakes sans clothing. Naked Breakfast is a term generated out of a conversation between two 40+ year old men at the bar in which I work.

So in fact if you take the ages of these men: 40 & 48, add alcohol, add a bar, add 2 women to show off in front of, plus various other 40+ year old men, you can see how this becomes the equivalent of recess at a junior high school.

As I have worked as a recess supervisor (ie: bartender) for some time now, the acquired name 'Naked Breakfast' (NB) doesn't bother me. I have also found it useful to create funny conversations or to confuse the occasional friend that stops by...What? a girls gotta have a little fun.

Larry (my NB partner-in-crime) and I have decided to pair our morning breakfast with a movie. We have further decided on a theme for our movies: films based off of comic books! Maybe someday if Im feeling creative, I'll even theme the food to go along with the film!

Naked Breakfast #1: Sausage, green pepper & onion Quiche w/ Cheddar Cheese
Film: Iron Man

I love to make quiche! It is a dish that is relatively simple to make, doesn't cost much and is always delicious and filling! I prefer to keep frozen pie crust around just in case I get a hankering for some. Pilsbury makes the best in my opinion and is usually the easiest to find.

I often entertain men and know their preference for meat, so I dont bat an eye at using a whole pound in one 9in pie. Although, I have gotten some feedback from women that I use a lot of meat in my quiche. Im a firm believer in adjusting to taste...

1 9in frozen pie crust
1 lb ground sausage
1c diced green pepper
1 small/med onion, finely diced
approx 1c shredded cheddar (to taste)
salt & pepper
cajun seasoning
1/4c milk
6 eggs

*I occasionally will cut up mushrooms and add them to the mix as well! I saute them with the sausage before adding them!

Any of these ingredients can be switched out to make any kind of quiche you want!

Also, I have found that picky eaters who turn their nose at the word 'quiche' are ok with the term 'breakfast casserole'.

DIRECTIONS:
Cook the sausage, green pepper and onion first. Use the cajun seasoning to season the meat to taste. Drain excess grease.

Cover the bottom of the pie crust with the cheddar cheese. This prevents the bottom from getting soggy. Add sausage mixture.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt & pepper. Be careful with the salt, the cajun seasoning should already have a lot in it! Cover sausage mixture with egg mixture.

Cover and place in oven @ 360 degree for 40 minutes. If you would like to add cheese to the top, take the quiche out after 30 minutes, add cheese, then place back in oven, covered, for the remaining 10 minutes.

You want the center to be completely cooked...inserting a knife in the middle to see if it comes out clean, is a good test for this dish.

Enjoy!