Eggs a la golden rod

14 hard boiled eggs
1 stick butter
3/4 cups flour
4-5 cups milk
Nutmeg, Salt, Pepper to taste
Loaf of bread

Melt butter in a large pan. When foaming subsides, add flour and stir to incorporate. Cook 2 min. Add 2 cups milk and stir vigorously until smooth and thick. Add remaining milk to thin to desired consistency. Boil for at least 5 minutes.

Peel and chop egg whites, reserving yolks in a small bowl. Season sauce with a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Add egg whites off heat. Serve over buttered toast, topped with grated egg yolk and lots of pepper.

Raisin, cinnamon, Nut bread (based on Beard's recipe)

1 cup golden raisins
Hot water
2 tablespoons sherry or rum

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped almonds or other nut

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup warm water (105-115)
1/4 cup butter (half stick), chilled and cut into small pieces
1 3/4 milk, warmed to 115 degrees
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
5 1/2-6 cups all purpose flour

Soak raisins in hot water and sherry for an hour. Mix yeast, water, and honey together. Let proof 5 min. Dissolve salt in milk and warm the butter in milk. Add milk to yeast mixture and mix in flour one cup at a time until dough comes together. Hold back 1/2 a cup of flour. JKnead in mixer for 5 minutes or 10 min by hand. Dough should be fairly soft and elastic. Butter bowl and top of dough and let proof for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and knead in 1/2 raisins and all of nuts. Divide into 2 and let rest 10 minutes. Roll each piece into a 5 x12 inch rectangle. Sprinkle sugar mixture and remaining raisins, leaving a 1/2 inch edge. Roll up loaf tightly (short way), pinch seam and pull sides under to form heels. Place in buttered loaf plan. Let proof a hour, until doubled in size. Bake at 400 for 25-35 min. Or until loaf reaches 200 degrees and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from pan. Place back in oven for 3-5 min if you prefer a crunchy crust. (I do).

Cream Cheese Raisin Toast "Danish"

15 minutes to delicious breakfast or dessert pastry. Could not be easier!

Store bought or homemade raisin bread
8 oz. Cream cheese, room temp
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
Teaspoon vanilla
2 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 400

Mix cream cheese and sugar together using paddle attachment on low until smooth. Add salt, yolks, and vanilla. Mix until smooth, DO NOT WHIP! Place 1 tablespoon of mixture on raisin bread slices. Bake for 12 minutes. Enjoy!

Easy cream cheese danish

Amazing and so easy. I leave the lemon zest out b/c I like true cream cheesy flavor. I did not have ricotta, so I just left it out. Worked great!

Cook Time:20 minLevel: EasyYield: 8 Danish

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

Best Blueberry Muffins (TO DIE FOR)

NOTE: I use frozen blueberries and half whole milk yogurt and half whole milk. If you prep the ingredients the night before this is a really quick breakfast.

Makes 12 muffins
If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

INGREDIENTS
Lemon-Sugar Topping
1/3cup sugar (2 1/3 ounces)
1 1/2teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Muffins
2cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces), picked over
1 1/8cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon
2 1/2cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
2 1/2teaspoons baking powder
1teaspoon table salt
2large eggs
4tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
1/4cup vegetable oil
1cup buttermilk (see note)
1 1/2teaspoons vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS
1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.
2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)
4. Following photos below, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.
5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

TECHNIQUE
WHEN MORE ISN'T BETTER
To boost berry flavor in a muffin, simply adding more blueberries isn't the answer. With too many in the mix, the berries sink to the bottom, weighing the muffin down.

Buttermilk Pancakes

These are the best pancakes I have ever had. They are light and fluffy. They are from the back of the SACO powdered buttermilk which you find by the powdered milk at any grocery store. Very convenient stuff!

4 Tbsp. powdered buttermilk
1 cup A.P. flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. table salt
1 egg
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil or melted butter

Makes ten 4-inch pancakes

Sift dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl. Add beaten egg, water, and oil. Mix until just combined. Do not overbeat! Cook on a griddle at 350 degrees. Flip once small bubbles cover the top of the pancake and the underside is golden brown. Serve topped with sour cream and macerated strawberries or syrup made from Mapeline (just like Grandma Teeples. Yummy!

Instant - makes 2 ¼ cups. (This is very watery)
1 Cup boiling water
2 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Mapleline

Pour boiling water over sugar in measuring cup and add Mapleline.


Thick Syrup - makes 2 cups.
2 Tbsp water
¼ Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
1/2 tsp Mapleline

Combine in Saucepan. Boil 2 minutes. It thickens as it cools.

This recipe costs $.71 to make and is about $.06 per serving.

Oven Puffed Pancakes

1 cup flour
1 cup milk
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 stick butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in a 9X13 pan and set in oven until butter foams. Using a hand mixer, beat eggs, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla together. Add flour in three additions and mix until just incorporated. Place in the center of the over and remove the upper rack. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Enjoy with jam, butter, or syrup.

Mix in chopped crispy bacon for a new twist and serve with maple syrup. Yummy! Or add some peeled sliced apples tossed in cinnamon and sugar before baking for a twist or to make this dessert. Add your favorite berries with some lemon zest and a little juice for another rendition.