Pioneer Woman's Coffee Cake

                                              Picture and recipe from Pioneer Woman


I think I've mentioned  before, the Pioneer Woman's cooking really reminds me of my Mom's great cooking when we were growing up. We had all the classics-- pot roast, spaghetti, tacos, lasagna and of course lots of yummy cookies and desserts.

I haven't tried one of Ree's recipes yet that I haven't liked and usually really, really like.

This coffee cake was no different. The cake was buttery and moist. And the struesel? Oh, heavenly.

While baking, the struesel nestles down into the cake creating little pockets of cinnamon and sugar goodness. I washed mine down with a big, cold glass of milk. It took me right back to my childhood.
I left it on the stove and couldn't stop coming back for little pieces. It's a little habit forming.

I would highly recommend you make this soon. Unless you're on a diet. In that case look away!

Ingredients:

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 1-1/2 sticks Butter, Softened
• 2 cups Scant Sugar
• 3 cups Flour, Sifted
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1-1/4 cup Whole Milk
• 3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened
• 3/4 cups Flour
• 1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
• 1-1/2 cup Pecans, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined. Don't overbeat. Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula. Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 (or LARGER!) baking pan. A cake pan with higher sides would be best.
In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle all over the top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Serve warm---delicious!

Posted by: Sallie

Breakfast Hash

After completing his second marathon, I thought my husband deserved a fantastic breakfast. (Sadly because of a back injury I am still in physical therapy and wasn't able to run this year). Waffles are kind of a Sunday morning tradition but he also requested some kind of breakfast hash. Digging around in my arsenal of cookbooks I spotted a corned beef hash. Not really appetizing to me, but the rest of the recipe sounded delicious.I had some leftover sausage and decided it would be a great substitute.

Chock full of golden brown potatoes, diced onions, bacon, & sausage, this hash was delicious. I was a little leery of adding cream but combined with the hot sauce and topped off with some sunny side up eggs it was perfect. This is a yummy dish I'll be making again. (My family was starving and attacked the hash before I could snap a picture. I did find this one online to give you a good idea of what it will look like.)

Sausage and Potato Breakfast Hash
adapted from The Best Skillet Recipes

2 lbs. russet potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes) peeled, and diced into 1/2 in. pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced or put through a garlic press
4 oz. (about 4 slices) bacon, diced into 1/4 in. pieces
10-12 oz. sausage ,cooked in a separate pan then kept warm until ready to use(I used the kind in a big roll and cooked it like hamburger)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 large eggs


Toss the potatoes with the oil, salt and pepper in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl and microwave on high until the potatoes begin to soften, 7-10 minutes, stirring the potatoes halfway through cooking. Drain the potatoes well.

Cook the bacon in a 12 in. nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the fat begins to render, about 2 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until softened and lightly browned, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. (If there is a lot of grease you can drain it. See note at bottom of recipe.)Stir in the drained potatoes, cream, and hot sauce. Using the back of a spatula, gently pack the potatoes into the pan and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes.Flip the hash, one portion at a time, and lightly repack it into the pan. Repeat the flipping process every few minutes until the potatoes are nicely browned, 6-8 minutes.
Stir in the cooked sausage adn lightly repack the hash into the pan. Make four shallow wells (about 2 inches wide) in the surface of the hash.

Crack 1 egg into each indentation and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and continue to cook until the eggs are just set, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

*Note- the recipe didn't call for draining the pan but when i saw the amount of grease after cooking the bacon I drained mine.*
Posted by: Sallie

Sunday Brunch

We had some friends in town this weekend for UNLVino, and decided to have everyone over for brunch today before they all went home. The food was delicious and I wasn't stuck in the kitchen the whole time because I was able to make some of the things ahead and time and just throw it in the oven before the guests arrived. Here's what we had on the menu:

Caramel Pecan French Toast

Spring Onion & Smoked Salmon Frittata

Breakfast Potatoes
Breakfast Sausage
Fresh Fruit & Assorted Cheese Platter
Shrimp Cocktail
Lemon Tarts topped with Assorted Fruits

Paula Dean's Southern Pecan Brownies
Croissants with Strawberry Jam and Lemon Curd
Coffee
Orange Juice
Cranberry Juice

The caramel pecan french toast and the brownies are from recipes that Sallie posted on here and the lemon tart is from a previous recipe that I posted. The french toast was so good. I made two pans of it and there was hardly any leftover. The brownies were so delicious as well, I will definitely be using that recipe for my "go to" brownie recipe in the future. Here are recipes for the other menu items:

Breakfast Potatoes

These potatoes were a huge hit. They've got a little bit of a kick to them, but you can add less chili flakes if you don't like spicy food. They're also good with ketchup.

Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes diced
2 -3 TBS olive oil
1 tsp dried dill or parsley
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp salt

1 tsp chile flakes

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 deg.
Peel and wash potatoes. Dice potatoes in small cubes (about 1/2 inch thick).
Place in a medium bowl. Add olive oil and toss to coat all potatoes. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to mix.
Place potatoes in a single layer in a 13x9 pan.
Bake for 40 -45 minutes or until nicely golden brown.

Spring Onion and Smoked Salmon Frittata

This frittata was so good. The chunks of cream cheese and the flavor of the smoked salmon pair so well together. I got this recipe from Williams Sonoma, but altered it a bit so I could bake it rather than have to tend to it on the stove.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 green onion, thinly sliced
6 eggs
3 Tbs. heavy cream
2 1/2 oz. smoked salmon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 oz. cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbs. minced fresh chives
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Prehead the oven to 350 degrees. Pour melted butter into a baking dish. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Stir in the smoked salmon, cream cheese, 1 Tbs. of the chives and the green onion, and season with salt and pepper. Pour into baking dish. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the eggs are set and a toothpick comes out clean. Garnish with the remaining 1 Tbs. chives. Serves 4 to 6.

Lemon Curd

The lemon curd is used to make lemon tarts, but it also it very yummy used as a spread on croissants. I also got this recipe from the Williams Sonoma website, but altered it slighty. I like to strain the curd once it's finished because I don't like the lemon zest in the curd, I think it is better when it has a completely smooth texture.

Ingredients:
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Grated zest of 2 lemons
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

Directions:
In a heavy saucepan, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk for 1 minute more. Set the pan over low heat and cook gently, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Strain though a fine mesh sieve. Stir in the butter. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Cover tightly and refrigerate before using. Makes about 1 cup.