Michael Symon's Pumpkin Chocolate Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce 11.16.11

I LOVES me a bread pudding!

And I LOVES me a whiskey sauce!

On the show, Michael made a Caramel Sauce that looked delicious.  BUT...

For Thanksgiving, I made a Caramel Apple Cheesecake and a traditional Pumpkin Pie to serve for dessert.

Since the cheesecake had a caramel taste, and the pumpkin pie was "kid friendly", I opted for a more adult Whiskey Sauce.

And it was delicious!

The sauce recipe is very easy...

1 stick of Butter (softened to room Temp)
1 1/2 cup Confectioner's Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
1/2 Cup Bourbon (I like Maker's Mark)

In a small sauce pan over low heat, combine sugar and butter until the butter has melted and the sugar is absorbed.  Remove from the heat, add the egg yolks one at a time, whisking the entire time.  It is important that the yolks do not cook.  Finally, add the whiskey to taste!

As to the brad pudding...

What a great combination, pumpkin savory, with the seasonings of the season, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add the chocolate for sweetness and pecans for nutty roasted aroma and texture.

Simply DELICIOUS and oh so easy to make.

From the recipe posted on the Chew Website (Click HERE), I made a few minor changes

Pre heat the oven to 325 degrees

1 3/4 cup Half and Half
3 large Eggs
1/2 tsp ground Ginger
6 cups Day old Bread cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
1 cup pureed Pumpkin (can use can)
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 cup Toasted Pecan Pieces
1 stick melted butter
Whole pecans to garnish

In a Kitchenade mixer or large bowl, combine 1/2 and 1/2, Pumpkin, Sugar, Eggs, and seasonings
Add the Bread Cubes, mix gently (do not mix the cubes so much they reduce to crumbs).
Add the Pecan pieces, melted butter and Chocolate Chips and mix again (carefully)

Transfer to a prepared baking dish, bake for 45 minutes, until the custard is set.
 About 15 minutes before it is done, add a few whole pecans to the top for a pretty presentation!

Best served warm and best served with the whiskey sauce!!!

Simply delicious... A bit savory, a bit sweet and a bit whiskey; a real crowd pleaser!

Carla Hall's Eggs in Heaven and my Heavenly Eggs in Hell 11.8.11

Miss Carla... I have a confession... I am falling in love.

If you check my stats on the side bar, I have made more of your recipes by double than any of the other hosts on The Chew.  You post accessible ingredients, often with an eye towards budget consciousness and you always make that leap from ordinary to just a shade better.

Except today.

Hey Carla, don't get me wrong, today's recipe is just fine.  Grits, and you showed lots of tips on the episode for making great grits (click HERE to see the video of Carla posted on The Chew website making this recipe), with baked eggs (love those beautiful light creamy whites with that perfect cooked soft yolk).

My only justification for the obvious (to me) changes that should have been made, you were doing a riff on Mario Batali' Eggs in Hell, which I made way back... well, 2 weeks ago.  Mario's eggs were baked in a delicious spicy tomato sauce, taking him back to his Italian specialty.

So you adapted to a more southern flare, using grits as your base.  So, for the sake of the show symmetry, you produced "Eggs in Heaven" to contrast his spicy delicious Hellish eggs.  I am sure, still delicious, but I just could not resist adding two of my favorite ingredients to add to grits...

Sweet Potatoes and a TBS of pureed Chipotle Pepper in Adobe Sauce.

First, look at that beautiful deep rich orange color.  Sure, your cheddar cheese added a little color, but oh my, that orange is a delight to plate.

But the addition of sweet potatoes (I steamed them for about 30 minutes until soft, then ran them through the food processor to get them creamed) made my grits... extra creamy and delicious.  But, I guess deep down I am not a heavenly guy at all.  The spoonful of hellish spice really made these the cat's whisker and the cat's meow.  Unique in their texture, color and deliciously wicked taste.

Carla, I love ya, You are my most copied chef host, but today... My Hellish Heavenly Eggs are better than yours.

Here's what I did...

2 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled, chopped, steamed and pureed
1 TBS pureed Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce
1 cup Stone Ground Hominy Grits
1 1/2 cups Water
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 tsp Salt
4 TBS Butter
6 Eggs
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Ham Steak and Black Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350
Bring water, milk and salt to boil, gradually add grits, simmer for 20 minutes or until thick.  Continue whisking throughout to prevent lumps
Add the butter and cheese  and also the Chipotle Pepper Puree and the pureed sweet potatoes and stir to combine... move to a baking dish...
Note, I have individual dishes that nicely hold about 1 1/2 cups of grits that fit 2 eggs perfectly.  Carla made this in one large serving dish.
Make an impression in the grits to hold an egg and carefully break the eggs and add into the iompression.
Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until the eggs reach their desired doneness!

Garnish with a ham steak and pepper!

Oh My...

These are HEAVENLY!

Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos's Mozzarella in Carrozza 10.25.11

Who knew???

It's a savory French toast sandwich; Italian version.  And I say, "who knew???" because apparently this is a pretty famous Italian dish.  Take a look through Google and you will see several versions.  But basically, it's a toasted cheese sandwich, dipped in egg before you fry it up.

Today featured guest stars, Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corco.  They are the hosts of the Cooking Channel show, "Extra Virgin".  Have to confess, these two celebrities were new to me.  I do not get the Cooking Channel on my cable system.  They were very entertaining.  Reminded me a bit of my own situation, with a wife who enjoys food, but has little background in cooking.

The show did feature TWO segments with the guests; which I think is badly needed whenever they schedule folks.  In the past (Paula Deen comes to mind) I always felt rushed through their stories and recipes.  I thought the interview portion combined with the cooking segment was nicely balanced.

Click HERE to get a break down of the entire episode, with video segments and recipes from this episode.

Specifically, click HERE to see the recipe for Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos's Mozzarella in Carrozza.

I made a few changes in my version, nothing drastic.

They fried their French Toast in Olive Oil.  I decided to fry mine in butter instead.

They seasoned their Mozzarella in Carrozza with salt and pepper.  During the segment they advised that several options for seasonings could be used.  I decided to add a 1/2 tsp of my "Not your Grandmother's Herbes de Provence" Spice mix.  It's a very simple make ahead mix that combines 9 different spices for a Mediterranean taste.

Th sandwich is excellent!  Has that eggy French toast taste, but it also combines with the savory spices and the richness of the mozzarella cheese.  If, like me, your experience with French toast is only as a sweet dish (Syrup and/or powdered sugar toppings), this will really excite you.

It is a simple dish...

eggs
milk
toast
cheese
"Not your Grandmother's Herbes de Provence" Spice mix
dusting of flour
Oil or butter to fry the sandwich in  

It really is a terrific idea for an interesting lunch.  I can also envision smaller sandwiches for a tea or to use an appetizers.

On the show, the hosts cut the bread using cookie cutters for a holiday treat.

Love this recipe!

Mario Batali's Eggs in Hell 10.21.11

Hmmmm... I've seen this before.  In fact, I've made this.  But I made mine as a Turkish dish, called Kefta.  My version has meatballs (Mario's just uses the eggs).

I did just a bit of research and this is actually one of those international dishes that has lots of names, lots of origins.  But the basics...

Eggs basted in a spiced tomato sauce.

And that's it.  As with all dishes, easy enough to personalize.  Add some Cajun spices for a New Orleans treat.  Add the spiced meatballs for a trip to Turkey.  Change it just a bit and you have a French, British, Mexican or Chinese dish.

Mario posted a very easy to replicate dish.  I followed his recipe exact (except for adding the meatballs).  You can see his version by clicking HERE.

The technique is all you need to know.

I am lucky enough to have a domed lidded stove top dish that this works perfect in.  You can see the cooking process.

Basically, saute some onions and jalapenos.

 Add the tomato sauce.

It has been a very good season for my tomatoes.  I happen to have made some fresh marinara sauce just a couple of days ago, so I had a 2 cup container ready to go.  I did add a cup of the Tomato Soup I blogged about a few days ago.  This was spiced with sriracha sauce, so it added plenty of heat to my dish!  Just the way I like it.

Get the sauce simmering.  I added my pre-browned meatballs in a pattern leaving enough room to drop the eggs in between the sausage.

It takes only about 5-6 minutes for the eggs to cook.  They are being basted in the sauce, so they get that lovely milky creamy look.

The yolks are also cooked PERFECT!  Just cooked through, but still nicely runny on the inside.

And this makes a GREAT breakfast.  Fast to assemble (even faster if you don't do the meatballs).  Delicious with the onions as a base, the spicy tang of the tomato sauce and just easily perfectly cooked poached eggs!

And again, so easy.  I am planning a few visitors in the near future and for the holidays.  This is an ideal dish for Thanksgiving morning (or the day after when you can add some turkey in place of the meatballs).  Like I said, I knew the dish already, and it was on my list.  BUT, thanks to the kick up the list from Mario's recipe, it's now moved up to be made again... and often!

And again, click HERE for the recipe!

Daphne Oz's Poached Eggs With Sweet Potato Pancakes 10.17.11

Oh My!

I am such a huge fan of Latkes.  Those wonderful potato pancakes.  Around our house, it is a traditional breakfast on Christmas morning.  The kids got to play with the toy that Santa brought while I whipped a few up.  No gifts from Mom and dad till after breakfast.  So I always associate warm family times with them.

These are a Daphne's healthy version and my my... dare I say better than my original?

I saw her make these and knew they would be on my must make list.  I adore sweet potatoes, combined with a snappy granny smith apple and a little bit of carrot, this just screamed healthy... But it also was just delicious.  Would make a fine alternative side dish for dinner.

But when you top them with the poached egg, it is simply a wonderful breakfast!

I do need to quibble with the servings, as I made this exactly as posted on The Chew website (Click HERE for the recipe).  the recipe says it serves 5.  I made this for a lunch for my wife and myself.  It served two and only two.  Maybe we were just hungry.  Maybe I used a small potato.  Or, maybe it was just that good.

I'm gonna say it's that good.

There is quite a bit of grating to do.

It was about a tie in the amount of time it would take to grate by hand vs. grating in a food processor.  But, if I were making enough for a larger family, I would recommend the processor.

Plus, I didn't grate my knuckles.

Aside from the processor, no changes to the recipe.

Again, click HERE for the recipe.

I did like the poached egg that Daphne used.  Personally, I like a VERY runny egg, my wife prefers a runny egg, but not as much as mine.  Poaching is a very easy way to cook to order.

But honestly... what a great dish!