Spinach Cheese Bake for Brunch

Going out for breakfast or brunch is truly one of life’s delights. Since I can’t resist the combination of spinach, cheese and eggs I will, without fail, order a Greek omelet if it’s on the menu. I know I should branch out, but I do only if I’m in the mood for a sweet breakfast like pancakes. First I make the sweet vs. savory decision, then focus on what to order. ( A quick aside – last weekend I discovered a different variation of spinach, cheese and eggs at Tabaq Bistro in Washington, DC ... poached eggs with spinach, tomatoes, cream and a crispy layer of Parmesan. Dee-lish!)

I love to host brunch at home, too, and since we are in the midst of the holiday season this is the perfect time to think about gathering friends or family together for one. A favorite brunch dish for me to make is this Spinach Cheese Bake. It is savory and satisfying, with crispy corners (my favorite part!) and a flavorful mix of herbs and cheese. I’ve been making and tweaking this casserole for a number of years. It’s popular with adults and kids alike - my boys always pounce it.

You can tailor this to your taste - be creative with the cheeses and herbs you choose or add additional flavors such as roasted chilis, sautéed mushrooms or caramelized onions (in this version I include butternut squash for the season). Served with some yogurt and granola or with freshly baked muffins (always lovely to get both the sweet and savory), you have an easy brunch to enjoy. This casserole can also be prepared the night before and popped in the oven to bake in the morning, leaving you time to sip coffee with your guests and relax.

Spinach Cheese Bake
Serves 8-10

20 ounces fresh or frozen spinach
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled (or same amount of another cheese)
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated (or same amount of another cheese)
7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced (I’ve also used fresh dill and parsley)
1 teaspoon crushed red chili peppers or Aleppo pepper (optional)
10 ounces butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch dice (optional)

If using fresh spinach, steam until wilted, drain well and chop coarsely. If using frozen spinach, defrost and squeeze well. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, cheeses, flour, garlic, salt, green onions and chili peppers. Gently mix in the spinach and butternut squash.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the casserole is set, golden brown on top and the edges are crispy. Serve warm.

You can prep this the night before (but don't bake) and refrigerate it overnight. In the morning, bake and serve as directed.

Butternut Squash and Leek Bread Pudding

Ahh, Monday morning – it’s so much easier to feel ready for the week after a restorative three-day weekend. Love those long weekends! It was indeed a relaxing one (hopefully for you, too). The Will Bake for Food bake sale took place on Saturday and was a marvelous success - we raised $2571 and filled a few barrels with food donations. I also met some terrific bakers/bloggers and ate way too many amazing treats (homemade Twinkies, toffee, chocolate meringues, monster cookies, chai spiced snickerdoodles ... I was quite impressed by the array of creative baked goods). The rest of the weekend was spent reading, watching movies, sleeping, cooking and eating. Since it was alternating between hail and rain outside, these were perfect indoor pursuits.

My weekend cooking veered dramatically away from sweets. I’ve been baking and sharing a lot of desserts this past week and I need a bit of a sugar detox. Time for something more virtuous, but not too virtuous. Bread pudding is a long-time love of mine and I got to thinking about a savory version. With Thanksgiving approaching, I have tastes such as cranberries and squash on my mind. In my opinion, stuffing is the best part of Thanksgiving dinner (and pumpkin pie ... but we’re not talking about sweets today).

This bread pudding combines the stuffing elements that I love - hearty bread, pecans, cranberries, leeks and thyme - with tangy goat cheese and roasted squash to create a satisfying dish of comfort food. The edges are crispy, the middle is creamy, and there are plenty of textures dancing around in your mouth with the pop of the cranberries and the crunch of the leeks. (Speaking of dancing, did you see Marge’s taste buds dancing in the Simpsons episode last night? Loved it!)

Don’t limit this bread pudding to dinner, though. I would also serve it for brunch with oven scrambled eggs and grapefruit mimosas. Have fun playing around with the ingredients and add your favorite stuffing flavors.

I hope your week is off to a good start!

Butternut Squash and Leek Bread Pudding
Serves 8

1 pound butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (usually about half of a large squash)
1 large leek (white and light green part), sliced thinly
Olive oil to drizzle
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
A few grinds of black pepper
3/4 pound multi-grain bread (a rosemary infused bread would work well, too), cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup fresh cranberries
4 ounces soft goat cheese
1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2 1/2 - 3 quart casserole. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the butternut squash and leeks with a few drizzles of olive oil. Spread evenly and roast for about 25 minutes. The squash should be softened but still a bit firm and the leeks should have some brown, crisp edges.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup, thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Add the bread, stir well, and let it soak while the squash and leeks are roasting.

Scrape the squash and leeks into the bread mixture, then add the cranberries. Stir gently. Dollop the goat cheese in (you want to keep some small chunks) and most of the pecans and stir gently again.

Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole. Scatter the remaining pecans on top. Bake until golden and set, about 55-60 minutes. Serve warm.

Butternut Squash French Toast (a.k.a. the Morning-After-Rocky-Horror Toast...)

I’ve had toast on my mind this past week, specifically toast for the Halloween weekend showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show at the old Admiral Theater in West Seattle. Last Halloween, our family (including Mohammad, our exchange student from Saudi Arabia) joined friends for the midnight Rocky Horror show. We had a blast! We sang along and danced the Time Warp and threw rice, toast, playing cards and rolls of TP. (Friendly reminder from the staff at the Admiral Theater: “Remember to throw the TP up and back!”) All of the parents in our group were transported back to high school and college days; I can’t tell you how many times I saw Rocky Horror at the Harvard Square theater in Cambridge, MA! The kids were somewhere between entertained, shocked and mortified. Mohammad took it all in stride... another day in America, I guess.

As I assembled our prop bags for this Halloween’s showing, I began to think about what I could cook with a fun Rocky Horror theme for our house guests visiting for the weekend. A rice dish? Or how about toast? Since I’d be serving breakfast on Sunday morning after the show, French toast seemed the perfect choice. And, of course, I had to make it seasonal so I created a version with butternut squash.

Happy Halloween!

[Unfortunately, illness struck our household over the weekend and we didn’t make it to the midnight showing. So bummed! But we still enjoyed this French toast and sang along to the Rocky Horror sound track. We’re all back on track this Monday morning. Next year at RHPS!]

Butternut Squash French Toast
Serves 4

1 pound loaf of challah or other egg bread
3/4 cup butternut squash puree (either canned or from roasting and pureeing a squash)
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more for serving
Butter for the frying pan
Cinnamon for sprinkling

Slice the loaf of bread into 8-10 slices (depending upon the length of the loaf).

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the squash puree, milk, eggs, vanilla and syrup. Dunk each slice of bread into the mixture and coat. Stack the slices in the bowl and spoon any liquid over the bread. Leave to soak for half an hour.

Melt some butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place 3-4 slices of soaked bread in the pan and fry until golden brown. Flip and fry the other side until golden. Turn the heat down if it’s cooking too fast or getting too dark.

Remove the French toast slices to an oven proof pan and keep warm in a low oven. Repeat frying with the remaining slices. When ready to eat, sprinkle with cinnamon and serve with maple syrup.

Sweet Potato Molasses Muffins: A Visit with Friends (and Halloween Festivities)

We have some dear friends visiting for the weekend! Dan and Jacob arrived last night and it’s always special to get time with them. This morning Dan headed to a conference and my family took off for work and school. This means Jacob (who is 7) and I get to spend the day together and I have really been looking forward to this time! We have big plans ... a visit to the zoo, a stop at Top Pot Doughnuts, Lego playing, Mad Libs – and, of course, some baking. Jacob already helped knead the challah dough for tonight. I have other treats planned, too. This is Halloween weekend, after all!

Tomorrow we are all going to carve pumpkins, and I’ve baked some Sweet Potato and Molasses Muffins to eat while creating our jack-o-lantern masterpieces. The muffins will go with a lunch of eyeball chili, spider web pizzas, apple cider and hot chocolate. I do love Halloween!

These muffins make a wholesome snack or would be a tasty addition to your pre trick-or-treating dinner. They are full of roasted sweet potatoes, some whole wheat flour and sweetened with molasses. I use blackstrap molasses for more molasses punch, but if you prefer a more subtle flavor you can use light molasses (this will also give your muffins more orange color). I’ve also used a 15 ounce can of butternut squash puree before when I didn’t have time to roast the sweet potatoes, and this worked deliciously, as well.

I’m off to the zoo with Jacob! Enjoy your Halloween weekend!

Sweet Potato and Molasses Muffins
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 12

1 1/2 cups sweet potato puree, made from roasting a large, orange flesh sweet potato (about 1 1/2 pounds) until soft and pureeing in food processor (or you can substitute a 15 ounce can of unsweetened sweet potato or butternut squash puree)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup molasses (dark creates a more intense flavor and brown color, light a more subtle flavor and more orange color in muffins)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter or line a muffin tin with paper cups.

In a large bowl, stir together the sweet potato puree, eggs, milk, molasses and butter. Mix in remaining ingredients and stir until just mixed. Divide batter among the 12 cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a tester inserted comes out with a just a few moist crumbs. Serve warm or room temperature.

An Omelet for my Dad

Father’s Day is this weekend and I am thinking about my Dad. He is a lovely man, kind and patient and always interested in whatever is going on with my two brothers and me. He shared his love of books, reading and travel with me at a young age and these are great loves of mine today. Since having my two sons, it warms my heart to see what a caring grandfather he is, too.

One of my favorite memories when I was quite young is of an elaborate treasure hunt game my Dad created for my siblings and me. We turned out all the lights in the house, and armed with a flashlight and our first written clue we ventured from the “safe zone” of the staircase into the “caves and swamps” in search of the next clue. My Dad hid as a swamp monster or other creature and let out growls and noises to add shivers to our venture. Each time we found the next clue, we ran screaming with glee to the safety of the staircase to figure the riddle out. This could last for hours, and I so appreciate the time and effort my Dad put into thinking of creative clues and hiding in dark corners and under tables.

Looking back, memories of my Dad in the kitchen revolve around pancake making. My Mom did all the cooking while I was growing up, sharing recipes and teaching me. She is a marvelous cook and baker and makes the most incredible pie crusts (pie crust cookies are a favorite of my Dad’s, made from leftover scraps). On Saturday mornings, though, he would create works of art for my brothers and me in the forms of dinosaurs and silver dollar pancakes. We loved them!

Cheese omelets remind me of my Dad, since this is a favorite meal he enjoys any time of day. Recalling a French rolled omelet I had seen in Cook’s Illustrated a couple of years ago, I located the recipe and made it in his honor. I love the technique used here of scrambling the eggs using chopsticks.

My Dad is always ready to share a bottle of Champagne, so be sure to have some chilled bubbly ready to pop and enjoy with this fluffy, buttery omelet. Cheers to you, Dad, and to all you fabulous fathers!



French Omelet from Cook’s Illustrated
Makes 2

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
6 large eggs, cold
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/2teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons shredded Gruyere cheese
4 teaspoons minced fresh chives

Cut 1 tablespoon butter in half again. Cube remaining tablespoon butter into small dice, transfer to small bowl, and place in freezer while preparing eggs and skillet, at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place oil in 8-inch nonstick skillet and heat over low heat 10 minutes.

Crack 2 eggs into medium bowl and separate third egg; reserve white for another use and add yolk to bowl. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper. Break yolks with fork, then beat eggs at moderate pace, about 80 strokes, until yolks and whites are well combined. Stir in half of frozen butter cubes.

When skillet is fully heated, use paper towels to wipe out oil, leaving thin film on bottom and sides of skillet. Add ½ tablespoon reserved butter piece to skillet and heat until foaming subsides, 45 to 90 seconds. Swirl butter to coat skillet, add egg mixture, and increase heat to medium-high. Use 2 chopsticks or wooden skewers to scramble eggs using quick circular motion to move around skillet, scraping cooked egg from side of skillet as you go, until eggs are almost cooked but still slightly runny, 45 to 90 seconds.

Turn off heat (remove skillet from heat if using electric burner) and smooth eggs into even layer using rubber spatula. Sprinkle omelet with 1 tablespoon cheese and 2 teaspoons chives. Cover skillet with tight-fitting lid and let sit 1 minute for runnier omelet and 2 minutes for firmer omelet.

Heat skillet over low heat 20 seconds, uncover, and, using rubber spatula, loosen edges of omelet from skillet. Place folded square of paper towel onto warmed plate and slide omelet out of skillet onto paper towel so that omelet lies flat on plate and hangs about 1 inch off paper towel. Roll omelet into neat cylinder and set aside. Return skillet to low heat and heat 2 minutes before repeating instructions for second omelet. Serve on warm plates.