Apr 4 2012

Customizable Bread Bowl Breakfast

Posted by Natalie | Perry's Plate in Step-by-Step Recipes

If I ask my (almost) 5-year-old what cooking show she wants to watch with Mom, she always says, “Pioneer Woman!” She adores Ree’s show! After one recent episode where Ree made soup in bread bowls, my little girl was obsessed with the idea of eating her bowl when she finished her soup. (It IS pretty cool if you ask me.) She’s been hounding me to make them for several weeks now.

Since bread bowls are pretty substantial (especially for a 5-year-old) I was so excited when I saw a miniature version made from crusty rolls! The Customizable Bread Bowl Breakfast idea comes from TK member Lindsay.

I love recipes like this that are more conceptual than a strict-measurement recipe. You can literally go any direction with these bowls and simply use what you have on hand! They’d also be great to serve a crowd at brunch (perhaps an Easter brunch if you’re planning one?). If you have enough fillings, then there’s bound to be something that everyone will like!

To get started you’ll need some crusty dinner rolls, some melted butter, a sharp serrated knife, a pastry brush, salt, and pepper.

Slice off the very top of the roll.

(These are so easy. It kills me.)

Pull out as much of the inside of the roll as you can without breaking through the crust. My rolls had a pretty thick, crusty outside, so that’s about as far as I could go.

Brush the inside with butter.

Then sprinkle some salt and pepper inside.

Put them on a sheet pan or a platter for your hungry ones to grab and fill.

Here comes the fun part: gathering the fillings! I actually did this before I prepped my rolls, and you can even do it the night before breakfast. They don’t have to be hot because everything gets baked in the oven anyway. I began to “clean out” my fridge, so to speak, and ended up with WAY more fillings than we needed. Things got a bit heady with flavor combinations.

(By the way, if you don’t use all of the fillings, you have everything conveniently prepped for omelets later!)

I let my kids go at it, curious to see what they would put in their rolls. My 3-year-old went straight for the bacon. And the cheese. (She’s a momma’s girl.) One thing we learned through this is to fill the rolls sparingly and really push the fillings down and into the sides. You’ll see why in a second.

I told the 5-year-old to put an egg in hers. I should have been more specific. She figured out soon enough that meant cracking the egg. Silly girl.

I’m not sure if my rolls were on the small side or if my eggs were on the large side (yolks from pastured eggs tend to be larger), but we lost a good bit of the white down the side of the roll. No biggie.

You could also use the whites only or whisk together the eggs (for those who like things mixed up) and only pour as much as you need into each roll.

After you have your rolls filled and baked, you’re ready to eat! If you like your yolks runny, keep an eye on them closely so they don’t firm up in the oven.

Thanks to Lindsay for a fabulous brunch idea! Be sure to visit her TK recipe box as well as her own blog, Perfecting the Pairing, for more delicious recipes.

Printable Recipe

Customizable Bread Bowl Breakfast

by Lindsay on March 12, 2012 in Breakfast

See post on Lindsay’s site!

4.83 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s) 6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5

Description

Egg in a bread bowl is the perfect breakfast for a crowd because it is completely customizable!

Ingredients

8 whole Crusty Bread Rolls
2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
Salt And Pepper
Assorted Fillings (See Suggestions In Instructions)
8 whole Eggs

Preparation Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Slice off the top of each roll and scoop out the soft bread inside, leaving the sides of the roll intact. Brush the inside of each roll with the melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

Let your guests fill the roll with their favorite toppings (see suggestions below). Crack an egg or egg white on top, season with salt and pepper, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes and then cover the pan loosely with foil. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is just set.

Suggested fillings: grape tomatoes, cilantro, parsley, thyme, shredded cheese, herbed goat cheese, caramelized onions, pre-cooked breakfast potatoes, spinach artichoke dip, deli ham, cooked sausage, crumbled bacon, onions, mushrooms, spinach, feta cheese.

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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!

Feb 13 2013

Dark Chocolate Cookie Dough Cups

Posted by Natalie | Perry's Plate in Holidays, Step-by-Step Recipes

With all of the chocolates flying around this month, I thought I would throw something out there that would satisfy your sweet tooth or chocolate craving, but won’t leave you feeling like you’ve overindulged.

These adorable Dark Chocolate Cookie Dough Cups by TK member Adrienne Jacobs (who blogs at This Country Girl Cooks) are a perfect balance of indulgent chocolate and a naturally-sweetened, nutty filling.

Let’s get started!

You’ll need dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% chips), almonds, cashews, rolled oats, peanut butter, and real maple syrup. Oh, and a little more chocolate—in the form of mini chips.

First, chop the nuts roughly. Don’t work yourself too hard — we’re going to throw them in the food processor. Chopping them up a bit helps the mixture to be more uniform.

Pull a couple tablespoonfuls aside and reserve them.

Throw the rest of the chopped nuts in the processor with the cashews and oats. If you happen to have a 4-year-old around, they’re great at things like that.

Pulse until you get a mealy mixture free of large almond pieces.

Add the peanut butter, maple syrup, and mini chocolate chips to the bowl.

Pulse until the mixture comes together in large clumps. If it seems dry, add more peanut butter by spoonfuls until you reach the right consistency. It should hold together in a ball, but not be overly sticky.

Now that our filling is done, let’s get the chocolate prepped. Melt the chocolate either in a double-broiler set up or in 30 second intervals in the microwave. Stir after each interval until the chocolate is smooth.

Line a 24-cup mini muffin pan with mini cups then put a teaspoon or so of chocolate into each cup. Four-year-olds also like to do this. But you may end up with just as much chocolate on the pan as in the cups.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten slightly.

Press each ball into a muffin cup until the chocolate sort of oozes up the sides.

Spoon the remaining chocolate over top. It doesn’t have to cover the nut mixture completely.

Sprinkle with reserved chopped almonds.

Stick them in the freezer (if you have space) for a few minutes to harden.

And there you have it! Cute little “cookie dough” morsels. I must say, though, that I didn’t think these tasted like cookie dough at all, but a more sophisticated version of those peanut butter cups in the orange wrappers. You know which ones I’m talking about, right?

Of course you do.

Give a few of these to someone you love this week.

Then pop one into your mouth. Or six. (But not all at once, tempting as it might be.)

You’ll find the complete recipe and instructions below. Be sure to head over to Adrienne’s TK recipe box and blog This Country Girl Cooks for more delicious recipes!

Printable Recipe