Pound Cake. A dense flavorful cake that can be served for breakfast, brunch, or dessert! That is not the official definition but the definition that I go by! This Cherry Almond Pound Cake is a fancy version of its sibling…. the traditional pound cake. I’m a sucker for almond extract and if your like me and love the stuff then you’ll love the pound cake. Pound cakes are dense. Partly thanks to the 5 eggs and two sticks of butter. They really do weight over a pound once you bake it in the oven for a good hour or so. I never understood the name until I baked a pound cake and then wrapped it in aluminum foil. I lifted it and realized “wow this really is a pound cake”. I know… those little ah-ha moments in life. You have to love them.
My mom loves pound cakes. It’s typically what she request for dessert if she happens to be eating over at my home. Of course that and homemade whipped cream with some fresh berries on top. But I’m happy to say that with this Cherry Almond Pound Cake you don’t need any additional toppings to bring it to life. The dried cherries paired with the almond extract is all you need! Whether you are eating this for breakfast or serving this up as filling dessert, your family and friends will love this pound cake!
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), sifted, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup dried cherries
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
While the oven is preheating soak cherries in water for 15 minutes.
Lightly butter and flour a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan and set to the side. In a stand mixer beat butter and sugar on medium-high until very light and fluffy (about 7 minutes). Scrape down bowl and beat for 1 additional minute more. Add almond extract, and add eggs one at a time (beating well and scraping down bowl as needed). With the mixer on low add the salt and gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed. Lastly, drain the cherries and add them to the mixture, mix for 30 seconds until incorporated.
Transfer the pound cake batter to pan and bake for 65 minutes (insert tooth pick in the center to ensure cake is cooked). Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour then remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack before slicing.
Let’s get our egg casserole on, shall we? I think everyone knows by now I’m an egg white girl, but that doesn’t mean that I deprive my husband of eggs. The man LOVES eggs. A few years ago he would be known to eat 2 dozen eggs in one week. I know some might be concerned about his cholesterol levels. Fear no-more they are perfectly normal. He has cut down to about just one dozen eggs a week, and with that comes this Sausage, Egg, & Veggie Casserole. This casserole is ideal for entertaining. Especially if you have a few egg lovers you are feeding. I made this for a few hungry guys the other month and they devoured it. Luckily, I also had a big fruit salad and my homemade cinna-buns alongside. This meant that my husband was the lucky guy of 2 extra slices of this casserole. I must add that this casserole re-heated beautifully over the course of the following 2-days. I even slapped a piece of this sausage, egg, & veggie casserole between an everything bagel. Making for the ultimate breakfast sandwich.
So if you are entertaining this weekend for mother’s day and want to make a light breakfast casserole that is chocked full of meat and veggies I would highly suggest you make my Sausage, Egg, & Veggie Casserole. Note, that if you don’t have all the veggies on hand or if you don’t like one of the vegetables you can always omit or replace with another vegetable. Either way if you are a lover of all things eggs you must give this easy casserole recipe a try!
In a frying pan, cook breakfast sausage for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat ( make sure to break the sausage into bite-size pieces). Add the shallot, yellow bell pepper, and white mushrooms to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until the veggies start to cook through. Turn the heat off and place the sausage/veggie mixture to the side.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, beat eggs with whole milk, cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Then add the two pieces of bread to the egg mixture (cut the bread in 1x1 pieces). Mix well with a spoon then add sausage/veggies to the egg mixture. Using an oven-proof casserole dish and spray with cooking spray. Then add the egg mixture to the casserole dish. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 40 degrees.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Notes
*You can substitute out vegetables to ones you prefer or have on hand. Note green bell pepper is not as sweet as the red/yellow/orange varieties.
Christine & Terri will be hosting Pin Chat Live tomorrow, Saturday, May 11 from 2-3pm EST. The chat is similar to a twitter chat but on Pinterest and you can even watch them on a Google+ Hangout OnAir. If you can make it you’ll have the chance to win prizes from Lodge Cast Iron just for participating! Make sure you follow the #BrunchWeek Pinterest board. The will also be announcing all the giveaway winners for the big $1800 giveaway!
Wow, day 4 of brunch week. I hope you have been following along with all the amazing brunch week recipes! Today, I’m sharing a granola recipe. Not just any granola… This is my coconut cherry granola that made its debut at the Central Florida Food Blogger Bake Sale this past weekend.
Granola is a great make-ahead food. I love to make granola every other week. I typically mix it in with my morning greek yogurt and fruit. If you were entertaining for brunch I would suggest making one or two varieties of granola and creating a granola bar. Chopped fresh fruit, plain or vanilla greek yogurt, granola…. you get the idea. Let your guest build yogurt parfaits! You also won’t have to stress over who likes to eat what… when you give your guest the option it takes the stress off the hostess-with-the-mostess… yah I totally just said that.
Like I mentioned above, I sold this coconut cherry granola at our annual food blogger bake sale. I happened to be the only granola recipes contributed this year. You know–I try to balance out all the unhealthy and fattening baked goods with a little healthy. A nice breakfast treat. While we are on the topic let’s talk about the Central Florida Food Blogger Bake Sale for a minute. This was my second year co-organizing the bake-sale with my good friend Julie from The Little Kitchen (and third year particiapting). I’m always amazed by the generosity of our fellow food blogging community.
This year we were at The Winter Garden Harvest Festival. With that being said all participants needed to attend the entire day. No one complained… even though it was raining, we all just enjoyed the presence of one another. We talked about food, and baking, blogging, and our personal lives. Despite our rainy weather we all had a great time. I’m sad to say we didn’t raise half the amount of money that we did last year (I know a big part was weather and the other part was that so many of us had pre-sales and other fundraisers outside of our one-day bake sale). However, even though we didn’t raise as much as we wanted I know that all of the money is going to a great cause. We all are fighting to end childhood hunger in America. 1 out of 5 kids in America struggle with childhood hunger! That’s over 16 million children! According to the No Kid Hungry site we helped feed 14 children for an entire year!
I must also give a big special shout-out to the amazing sponsors who donated to our raffle. Without them we wouldn’t have raised half the amount that we did!
KitchenAid donated a $300 Food Processor which our friend over at Droolius.com happened to win!
In a sauce pan on low heat, melt 1/4 cup of coconut oil. Once the coconut oil is melted (do not let it boil) add the coconut extract. Mix well and set to the side.
In a large bowl add quick cooking oats, brown sugar, and sliced almonds. Mix well, then pour the coconut oil on top. Mix some more until well incorporated. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, carefully mix and add 1-1/2 cups coconut flakes. Mix well and then place the pan back in the oven for 30 additional minutes. Remove from the oven, mix, and bake 20 minutes longer. Pour the baked granola back into the large bowl and add dried cherries. Mix and let the granola cool. Package in sealed containers and store for up to one week.
Scones are one of those delectable brunch items that are super fancy sounding and people think they are so hard to make. Let’s get this straight… they are so easy to make. I’ll be the first one to admit that over the past few years I’ve been intimidated to make scones. The first time I ever tried making scones was from a box mix. On the back of the mix there was a recipe for ramping up the recipe from muffins and making them into scones. I was up for the challenge… with a few additional steps I had made scones.
It wasn’t until last year that I tried tackling scones from scratch. Seriously, what was I waiting for? I made these orange-poppy scones for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee tea party we had at work. We shopped at the only British store in town and purchased a wide-variety of teas, biscuits (which are really cookies), clotted cream, and store-bought scones. Of course I decided to bring some homemade scones to the celebration. Of course not only were my co-workers impressed but they are were so thankful for the homemade variety. Scones are so incredibly easy to make!
Now, back to these blueberry scones with lemon glaze. The other weekend I didn’t have any eggs on hand for breakfast. I also knew that we would not go out to eat that morning. Breakfast in our house is one that typically is done leisurely on the weekend with eggs, potatoes, a breakfast meat, and on occasion will start with a bowl of chopped fruit or a pastry! Weekend breakfast is truly an experience that we look forward to. So what was I to do with no eggs… well make scones (of course after . Luckily, I had a pint of local blueberries in the refrigerator, so at that point I knew I was destined to make blueberry scones. The lemon glaze was a no brainer since I typically like a sweeter scone and I knew that the powdered sugar from the glaze would sweeten these babies right up. Dense like a typical scone yet moist in the center. Nothing worst to me than eating a rock-hard scone.
Make these scones for mom (or someone who is close to you) this mother’s day!
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 lemon, zest finely grated
Directions
For the Blueberry Scones:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl sift together the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter and coat the pieces with the flour mixture (the mixture should look like coarse crumbs). Fold the blueberries into the batter (make sure not to mash the blueberries because the coloring will bleed into the dough). Make a well in the center of the blueberry dough mixture and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.
On a lightly floured surface lay the dough out into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.
For the Glaze:
In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and lemon zest for 30 seconds. Mix the lemon juice with the confectioners' sugar until dissolved and whisk in the butter and lemon zest. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the lemon glaze over the top of the scones. Let the scones set a minute before serving.
Let’s talk about bread today. To be exact, homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Ever since I took the plunge in working with yeast earlier this year I’ve been expanding my bread making horizons. We love to eat Cinnamon Raisin Bread in our home and I knew that two homemade loaves were really going to hit the spot. Growing up as a kid I loved to eat Cinnamon Raisin Bread toasted smeared with butter and sprinkled with additional sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. If we didn’t have Cinnamon Raisin Bread on hand my mom would just toast white bread for me. Seriously, when I wasn’t eating soup for breakfast (yes, that’s a true story) I was eating cinnamon sugar toast or for a real delicacy Cinnamon Raisin Bread with butter and cinnamon-sugar.
I was shocked at how easy this recipe was. This was my first full loaf bread baked in 8×8 bread loaf pans. I was a bit nervous as I always am when baking bread. After a few hours of rising and then baking I knew that my bread was a success! After it cooled I sliced a thick piece of the Cinnamon Raisin Bread to give it a taste test. It was amazing. More than I could have ever dreamed of. Full of cinnamon and plump raisins. Although, the next time I think I’ll make it a little sweeter. But other than that… its amazing!
So whether you are baking Cinnamon Raisin Bread for an every day breakfast or plan on hosting a brunch this Mother’s day. You may just want to include baking some fresh homemade Cinnamon Raisin bread and adding this to the spread!
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Whether you are hosting a brunch or preparing for a Mexican fiesta tonight you will want to make my Cherry Tomato and Chorizo Omelet’s! Or, if you aren’t the Cinco de Mayo celebrating type of person you can serve these up on Mother’s Day. This week I’ll be participating in Brunch Week. A week of delectable brunch-recipes from a wide-variety of food bloggers (31 to be exact)! Today, I’m sharing what I like to call a 2-for-1. This hits both Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day!
I recently had the opportunity to try out some OXO egg kitchen tools. Pictured above is the OXO Good Grips Egg Beater. I shared with the world 2 years ago how much I love this egg beater and how easy it is to use. Check out my How to Cook Fluffy Scrambled Eggs post. It was my first cooking video I ever made, too!
Anyway, I digress.
Whenever I make eggs I have to use my egg beater. I had been brainstorming about a brunch related recipe to share for the past few weeks. Last weekend, we had our first-ever community garage sale. I knew this would be the perfect time to make an omelet recipe and have a few of my favorite neighbors test it out. Like I mentioned the other day I have an abundance of cherry tomatoes. I knew I would have to incorporate cherry tomatoes into the omelet. I reached into my pantry and found a package of chorizo and at that same moment found myself gazing at a few limes I had in my fruit bowl. I knew I was going to make a Cherry Tomato and Chorizo Omelet. Before I got started, I walked out to my garden and clipped a generous bunch of cilantro and a handful of chives. I prepped all of my ingredients before hand so cooking my omelets would be a breeze. That is the key when your cooking omelets or really just about anything. If you do all of the prep work in advance the cooking part won’t be as dautning. You won’t burn nor over cook anything because you aren’t worried about chopping, measuring, and dicing.
Pictured above is me showing off how easy it is to use the OXO Good Grips Flip and Fold Omelet Turner! I love this new spatula! So whether you are celebrating Cinco de Mayo today or just starting to plan for a beautiful homemade mother’s day brunch give my Cherry Tomato and Chorizo Omelets a try!
2 links chorizo, casing removed and quartered 1/2 inch thick
2-1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsp jalapeno, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro
4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
8 eggs
4 tbsp half & half, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper, divided
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco, divided (about 2 tbsp each)
Crumbled Queso Fresco, cilantro, and chives for topping.
Directions
In a medium sauce pan, add one tablespoon canola oil to the pan (medium-high heat). Then add quartered pieces of chorizo. Cook for 2 minutes then add 2-1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic, and salt. Cook on medium for 5-10 minutes. Add lime juice and stir in cilantro right before serving.
Once the cherry tomato-chorizo mixture is almost finished cooking begin to cook the eggs. I made my omelette's in 2 batches using 2 small frying pans.
In a small frying pan add one-tablespoon of unsalted butter (medium-high heat). While butter is melting beat 4 eggs with 2 tablespoons of half & half (*if you don't have half & half use milk--that's just what I had on hand). Add 1/4 tsp of salt and black pepper. Beat well until bubbles start to appear in egg mixture (about 15 seconds).
Divide the egg mixture in half among the two frying pans. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until eggs have set. Carefully flip the egg over, cooking 30 seconds more. Place 1/4 cup of tomato/chorizo mixture on one side of the omelette as well as 2 tablespoons of queso fresco cheese. Flip the egg to form an omelette, and carefully transfer to plate. Repeat this step until all of your omelette's are done cooking. Top with additional crumbled queso fresco, minced cilantro, and green onion.
Disclaimer:OXO sent me the egg kitchen tools to try out. I was not compensated nor required to blog about it. I love OXO and use their products on a daily basis in my kitchen. There are affiliate links in this post. All brunch week sponsors are providing prizes. I did not receive anything from the sponsors nor was I compensated to write about them. As always all opinions are my own.
I figured I needed to balance out the unhealthy recipes (Berry Dutch Baby and those drool-worthy Homemade Cinna-Buns) from last week with a healthier recipe. I love making Blueberry Granola Parfaits. I mainly eat them for breakfast; however, I also really enjoy them as a mid-afternoon snack. Do you know what else I love??? Glass jars–as in these beautiful Weck Jars. I love jars of all types, but I especially love these because they are 100% BPA free and the lids are glass too! Oh, and they might just make for beautiful food housing for food photography!
Oh and let’s not forget Chobani. I do love my Cho. (psst. only a few days left to enter for a chance to win a case of Cho)! We have one whole shelf in the refrigerator dedicated to Chobani. I love their companies story–they are a very young company yet extremely successful.
Ok, so back to this Blueberry Granola Parfait. Its super easy to make. You must make the granola a head of time and then use it throughout the week to recreate this recipe for breakfast or a tasty snack. You also can double, tripple, quadruple this recipe. For the purpose of this recipe/photos these are mini Blueberry Granola Parfait, but typically two of these will make for my breakfast in the morning!
Layer a tablespoon of granola in 2 -- 1/5 Weck Jelly Jars. Followed by a small handfull of fresh blueberries, then a heaping tablespoon each of Blueberry Chobani. Repeat this until you have yogurt on the top and top with remaining berries and a few sprinkles of granola.
Oh how I wish I could eat these delectable Homemade Cinna-Buns every morning for breakfast. If only calories didn’t count and food didn’t “stick” to my hips. Growing up I was rail-thin and could eat everything on the planet without a worry. Everyone kept telling me it would change once I got older. Damn them for knowing this, and for all the warnings. It probably didn’t hit me until my mid-late twenties that I realized I could no longer eat everything I wanted to without working out. Don’t get me wrong–I’ve always eaten relatively healthy. I never ate dairy products growing up–I just wasn’t a fan until my early twenties (minus ice cream–I’ve always loved ice cream). I refused to eat meat until I was in my teens. I ate egg whites for breakfast because the yolk repulses me (and still does). So growing up with a healthy life-style and playing sports 24-7 my little body was burning more calories than I consumed… at least that is what I like to think. Now, not so much… darn it to growing older. I finally get what all the adults in my life once told me (and I know my mom is reading and laughing right now).
So on with this post and enough with my ranting about how I can no longer eat every fattening food out there on the planet (with knowing I will need to spend an hour or two on my bike). It wasn’t until the end of January (of this year) that I was finally able to successfully work with yeast! So you better believe one of the first things (minus) bread that I knew I would make was homemade cinna-buns. I mean come on how could you resist these sweet little rolls of joy? I searched for recipes and knew that King Arthur Flour was the place to go–they are reliable and I knew they wouldn’t steer me wrong. I also knew if I was going to consume five-million calories for breakfast that my homemade cinna-buns were going to have a cream cheese frosting.
The labor of love that I put into these buns were worth it times 10. I started these at 9pm on a Saturday night (because that is what any normal person does on a Saturday night). They were in my refrigerator around 10:30 and after a nights rest in the fridge they were proofing for a second time come 7am. By 8am they were baking into oh-so glorious buns of joy. Filling our home with sweet joy. My husband had a few friends over that morning for beer brewing and this is what all the guys were greeted too. Everyone was happy to smell such sweet confections piping throughout our home and of course enjoyed every bite (minus my husband who complained it was too sweet and proceeded to throw half of his away. What is wrong with him? But this comes from the man who really doesn’t like desserts). Oh, and I made them all stand around the kitchen island and wait while I photographed the homemade cinna-buns.I realize that it was a little tortuous of me, but hey–a girl has to do what a girl has to do. Once I was done I put the pan on the kitchen island and let the boys dig-in. I proceeded to keep the single bun photographed. If I was going to consume this many calories I was going to make it count with extra drippy icing!
Whether you are planning a brunch next weekend for Easter or just want to treat yourself to the most delectably sweet breakfast treat these homemade cinna-bunsare fool-proof and easy to make (even for a non-yeast baker)!
Head on over toKing Arthur Flourto get this recipe. The only thing I did different was that my homemade cinna-bunsneeded to bake 10 additional minutes in the oven. But baking times alway vary due to different ovens.
Come join #DairyBreakfastClub recipe party at TidyMom along with The California Milk Advisory Board and RealCaliforniaMilk.com
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I love using leftovers to create unique breakfast wraps. Today, I’m sharing with you an Irish Breakfast Wrap. As some of you may know breakfast is a big deal in our home. As it should be. I mean the world has reminded us that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, and so we abide by that rule.
The morning I made this Irish Breakfast Wrap for my husband I documented his entire breakfast. By the second part of his wrap he asked me if I could get off the chair because he felt like the paparazzi was following him (I was standing behind him on top of a chair to get the shot below). He is a funny man. I give him that.
If you have even just a smidgen of leftovers–make a breakfast wrap! I encourage you to re-invent your breakfast–make it Irish! These Irish Breakfast Wraps are just what the doctor ordered if you are in a breakfast rut (and have a refrigerator full of leftovers).
Heat frying pan on the stove top on medium-high heat. Melt butter, and then scramble eggs in pan.
While eggs are cooking, re-heat leftover Sweet Potato Corned Beef Hash.
Heat the flour tortilla wrap in a damp paper towel in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Smear one tablespoon of homemade Russian sauce on the wrap, then place the Sweet Potato Corned Beef Hash, followed by the scrambled eggs, and top with shredded Swiss Cheese. Wrap like a burrito and enjoy immediately.
Are you hosting a brunch this St. Patrick’s Day this year? Regardless if you are this Sweet Potato Corned Beef Hash could easily be the star of any gathering. So if you’re not hosting brunch, serve breakfast for dinner (otherwise known as “brinner”). I may not be Irish but I love Irish food! Even though I’m a self-proclaimed flexitarian there are two meats in the world I cannot resist.
1. Bacon
2. Corned Beef
Now that we have that straight you now understand that I love corned beef hash. Anytime we go out to a restaurant for breakfast (nine times out of ten) that is what I order. My husband on the other hand has needed some time to warm up to the fact of Corned Beef Hash in general. It wasn’t until I started making my own that he really was able to appreciate this delicacy.
A few years ago I document about Southern Style Breakfast Potatoes I make (if you click over don’t mind the dated photograph). Well, I kind of used the same concept by mixing both styles of potatoes together. I mean lets get real. Who doesn’t love a mixed fried potato? The sweet and savoriness of this dish shined through perfectly. Fresh herbs liven it up by not only adding an extra dash of “freshness” but giving the plate beautiful green hues.
To top off this Sweet Potato Corned Beef Hash I added a fried egg on top. This was probably the biggest surprise for my husband. I never make fried eggs, or sunny-side up eggs for him. He gets scrambled egg and an occasional omelet. I only eat egg whites, so that’s why I don’t make the other styles of egg. So I decided to treat him to something special. Well folks, I think I’ve now spoiled him because all he wants are “dippy” eggs. Yes, that is what I use to call the yolk-tastic eggs as a kid (back when I did eat them like this). Don’t worry my husband isn’t calling it this… or is he?
Whether you’re staying home this St. Patrick’s Day or hosting an Irish brunch this Sweet Potato Corned Beef Hash should definitely make it on your menu!
Cut and peel 2 cups of white diced potatoes and 2 cups of sweet potatoes (this will equal to about 2 medium white potatoes and a half of one large sweet potato). Rinse the potatoes well then add to a large pot of water. Add 1 tsp of salt to the water and boil on high for 15 minutes until potatoes are just cooked. Drain and set aside.
In a large frying pan add butter and melt on medium heat then add 3 tablespoons of corned beef juice; add 1/2 onion diced and diced corned beef. Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Add potato mixture and paprika to the pan. Bump the heat up to high and cook for 5 minutes (keeping the potato mixture on top). Mix the potatoes with the meat and flip over. Smash down with a spatula and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the remaining one tablespoon of corned beef juice and more butter if needed. Cook for 5 minutes more (the hash should be crispy but not burnt). Serve with or without a fried egg on top. The option is yours but most importantly, enjoy!
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. {more}
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. 
