Cinnamon Muffins

I don't actually like muffins. To me, they're basically just big greasy, high-calorie cakes that offer zero nutritional value and will leave you hungry again in an hour or two. (I love cupcakes, though. Go figure.) But it's hard for me to dislike anything that I make myself. And don't they look pretty? It's even harder to dislike anything that pretty.

These were my contribution to our breakfast the day after Thanksgiving. I think cinnamon muffins are a southern thing, because I've never really seen them in bakeries in New York. I don't really know what else to day about them. If you like cinnamon, and you like muffins, I feel pretty confident that you'll like these. I didn't particularly care for them. But aren't they pretty?

Cinnamon Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Slowly add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir into wet mix. Pour in milk and stir until well combined.
3. Pour into greased muffin pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out dry. Allow to cool before removing from muffin pan. Serve.

Makes 12-14 medium size muffins.

Caramelized Onion Omelette

There are so many wonderful things to say about this omelette. First, I made it with eggs from the farmer's market. The average eggs you eat in the supermarket are about two weeks old when you first buy them. If you're buying them at a farmer's market, they're about three days old. Not to mention, they're antibiotic-free, free range, and they're from a farm you're somewhat familiar with. A farm where you know the workers because you see them every week at the market, and where you can at least have some confidence that they're not abusing or mistreating their animals. How can you tell that from looking at an egg carton in a supermarket? As a vegetarian, if I'm going to eat any animal product (and I do eat eggs, butter, milk, etc), I want to have some confidence that the animals didn't suffer for me to eat it.

Second, this omelette is sort of a variation on the flavors of this amazing quiche I made several months ago from Simply Recipes. I made it for a dinner party, and every single one of my guests said it was the best quiche they'd ever had. So, not surprisingly, I have been a caramelized onion fanatic, sticking them in everything from appetizer tarts to risotto. And when I was wondering what to use as the filling for my omelette, guess what came to mind?

A few rules for making an omelette. First, add a teaspoon of water (not milk) for every 2-3 eggs. Second, beat the eggs lightly before pouring them into the pan. Third, throw in at least one egg yolk, because otherwise it really has no flavor. Personally, I'm partial to one egg yolk and three egg whites for a good flavor that's still fairly low-cholesterol. Fourth, when you first pour the omelette into the pan, stir the batter with your spatula for about 30 seconds, or until it starts to solidify (this helps it cook evenly). Fifth, don't flip your omelette. You're not making pancakes. Last, and most important, don't overcook. People are so irrationally terrified of undercooked eggs that they tend to brown omelettes. They should be light and golden -- if you're omelette has brown spots, cook it for a minute or two less next time.

Caramelized Onion Omelette

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small or medium white onions, sliced
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 tsp water

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small saute pan, saute the onions in olive oil on medium heat until translucent (it's ok if they look slightly charred). Add salt and balsamic vinegar and saute for an additional 5 minutes on low heat.
2. Remove onions from saucepan and set aside.
3. In another bowl, mix one full egg and two egg whites with 1 tsp water. Whisk to break yolks and lightly beat.
4. Grease another pan with 1 tsp olive oil, and pour eggs in. Stir for 30 seconds, or until eggs start to solidify. Let cook for 3 more minutes without stirring.
5. Pour onions into the center of the omelette. Fold 1/3 of the omelette over the onions, and remove the pan from heat. Tilt the pan so that the omelette comes to the edge, and then flip the omelette out onto a plate. Serve.

Serves 1.

Croque Mademoiselle

Think of this as a french grilled cheese.

Except that there is, actually, a french version of a grilled cheese called a croque monsieur (with ham) or a croque madame (with ham and a fried egg on top... oh, the french). So, we're going to call this a croque mademoiselle, because it's a girly version of the others.

These are beautiful, and fancy, and taste like an indulgence, but there's a twist... they're whole wheat crepes. Bet you couldn't tell, could you? Thanks to the milk, they're not dark or grainy like most whole wheat products. Frankly, I couldn't really even taste the difference between these and my usual crepe recipe.

You could use brie in this recipe as well, but you'd probably want to add it to the crepe while it's still in the pan, because it won't melt as easily as the gruyere. Don't use reduced fat cheese. Just don't.

Croque Mademoiselle

INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
1 cup skim milk
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon butter
8 oz gruyere cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk together eggs, milk, flour and butter. Refrigerate.
2. Coat a skillet or small saute pan with cooking spray, and place on a burner over medium heat. Pour about 1/3 cup of crepe batter into the pan, tilting to coat the pan's surface. Cook 2 minutes, flip, and cook one or two more minutes.
3. Remove crepe from pan, place on a serving plate. Repeat step 3 with the remaining batter, making 6 crepes in total.
5. Put each crepe onto a plate. Sprinkle shredded gruyere over half the crepe, and fold over.

Serves 4.

Ginger Crepes with Pumpkin Filling

We used to make crepes as a special treat in my french class when I was in elementary school. If a classroom full of 9-year-olds could make them successfully, I knew they were pretty foolproof. I think these would make a great brunch recipe -- don't fill the crepes too full, because a little of the pumpkin goes a long way.

The batter might look a little lumpy, but don't worry about it. Once they're cooked, the crepes turn out thin and beautiful!

Ginger Crepes with Pumpkin Filling

INGREDIENTS:

For Crepes:
2 eggs
1 cup skim milk
2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon butter
1 tsp ground ginger

For Pumpkin Filling:
1 can pumpkin puree (15 ounces)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup skim milk

Cinnamon and sugar, to garnish

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk together eggs, milk, flour, ginger and butter. Refrigerate.
2. In a microwave-safe container, mix pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and milk. Microwave for approximately 1 minute, until heated through, and stir.
3. Coat a skillet or small saute pan with cooking spray, and place on a burner over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of crepe batter into the pan, tilting to coat the pan's surface. Cook 2 minutes, flip, and cook one or two more minutes.
4. Remove crepe from pan, place on a serving plate. Repeat step 3 with the remaining batter, making 6 crepes in total.
5. Put each crepe onto a plate. Fill the center of the crepe with the pumpkin mixture (a little less than 1/4 cup per crepe), and fold sides over.
6. Sprinkle crepes with cinnamon sugar, and serve.

Serves 6.

Saffron-Buttered Toast

I bought saffron a month or two ago for a paella recipe that I never ended up trying (for lack of a paella pan, *whoops*). But I figured that I'd have other uses for it -- this is my first attempt. I don't cook with butter usually, but I really like spreading it on bread, and flavored butter especially. So I thought this was a perfect match. Putting saffron in anything makes me feel kind of decadent -- I can almost imagine Donald Trump eating this for breakfast, with a fork made of diamonds...

Saffron-Buttered Toast

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 slices of italian bread

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 generous pinch of saffron

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, blend together saffron and butter (if you use unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt at this step).

2. Spread butter generously on slices of bread.

3. Toast on low heat in a toaster oven, or broil for 3-5 minutes.

Serves four.