Recipe: Bread Pudding with Orange Marmalade Glaze

This is a great brunch dish in place of French Toast, muffins, or pastries - the marmalade glaze pairs perfectly with both sweet and savory dishes, as well as late winter flavors.

Ingredients:

4 large, thick slices of freshly baked bread - a white country loaf is delicious

2 tablespoons of butter, softened to room temperature

1.5 cups of milk

1.5 cups of cream

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

6 large eggs

2/3 cup of sugar

4 tablespoons of your favorite marmalade


Lightly butter a rectangular baking pan, then spread the remaining butter on the slices of bread and cut the pieces in half.  Place the slices in the baking pan.

In a saucepan, heat the milk, cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  When the mixture reaches a strong simmer (do not let it get to a boil), turn off the heat and set aside.

 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Then, whisking constantly, slowly add the milk and cream mixture.  Once combined, pour the ingredients over the bread and allow to soak for twenty minutes.  While the bread is soaking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the custard is just set.

Meanwhile, gently warm the marmalade in a small saucepan.  Brush the warm marmalade over the just set bread pudding, and stick the dish back in the oven for approximately 7 minutes, until it has a nice sheen.  Allow to cool slightly before serving. 

Recipe: Blackberry Coffee Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 ounces of olive oil
1 egg
4 ounces of vanilla kefir or filmjölk - we like Siggi's (you could also use plain kefir with half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and an extra teaspoon of sugar)
1 cup of fresh blackberries

Combine the dry and wet ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly.

Pour into a well greased baking dish and add the blackberries in a single layer.

 Bake for approximately thirty to forty minutes, until a knife or skewer tests clean.

Easter Brunch Menu

Here is what we'll be serving at our Easter Brunch tomorrow.

We're cheating a bit by picking up pastries from Tartine and Craftsman & Wolves, but recipes for all of the above can be found here: blueberry buttermilk scones, bacon cheese & egg muffins, green salad, fruit salad, asparagus & goat cheese frittata, soderblandning tea, golden mango green tea

Recipe: Herb Poached Eggs in Pouches

Poached eggs may seem intimidating to make at home - better to order out as part of Eggs Benedict or something similar - but they are actually quite simple if you follow this method.  Not only does it take away the worry of the egg breaking, and the fuss of moving the water and watching the progress too closely, but it allows you to poach the eggs with the herbs already inside, creating a very pretty effect.

To begin, tear off squares of plastic wrap, and place them in a small bowl.  Break one egg into each plastic lined bowl, and add salt, pepper, and chopped herbs - you can use whatever combination you like, but chopped tarragon, dill, and chives would all be delicious, as is a touch of finely diced red chiles for a kick.

Twist up the four corners of the plastic, until the eggs and their seasonings are each in individual pouches.

Bring a pot of water that will accommodate your eggs side by side, and just cover them, almost to a simmer.  Lower the heat so that the water doesn't bubble at all, and then drop in the eggs in their pouches - taking care to make sure that the water stays hot, but never reaches a full simmer or boil.  Poach about 3-5 minutes for a softer poach, and 6-8 for a firmer one (cooking time will vary depending on the size of the eggs and how many are in the pot - 3 minutes would be sufficient for 2 softer eggs, but you may need up to 8 for 4 firmer ones).

Remove the eggs from the plastic and serve as desired - we added smoked salmon, boiled asparagus, and buttered English muffins to the dish.  The garnish was simply melted butter with lemon juice and more chopped herbs.