Potato Latkes...for brunch!

Potato Latkes...for brunch!

We love making these crispy little potato pancakes for dinner with roast chicken and gravy or served with a little sour cream and chives with a great glazed ham but they also make a fantastic addition to a weekend brunch. You can add minced garlic, green onion, chives or minced jalapeno peppers to the mix for even more flavorful varieties. Here I've served them with sausages and fried eggs and some quick-cooked spicy tomato compote, a favorite condiment on our brunch table every single weekend. Now there's a brunch that'll definitely hold you over until dinner.

Makes about 8 latkes. Serves 4.

4 cups grated potato

Salt and pepper to season
1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons flour

Squeeze as much excess water from the grated potato as possible. Add all the remaining ingredients and toss together until well combined.

Heat a half inch of canola oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-low to medium heat. Drop the latke mixture by ½ cup measures into the hot oil, spreading it out to about a half inch thickness. Fry until golden brown on one side, then turn and cook until golden brown on the opposite side,
Drain on paper towels. 

Spicy Tomato Compote

4 cloves minced garlic
6 tbsp olive oil
8 large ripe tomatoes diced
2 tbsp brown sugar
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp crushed chili sauce
salt and pepper to season

Saute the garlic in the oil over medium heat for just a minute before adding the tomatoes, brown sugar, chili sauce, salt, pepper. Continue to cook until the tomatoes soften and the compote reduces to a jam-like consistency. Add the balsamic vinegar in the final minute or two of cooking before serving.

White Chocolate Orange Macadamia Cookies

White Chocolate Orange Macadamia Cookies

White chocolate and macadamia is a pretty popular cookie flavor combo and one of my personal favorites and this version adds even more flavor with the simple addition of some grated orange zest to the dough.  To get that perfect crispy chewy texture, be careful not to over bake them and be very certain to chill the dough completely before baking. The chilling is very important with such a soft dough or the cookies will spread too much on the pan and possibly over bake. Just omit the orange zest if you want the classic version of this cookie.

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 oz chopped white chocolate
• 3/4 cup macadamia nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; aluminum pans are best.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and combine thoroughly.

Add the flour mixture to the sweetened butter. Mix only enough to incorporate flour. Do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts along with:

Zest of 1/2 large orange, finely chopped

Chill dough completely for a couple of hours in the fridge.

Form into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on the parchment lined cookie sheet about 3 inches apart

Bake until light brown around the edges, about 12 minutes.

Over baking is the biggest problem with most chocolate chip cookies. Your oven temperature and the type of cookie sheet you use will vary the baking times considerably. When they are golden brown around the edges is the time to remove them from the oven.

Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

Chili Lime Coconut Tilapia

Chili Lime Coconut Tilapia

Spouse made this very delicious fish dish for dinner last night and I absolutely loved it. Tilapia is a great fish to bake because it holds together so well and stays moist at high cooking temperatures.

This dish was inspired by my Coconut Shrimp recipe but instead of frying, I wanted to keep this lighter by baking the fish and ramping up the taste with a very light drizzle of  a very flavorful honey glaze infused with ginger, lime and spicy crushed chili paste.

Light , healthy and very, very delicious, this is a great workday meal that can be on the table in a half hour. We served ours with a simple salad and warm couscous prima vera.

• 2 lbs de-boned tilapia fillets
• Salt and pepper to season
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 cups unsweetened dried coconut

Season the tilapia fillets with salt and pepper then dip them in the flour. Next, dip them in an egg wash made from whisking together the eggs and water. From the egg wash, drop the fillets back into the flour, back again into the egg wash and finally into the dried coconut.

Place the fillets onto a parchment lined baking sheet and lightly spray canola oil over the top of the prepared fillets. Don’t crowd the fillets together on the pan. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Serve with Ginger Chili Lime Drizzle.

Ginger Chili Lime Drizzle

• ½  cup honey
• zest and juice of one lime
• 1 tsp red chili paste or ½ tsp chili flakes
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• ¼ tsp salt

Simmer together very gently for 5 minutes. Lightly drizzle over the baked fish fillets.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

The orange blossoms are blooming here in Florida.

There are several orange groves near my house, so I get to enjoy their heavenly scent.

Mmm...the smell of Spring!

It got me thinking about these yummy orange creamsicle cupcakes.

This recipe is one of my absolute favorites...

Easy and scrumptious!

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

by Bird On A Cake
recipe adapted from Lady Behind the Curtain

6021104

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

• 1 package white cake mix
• 1 (4 serving size) package cheesecake instant pudding mix
• 1 (3 oz.) package orange flavored Jell-O powder
• 1 1/4 cups orange juice
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour batter into liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack.

Orange Creamsicle Frosting

• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• orange food coloring

Allow cream cheese and butter to stand at room temperature and soften. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, orange extract and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar. Divide frosting into two bowls, add orange food coloring to one bowl.

Powered by Recipage


Now I'm going to show you a simple way to get beautiful, swirled frosting.
Put the white frosting in one decorating bag, and the orange frosting in another.

 
Then snip the tips off the ends, and place both bags inside another decorating bag
with a coupler and large star tip (Wilton 1M) attached.

Twist the top of your decorating bag to close it, and hold the twisted part between your thumb and first finger. Squeeze the bag until you see both colors coming out.
Starting at the outside edge of your cupcake, make a spiral toward the center.

 
Done! 

What do you think of my new recipe format?

You can print right from the post!

I also added a Recipes page and a Tutorials page at the top of the blog...

Check 'em out!

 You really should go make these cupcakes right now...

they are that good!!

Enjoy!

I share my recipes and tutorials at these fun link parties.

This post was featured!

Soaked Oats Muesli – Fall/Winter Version

Winter is over, but I have been meaning to share this recipe for a while now.  It’s a little late, but winter fruits still seem to be available in the markets.

Muesli is a delicious, simple breakfast (or snack), it’s easy to make and takes minutes to put together, although it does take advance preparation the day before. 

Soaked Muesli – Winter Version

Skip the processed cereal and try this version instead.

{Affiliate links included help support this blog.}

*** Note: 24 hours Advance Preparation Required ***

Equipment: Large Mason Jar (1 quart) or Glass Bowl w/ Lid, Large Fine Mesh Strainer, Large Bowl

·      2 cups gluten-free rolled oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill)

·      2 tablespoons chia seeds (I get my chia seeds here)

·      2 ½ cups warm filtered water

·      2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, unfiltered organic raw apple cider vinegar, whey, or kefir (my preference is lemon juice)

·      1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I prefer Sweet Cinnamon)

·      2-3 cups of chopped organic seasonal fruit: persimmon (peeled), apples, pears, kiwi, oranges, mandarins, tangerines, tangelos, banana (sliced), grapes, pomegranate arils, passion fruit, kumquats, cranberries

·      ½ cup shredded coconut (optional)

·      ½ cup soaked/”crispy” nuts or soaked and sprouted seeds (optional)

24 hours Before Making Muesli

1.    Place oats and chia seeds in a large Mason jar or glass bowl with lid.  Cover with 2 ½ cups warm filtered water (warmer than room temperature) and lemon juice/apple cider vinegar/whey/kefir.  Cover with lid.  Leave out on the counter, out of the sunlight, for 24 hours. 

Making the Muesli

1.    Strain soaked oats and chia seed mixture through fine mesh strainer. 

2.   Place oats and chia seed mixture in large bowl. 

3.   Prep fruit – chop or dice. 

4.   Add fruit to the soaked oats and chia seed mixture.  Gently stir to combine. 

5.    Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for later.  Top with optional toppings (see below).

Soaked Oats Muesli w/ Kiwi, Apple, Pear, Raw Honey and Raw Milk

Yield: About 6 servings.

Optional Toppings/Mix-Ins: Shredded Coconut, “Crispy” Nuts/Soaked Nuts, Soaked and Sprouted Seeds like sunflower, Raw Milk or Raw Cream, Coconut Milk, Dried Fruit, Raw Honey or Organic Maple Syrup Grade B.

Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, keeps for several days.

Nursing Mom or Pregnant? This makes a great snack/meal, it’s simple to prepare and requires no cooking.  It’s full of protein and readily available nutrients (due to soaking the oats and chia seeds), it helps boost milk supply too.

Mountain Rose Herbs links are affiliate links, prices are the same for you.  Should you decide to purchase through my blog, thank you in advance and much gratitude for supporting Recipes to Nourish.


This post is part of Make Your Own Monday link-up @ Nourishing Treasures, Homestead Barn Hop @ The Prairie Homestead, Monday Mania @ The Healthy Home Economist, Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival @ Hartke Is Online, Traditional Tuesdays @ Cooking Traditional Foods, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, Real Food Wednesday @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Allergy-Free Wednesdays @ Gluten Free Pantry, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop @ Premeditated Leftovers, These Chicks Cooked Recipe Swap @ This Chick Cooks, Simple Lives Thursday @ A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa, Pennywise Platter Thursday @ The Nourishing Gourmet, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Kitchen, Freaky Friday @ Real Food Freaks, Wellness Weekend @ Diet, Dessert & Dogs, and Fresh Bites Friday @ Real Food Whole Health.

Spouse is a real soup. I think she could eat it every day. She's always putting together different combinations to create new soups and our freezer always seems to be full of small individual sized plastic containers filled with single servings for a quick lunch or light dinner any time that's simple, wholesome and delicious. This particular soup is really an alternative to split pea soup using green lentils instead. It is a terrific soup to make using the leftovers from a bone-in baked ham dinner.
If you need a good baked ham recipe, here is our family's standard recipe: Dijon Mustard and Demerara Sugar Glazed Ham.

Ham and Green Lentil Soup

Simmer in 8 - 10  cups of water for 1 hour:

1 ham bone

3 bay leaves

1 medium red onion, chopped

Remove bone and add

2 cups diced leftover cooked ham
1cup of green lentils

Simmer for 30 minutes and add:

1 and ½ cups of diced carrots

1 and ½ cups diced celery

4 tbsps chopped fresh oregano

Freshly ground pepper

Simmer until vegetables and lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Cheddar Chive Biscuit & Tomato Eggs Benedict

Cheddar Chive Biscuit & Tomato Eggs Benedict

Here's a little lighter version of Eggs Benedict without using high fat Hollandaise sauce. In terms of flavor, I actually prefer this version with the high impact flavors of smokey ham, fresh tomato and warm from the oven cheddar chive biscuits. This is always on my weekend menu whenever we cook our favorite Dijon Mustard and Demerara Sugar Glazed Ham. I like to thinly slice the ham ans lightly pan fry it to use in this terrific brunch dish. This one could become your Sunday brunch classic.

This delicious brunch uses half a large, cheddar chive biscuit as the base, topped by lightly fried glazed ham, perfectly poached eggs and warm , spicy, fresh tomato compote. One outstanding brunch.

Cheddar and Chive Biscuits

Makes about 10 three inch biscuits

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a food processor, blend together

4 cups all purpose flour

9 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Pulse in

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp very cold vegetable shortening, cut in small cubes (I store mine in the freezer)

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp very cold salted butter, cut in small cubes

Do not over incorporate the shortening and butter into the flour. Similar to making a flaky pastry, small pieces of butter should be visible in the flour. 

Transfer this mixture from the food processor into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Toss in:

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, diced small

1/4 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Pour in

2 cups buttermilk

Working very quickly with a wooden spoon, fold the dry mixture through the buttermilk, only until the flour disappears, then stop immediately. Drop the sticky dough onto a well floured counter top or bread board. Sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour as well as flouring your hands to handle the dough. I don't even use a rolling pin for these biscuits, the dough is soft enough to pat it out gently with floured hands to a thickness of about 1 & 1/2 inches. Using a sharp 3 inch or larger biscuit cutter cut the biscuits out an place them, almost touching, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Alternately, you can cut the dough into three or for inch squares with a sharp knife. I recommend aluminum baking sheets because they tolerate the higher oven temperature without burning the bottom of the biscuits.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are evenly golden brown.

Spicy Tomato Compote

4 cloves minced garlic
6 tbsp olive oil
8 large ripe tomatoes diced
2 tbsp brown sugar
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp crushed chili sauce
salt and pepper to season

Saute the garlic in the oil over medium heat for just a minute before adding the tomatoes, brown sugar, chili sauce, salt, pepper. Continue to cook until the tomatoes soften and the compote reduces to a jam-like consistency. Add the balsamic vinegar in the final minute or two of cooking before serving.

Cupcake Apron Giveaway

It's time for a giveaway!

 

Don't you love this apron?

Pink with sweet cupcakes and polka dot trim!

(And pockets too!)

 SO Cute!

I was so excited when I found this apron,
that I got another one to share with one of you.

The perfect thing to wear while you bake up some cake! :0)

Here is how you ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY...

You may do any of the following items.
Please LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST
for each item you complete!

•  Follow Bird On A Cake on Facebook

•  Follow Bird On A Cake on Google Friend Connect

•  Follow Bird On A Cake on Pinterest

•  Pin one of my cakes or cupcakes and leave a link to the pin in your comment. (You can pin as many sweets as you want...each different pin gets an entry!)

• Share this giveaway, my blog or one of my creations on facebook or your blog and leave a link in your comment.

Entry deadline is March 30, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. EST / US.
Winner will be announced March 31, 2012 here on my blog and on facebook.

Winner to be drawn at random from all entries. Entrants must reside in the United States and be over 18 years of age. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. Odds of winning are based on the total number of valid entries. Winner will be notified and have 72 hours to respond. If they don't respond in that time frame another winner will be chosen.

The winner is Jenny (comment #16)!!! 

Thanks, everyone!

Roasted Tomato Fennel Lobster Bisque

The first lobster bisque I ever tasted was served at Chateau Montebello Hotel in Montebello, Quebec many years ago. I was not a big fan of seafood at the time but was very impressed by the rich soup with the lightly herbed flavor of tarragon. I credit that bisque with making me more open to seafood flavors which I have grown more and more to appreciate over the years.

As an homage to that beautiful bisque, I have created this lobster soup version which we thoroughly enjoyed a couple of weeks ago. Small cups of this soup make a wonderful first course at any dinner party or celebratory meal. It could also be the star of the show if served as the main course at a special lunch.

3 lbs shelled lobster, steamed

Don't overcook the lobster, a slight under cooking is best at this point as it will be added back tot he bisque later. Save 2 cups of the steaming liquid.

Shell the lobster over a large bowl to catch any liquid. Separate the meat from the body and claws and chop it into a 1/2 inch dice to add back to the bisque later. Whole shelled claws on top of the soup make a beautiful, impressive presentation.

Simmer the shells and any liquid in the bowl along with the 2 cups of  the steaming liquid and:

6 cups water

1 small chopped onion

3 cloves roughly chopped garlic

3 tbsp chopped tarragon or dill
2 stalks celery

1 carrot

6 peppercorns

Simmer very gently together for about 30-45 minutes. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth to create a clear broth.

While the stock simmers, get started on the roasted tomatoes and fennel.

8 large ripe tomatoes diced
1 large fennel bulb diced
1 medium red onion diced
2 cloves chopped garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to season

Toss all ingredients together in a shallow baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F. Cook for about 60-70 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the fennel pieces are very soft and most of the liquid has cooked off and the tomato and fennel reach a good chunky consistency. Puree this mixture well in a blender or food processor and pour into a soup pot. Add.

6 cups seafood stock stock (salt free or low sodium are best)

2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (dill is good too)

Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the soup reaches your desired consistency. Taste and do a final seasoning of salt and pepper if necessary. Add the chopped lobster meat to the soup and simmer for just a couple of minutes before doing a final seasoning of salt and pepper, stirring in a squeeze of lemon and serving with a drizzle of heavy cream.