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Brunch

Breakfast of Champignons: Savoury Mushroom Bread Pudding

· 8 Comments

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Lately, I’ve started seeing signs all around that fall is finally here.

Pumpkin spice lattes. Knee boots and trench coats. Blooming clumps of goldenrod. And yes, even that one tree in the neighbourhood that just can’t wait for October to start changing colours.

Savoury Mushroom Bread Pudding

Mostly, though, I know fall is here because I am hardcore craving comfort food… which probably explains why the moment I received this month’s Canadian cheese, all I could think about is ooey gooey melty cheese....

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Feeling Blue: Pear-Walnut Scones

· 11 Comments

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Dairy Farmers of Canada.

I’ve often said that I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like, but that wasn’t always the case… in fact, there was a long period in my life when the only use I had for blue cheese was as a dip for my buffalo wings. It was simply too sharp, too pungent, too overwhelming for my brie-loving palate.

Pear and Walnut Scones

Thankfully, that hasn’t been the case for quite some time, so I very much enjoyed this month’s pick from the Dairy Farmers of Canada, a lovely blue cheese called Dragon’s Breath from That Dutchman’s Cheese Farm in Nova Scotia....

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Therefore I Yam: Sweet Potato Waffles with Maple-Chipotle Syrup

· 6 Comments

This is a sponsored post on behalf of TABASCO. All opinions expressed within this post are (as always) my own.

Wanna know a secret? I have a secret love affair with American Thanksgiving. It’s so much more showy than our humble Canadian harvest celebration, what with the football, and the giant balloon parade, and the enormous celebratory meal with its never-ending array of traditional side dishes.

(Oh, and those Black Friday deals? So jealous.)

Sweet Potato Waffles with Maple-Chipotle Syrup

I guess that’s probably why I’ve had sweet potato casserole on the brain for the past couple of weeks.

I can live without the marshmallow topping, but delicious sweet potatoes with loads of spice? Yes, please....

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Puff Daddy: Cheesy Herbed Popovers

· 20 Comments

Ah, popovers. Either you know them and love them, or you just haven't met them yet.

Cheesy Herbed Popovers

If you're familiar with Yorkshire puddings, you'll probably notice that the two recipes are very similar. In fact, these airy little puffs are in fact the Yorkie pud's Yankee cousins, thusly named because they puff up in the oven and "pop over" the edges of the pan.

What makes a popover different, though, is the fact that they're baked long enough to crisp up the outsides, so that the insides stay delicate and hollow rather than collapsing in upon themselves....

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The Epic Brunch Burger for #BurgerMonth

· 5 Comments

If I had my way (and the kind of metabolism that would let me burn a zillion calories just checking Facebook), I'd eat burgers every single day. In fact, I'd probably eat burgers three times a day, every single day.

The Epic Brunch Burger

Burgers for dinner. Burgers for lunch. And yeah, burgers for breakfast too....

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Berried Treasure: Buckwheat Waffles with Macerated Strawberries

· 9 Comments

Oh hey there. I know it's been quiet around these here parts lately.

It's not that I haven't been writing. I've started and discarded a dozen drafts, but somehow, I just can't find something to say.

Buckwheat Waffles with Macerated Strawberries

I suppose I could just skip the words, share a bunch of pretty pictures and jump straight to the recipe, but that seems to defeat the purpose somehow.

...

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Sunny Side Up: Huevos Rancheros

· 15 Comments

Of all the people who have inspired my cooking, my mother certainly comes in somewhere in the Top 5. Over the years, I've shared a bunch of my childhood favourites from her repertoire - her spaghetti sauce, her pot roast, her Portuguese-style braised peas and eggs, her mulligatawny soup, her marshmallow cake, and her "impossible" lemon-coconut tart.

Huevos Rancheros

When the time came to pick something to share in her honour for a Mother's Day recipe round-up for the Holiday Food Blog Party crew, though, I was totally stumped....

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Top o' the Mornin': Eggs St Patrick (aka Irish Eggs Benedict)

· 20 Comments

Maybe it's because there isn't a speck of Irish blood in my veins, but I have to admit that I just don't get the hullabaloo over St Patrick's Day.

Irish Eggs Benedict aka Eggs St Patrick

There was a time, back when I was a twenty-something youngster, when St Patrick's Day usually meant sneaking out of work early to grab a table at the nearest pub.

Once there, we'd consume plate after plate of Irish nachos (a surprisingly tasty concoction made from waffle-cut fries topped with cheddar, green onions, tomatoes, bacon and sour cream), chug several pints of green beer, and then eventually stumble home through a minefield of green barf.  Good times.

But now I'm an thirty-something old fart. A single pint of green beer gets me jolly and a second pint puts me under the table, so I have to settle for a slightly more low-key option if I want to celebrate....

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You Are My Sunshine: Sweet Orange and Almond Buns

· 7 Comments

I like to think of citrus as the perky annoying morning person of the fruit world.

Sweet Orange and Almond Rolls

Take orange juice, for example... it's no wonder a tall glass of orange juice is so deeply entrenched into the collective concept of a complete breakfast, with that bright punch of sunny acidity that drags your tastebuds kicking and screaming back into wakefulness. Citrus wants to bust out a full-scale Broadway-style song and dance number, and it doesn't care that it's 7am in the morning....

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Tea Party: Rhubarb-Ginger Scones

· 17 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, we invited one of our favourite married couples, the Wiltoteks, over for afternoon tea (no, that's not really their name... but it would be awesome if it was, don't you think?)

Rhubarb Ginger Scones

As I tidied up afterwards, I realised that I really ought to invite people over for afternoon tea more often. It's one of the least stressful options for entertaining - brunch often means waking up early in the morning to make sure the house is presentable, deal with any last-minute shopping and get started on the cooking, while dinner parties can linger until late and leave someone tidying up at midnight. Tea, on the other hand, is an absolutely perfect compromise. Not too early, not too late, and no one feels guilty if they have to leave after an hour or two because they've got dinner plans....

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A Date for Tea: Toffee-Date Scones

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Like clear plastic couch covers, Hummel figurines and crystal candy dishes, desserts made with dates seem awfully old-fashioned nowadays.

Toffee-Date Scones

Dates just don't seem all that sexy, which is funny when you consider that their exotic origins. Each plump little fruit should conjure up images of North African markets redolent with spices, veiled odalisques lounging in Moorish courtyards, and furtive midnight rendez-vous at the oasis.

But unfortunately, the old-school date square that was a kitchen standby for so many years that most North American cooks automatically associate dates with grandma instead.

Comforting? Yes. Sexy? Most definitely not.

I'd like to believe that it's still possible to rehabilitate the humble date and bring the sexy back.

These scones may not do it singlehandedly, but they're a good start. Bust out your best china and a pretty white tablecloth, send out handwritten invitations to your neighbours / roommates / SO / pets, and brew a pot of your finest loose-leaf black tea to go with a plateful of date-and-toffee scones.

Faux British accent and raised pinkie are entirely optional.

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Toffee-Date Scones
 
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Upgrade your afternoon tea with these flaky scones dotted with chunks of sweet dates and toffee bits.
Author:
Recipe type: Brunch
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 3 cups flour
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup yogurt
  • ⅔ cup water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup chopped pitted dates
  • ½ cup toffee bits (look for Skor or Heath bits)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add remaining ingredients and stir until just barely moistened. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead until dough is smooth.
  3. Divide dough into two equal parts. Shape each part into a ¾" thick circle; using a sharp knife, score the dough into six wedges. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until light golden brown. Best served warm from the oven with a cup of ginger tea.
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