Vegetarians: no monkeys were harmed in the making of this dish

When I'm in a fix for something sweet to make, in a short amount of time, I'll go to my standard, Monkey Bread. It serves as well as a dessert as it does a breakfast treat. I've never had to take any leftovers home. It's so simple it amazes me when people rave about it. Must be the brown sugar and cinnamon, gets them every time. Since there are few ingredients needed I always keep them on hand for that last minute surprise potluck. The refrigerator biscuits last forever. It's scary but I try not to think about it.

Please, no one turn up their noses at the canned biscuits used in this tasty treat. I've made it from scratch and to be honest, I like the texture of the Pillsbury biscuits better. Some recipes call for dipping each piece of dough in butter then rolling in sugar. Takes too much time and, again, not much different in the final product.

Monkey Bread
4 cans Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits, ten in the can. I buy 4 wrapped together in their "value pack"
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon (sometimes I throw in a bit of fresh nutmeg, too)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 stick unsalted butter (do not use margarine)

Grease the sides of a tube/bundt pan.
Mix white sugar and cinnamon together and put in a bag.

Open cans one at a time and cut each biscuit into four pieces. Put all of the one can's cut biscuits into the bag with the cinnamon sugar and shake to coat the pieces.

Start layering the biscuits into the prepared pan. If you desire, you can add chopped nuts or raisins with each layer. Do each can then set aside as you make the syrup.

Melt the butter and brown sugar in a small pan. Bring to a boil and cook for about two minutes stirring continuously. Pour over biscuits in prepared pan.

Bake in 350 oven for about 30-40 minutes until they biscuits are golden and puffed. Don't over bake. Let cool for about 10/15 minutes or so; if not, all the monkeys fall out. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn upside down on a plate.

Serve warm or cold. Use a fork to separate a piece, cutting can be difficult unless it's cold.

I'd like to show a photo but every time I make this I'm rushing out the door.

PBE makes breakfast egg soufflé

If you've ever eaten something in a restaurant and decided you could make that at home; read on.

When sister Doodles and I get together one of our favorite places for breakfast is Panera Bread. This tasty little breakfast-cafe-franchise seems to be popping up all over the country. I've only been interested in their bread and bagels but lately noticed a hot seller, baked egg soufflés, and thought what a great challenge for Doodles and myself.

The egg dish looks pretty simple. A soufflé/quiche like mixture baked in a puff pastry dough. Sounds easy enough but we did run into some difficulty. Here is our attempt.

Because there were only three of us for Easter brunch we used three two-cup oven proof bowls. I might adjust this to six 6 ounce custard cups next time.


Recipe
2 eggs
1/4 cup lite sour cream
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped ham or sausage
3/4 teaspoon chopped chive
3/4 teaspoon chopped thyme
salt and pepper
one sheet puff pastry dough

Pre-heat oven to 400 Cut pastry dough in five-inch square or to fit your baking cups. Divide cheese and ham between the three cups. Divide herbs and sprinkle on top of ham. Beat eggs and add half and half. Whisk in sour cream. Pour egg mixture over ham and cheese and bake in middle rack for about 35 minutes until eggs are lightly set. Don't overcook.


What we had was a lovely eggy soufflé with underdone pastry. That afternoon our darling Chef Teri stopped by and we asked her. She's worked in the food industry for quite a while and is a wealth of knowledge. She knew where we went awry. To get the puff pastry to "puff" you need to blast the heat in the beginning, then turn it down and cook your soufflés until the eggs are done. Also, she suggested using some paper soufflé that are sold at Sur la table. This is why we revere her so.

What did we learn? It's fun to try something new even if the results are not exactly what you intended. Try something new!

Almost a Tuscan Sunday

Ilva at Lucllian delights made a Tuscan Kale Fritatta last week and that must of been on my mind Sunday morning. I was cooking up some chicken breakfast sausages when I remembered I had some kale in the fridge. I'd made a quick soup and kale can make a simple soup ever so hardy. I like the flavor more than spinach. My kale wasn't from Tuscany but it was tasty none the less.

I chopped the kale and sauteed it in the pan I'd cooked the sausages, then add a bit of water and turned up the fire. When the liquid had evaporated I added back the chopped sausage, small cubes of cheese, some fresh thyme, and beaten eggs. I like the cubed cheese because it leaves oozy little pockets of melted cheese in the frittata.

A little salt and pepper and a quick set of the eggs then under the broiler to brown the top and onto a warm plate. This was much better than the scrambled eggs I'd promised my beloved. He liked it better, too.