Category Archives: breads/cakes

Break Fast Food – Blintz Souffle

Here we go again…another holiday to cook for. Most of breaking the fast is taking in bagels, fish, etc. Easy to do. But I still try to make a few dishes and this recipe is an oldie but a goodie. I have been making this recipe since 1975 and it never gets old.  This dish can be assembled ahead of time, kept in the refrigerator and baked right before eating. This is a keeper and a tradition in my house. Always delicious. You can buy almost any of the frozen blintzes. Some stores have homemade ones, but it doesn’t really make that big of a difference with this recipe. Enjoy! This is super easy, with excellent results.

INGREDIENTS:

6 blintzes (you can use cheese or fruit-filled, whichever you like. Depending on how many people I’m feeding, I usually make 1 fruit and 1 cheese tray)

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp. unsalted butter or margarine

3/4 cup sour cream (lite is fine but I wouldn’t use fat-free)

1 tsp. vanilla

Dash of cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter or margarine in saucepan. Spray baking dish with Pam spray (Original). Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl together. Place frozen blintzes in baking dish. I usually use a 9×13 size dish but anything close to that will work. You can double the recipe, in which case you’d obviously need a larger baking dish (you need room for the blintzes to expand a little and for the egg mixture to rise around it. Don’t spread it too thin.) Pour the melted butter on top of the frozen blintzes, followed by the sour cream mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 30-40 minutes. Let it sit for a few minutes out of the oven before cutting into it.

Something to do with a few zucchini (bake a bread), vegetarian

 What to do with that beautiful zucchini you bought at the farmer’s market? Or that your friend gave you from her garden? Bake a bread or make muffins…perfect! This is so delicious for breakfast, as a snack, or a simple dessert. This recipe was inspired from the Original Silver Palate cookbook–one of the best cookbooks I’ve ever used. It’s worth the effort. It’s a bit on the messy side with all that grated zucchini. This would be categorized as vegetarian, but not vegan. 

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs, room temperature (as always)

1 1/2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, I melt it in the microwave before I add (you’ll also need a little more for greasing the pan)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated, unpeeled raw zucchini (about 2 1/2 nice size zucchini), after I grate it , I put it in a mesh sieve and drain it, zucchini is very watery, the trick to baking with it is to rid it of the water. Push down on zucchini while it’s draining and get the water out.

2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (I sometimes mix whole wheat flour in, just make sure you use 2 1/2 cups total) bread will have a browner look with whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*1 teaspoon ground cloves (optional, this is a strong spice that not everyone likes, so feel free to omit) if you omit clove, might want to increase your cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I spray pan with Pam and then spread a little butter around the pan, as well.

Beat eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla and melted butter until the mixture is light and thick. (I use my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer with paddle attachment). Fold grated zucchini into the mixture.

In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and then stir into zucchini mixture until just blended. Add walnuts.

Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan (9×5). Bake on the middle rack of the oven for approx. 1 hour (you may need another 15 minutes depending on your oven). Remove cake, and with a cake tester, check for readiness (when the cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.) I filled the loaf pan about 3/4 to the top. I had a little left over and was able to make 5 muffins with that leftover batter!

Cool slightly, remove from pan, and let it cool completely on a rack.

For optimum flavor, wrap the bread when it is completely cool and let it stand overnight before serving.

something to do with a few zucchini