Spotting Breakfast - Mushroom, Asparagus, Gruyere and Egg Casserole

I love eggs for breakfast and I always love finding something different to do with them. When I was looking for a few breakfast dish on TasteSpotting I found inn cuisine's egg casserole. One thing I really loved about the dish is that it uses asparagus. Spring is the time to enjoy fresh asparagus, and this is a great way to use up asparagus you may have left over from dinner. I never cook a whole bundle of asparagus since I'm usually only cooking for one or two.

Photo from InnCuisine

Mushroom, Asparagus, Gruyere & Egg Casserole

via InnCuisine

• 8 large eggs
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus (approximately 1 pound), rinsed, trimmed and cut into 1 & 1/2-inch pieces
• 3-4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) sliced mushrooms
• 3 ounces grated Gruyere, divided
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 controlled splash of dry white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

to prepare

Gently steam asparagus pieces for approximately 3 minutes, remove from heat and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F for baking. Spray your favorite casserole dish (approximately 9&1/2″ x 9&1/2″ x 1&1/2″ in size) with non-stick cooking spray.

to make the casserole

In a large bowl, break eggs and whisk gently. Add 2 ounces grated Gruyere (reserve remaining for garnish), minced shallot and garlic, splash of dry white wine, Herbes de Provence, salt and freshly ground black pepper; whisk until ingredients are thoroughly combined. Stir in steamed asparagus and sliced mushrooms. Pour egg mixture into prepared casserole dish and place on center rack of preheated, 350 degree F oven; bake for approximately 30-35 minutes (depending on size and depth of your casserole dish and accuracy of your oven). Casserole is done when eggs are set in the middle, i.e. eggs no longer jiggle when casserole dish is moved back and forth.

When eggs are set, remove casserole dish from oven and and sprinkle with remaining ounce of grated Gruyere. Cut into 4 large wedges (or 6-8 smaller ones) and serve warm.

Pair with warm, crusty bread and a mixed green sald or fruit. Optional—top bread and salad with a slight drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a bit of grated Gruyere if desired. Enjoy!

Serves 4

The great thing about recipes like this is that you can use any kind of vegetables, cheese, or even add meats. Instead of mushroom, asparagus and gruyere you could use cheddar, ham, and red bell pepper. Try mixing this recipe up with your favorite ingredients.

Here's to spring vegetables and full bellies.
- Cait

Spotting Breakfast Birthday Edition - Eggs Benedict

So, it's April 17th... which happens to be my birthday! Today isn't just any other day of the week for me. I decided that I'm going to be picking out meals that are more on the extravagant side in honor of today. It took awhile of poking around on TasteSpotting to come across something I found suitable for today's post. I settled on eggs benedict because it's something I rarely ever have. There are a bunch of different versions of this dish on TasteSpotting but I chose doesnttaztelikechicken's.

Photo from doesnttaztelikechicken

Eggs Benedict
via doesnttaztelikechicken

To make the hollandaise sauce, you will need:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1/4 cup of melted butter

Fill a quart pan with water up to 1/3 of its height. The glass bowl will sit on the quart pan later so make sure the water just comes below, and not touching, the bottom of the glass bowl. Bring water to a simmer.

Put the egg yolks and lemon juice into the glass bowl. Whisk the yolks until it increases in volume, about 3 minutes.

Place the glass bowl on the quart pan. Continue to whisk quickly and slowly drizzle in the melted butter. Whisk until the sauce is thicken, about 5 minutes. Add in salt to taste. Remove the bowl from the quart pan and keep it in a warm area.

To make the eggs benedict for 2 people, you will need:
- 2 eggs
- 1 English muffin , sliced in half.
- 4 pieces of English bacon

Bring water in a quart pan and bring to a boil. When water is boiling, bring the heat down to a simmer. Put a sieve in the water and carefully crack an egg into the sieve. Let the eggs cook for 4 minutes and this will give you a runny yolk. Repeat with the second egg.

Pan fried the bacon in a non stick pan until they are slight brown on both sides.

Toast the muffin in a toaster until they are slightly brown.

To assemble:

Place half of a muffin on a plate. Place 2 pieces of ham on top and then carefully slide the poached egg from the sieve onto the ham. If you find the hollandaise sauce too thick, mix a few drops of warm water into the sauce. Spoon a good amount of the sauce onto the egg. Sprinkle with parsley and a few dash of cayenne pepper.

Eggs benedict is one of my favorite things to order if I'm going out to Sunday brunch. My family and I usually go to The Waterwheel in Doylestown if we're going to brunch, but that only happens once or twice a year. Besides the eggs, I usually end up getting a freshly made waffle with berries. All the food is great there and it would be nice to have a bit of that brunch experience on my birthday.

Here's to favorite brunch spots and full bellies.

- Cait

Spotting Breakfast - Ham and Cheese Omelet Roll

I love omelets... I usually make myself an egg white omelet for breakfast close to every morning. Making an omelet for a group of people can be annoying though. Everyone ends up finished eating before you've even sat down to start eating your omelet. When I saw realmomkitchen's ham and cheese omelet roll on TasteSpotting I knew I had to share it.

Photo from realmomkitchen

Ham and Cheese Omelet Roll (6 serving version)
via realmomkitchen

2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 plus 1/8 cup milk
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup finely chopped fully cooked ham
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Line the bottom and sides of a greased 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper; grease the paper and set aside. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and slowly add milk until smooth. Add flour and salt; mix until combined. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until blended. Add cream cheese mixture; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until eggs are puffed and set. Remove from the oven and use parchment paper to remove egg from the pan. Immediately spread with mustard and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Sprinkle with ham, onions and 1/2 cup cheese. Roll up from a short side, peeling parchment paper away while rolling. Sprinkle top of roll with the remaining cheese; place roll in pan and bake 3-4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Yield: 6 servings.

There's also a recipe variation that serves 12 which can be found here.

On a side note - I found the realmomkitchen blog to have a cute design and a nice layout.

You could easily put any type of filling into the omelet instead of ham and cheese... Lightly sauteed cherry tomatoes and spring asparagus with fontina or cheddar would be a great use of spring vegetables. My favorite kind of omelet would have to be made with my special mushrooms and cheddar.

Here's to chickens and warm bellies.
- Cait

Spotting Breakfast - Bacon and Egg Breakfast Tart

After poking around on TasteSpotting.com I found a wonderful breakfast tart... I actually saw the recipe before in an old Williams-Sonoma catalog (I believe) and wanted to make it, but never did. Well, I'm newly inspired! The photograph was posted by YUMSUGAR, and I'm happy I found it. I'm going to be making this sometime soon, maybe even this upcoming weekend. You can find the post by YUMSUGAR - here.

I'm including the recipe...

Photo from YUMSUGAR

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Tart
From Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry dough
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp. water
3 oz. crème fraîche
2 oz. shredded Gruyère cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 bacon slices, cooked until crisp
3 eggs
10 fresh chives, cut on the bias into 1/2-inch lengths

Directions

1. Thaw the puff pastry dough according to the package instructions.
2. Preheat an oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
3. On lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into a 10-by-8-inch rectangle. Place the pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Using a paring knife, score a border 1/2 inch in from the edge of the pastry. Using a fork, prick the center of the pastry. Brush the border with the egg wash and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and cheese, and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the crème fraîche mixture on the pastry, keeping the border clean. Lay the bacon on top, slightly overlapping the slices. Bake the tart for 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.

5. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a level heatproof surface. Using a fork, prick any large air pockets in the pastry. Crack the eggs onto the tart, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until the egg whites are set and the yolks are still soft, 7 to 10 minutes.
6. Transfer the tart to a platter, garnish with the chives and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

You could easily take this recipe idea and add other ingredients you truely enjoy... Tomatoes, spinach, asiago cheese and eggs could make a sort of florentine version. Or perhaps some garlic chicken sausage instead of bacon. Hmmm...

Here's to starting the day with a full belly.

- Cait