Breakfast Pizza

Posted by Rex on February 08, 2010 - Print This Post Print This Post
Bacon, Breakfast, Pizza, Recipes, eggs / No Comments

I have been experimenting with pizza crusts.  So I have a ton of pizza dough lying around.  You can only have so many pepperoni pizzas before you need to find something different.  So I decided to try my hand at breakfast pizza.  If you have been near a TV at all over the past couple of days you know that it has snowed here in DC.  It has snowed a lot, roughly 27 inches.  I have a front wheel drive car and there is no chance of me getting out of my house for another day at least.  So I had to substitute a few ingredients in my breakfast pizza.  Normally I would use salsa as the base, but since I had none and there was no way of me getting to the market.  However, I did have a can of diced tomatoes.  So I substituted that.  It was still good, but salsa is the best.

Breakfast Pizza

The pizza browned nicely and allowed the eggs to finish setting.  The best way to start the morning.

Breakfast Pizza

  • 1 pizza dough – (recipe for Basic Pizza Dough)
  • 3/4 cup salsa – or 3/4 diced tomatoes
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk or cream
  • 1/2 pound bacon – cooked
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese
  • salt and pepper

The first step is to make the pizza dough and let it rise till it doubles.  Here is a simple and easy pizza dough. If you are running short on time, almost all grocery stores have pre-made pizza dough in the deli section and/or freezer section, or you can always stop by a local pizzeria and purchase the pre-made dough.

The Dough

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  If you have a pizza stone have it preheat with the oven.

Crack the eggs into a medium bowl.  Add the cream and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Whisk until light and fluffy.  The more air you get into the eggs now, the lighter the scrambled eggs.

Mix the eggs until light and fluffy

Place a skillet over medium heat.  Once the skillet is preheated, add a dab of butter or vegetable spray and pour in the egg mixture.  Using a spatula form the eggs into a partial scramble.  You do not want to fully cook the eggs, but you don’t want them too runny either.  When the eggs are scrambled but still a little runny remove them from the heat.

Cook until the eggs are still a tad bit runny

Roll out the pizza dough and cover with the salsa.  If you don’t have salsa add 3/4 cup of diced tomatoes seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Next place dollops of scrambled eggs over the entire pizza.

Top with salsa and eggs

Cover the mixture with Parmesan cheese and then top with the bacon broken into bite sized pieces.

Break the bacon into bite sized pieces

Finally top with the cheddar cheese.

Place the pizza in the oven and have it cook for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese and crust are browned.

Breakfast Pizza

Let it cool for 1 minute before slicing.

This was the perfect start to a snowed-in morning.  It helped me get the energy that I needed to shovel my car out.

The Storm

Doesn't look that bad, but the car to the right is camry not a SUV.

With Dana helping it only took 2 hours.  Supposed to get another storm tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

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German Chocolate Cake

Posted by Rex on February 06, 2010 - Print This Post Print This Post
Baking, Cakes, Recipes / No Comments

Last week I wanted something sweet.  After trying to recreate the Pot Belly dream bars, I had a ton of coconut lying around.  The one thing that I always think of when I have coconut is German Chocolate Cake.  It is that chocolate cake that is iced with a creamy coconut frosting.  When I was researching this recipe I found that it is not German at all.  German Chocolate Cake was originally made with a type of Baker’s Chocolate called German’s Sweet Chocolate bar.  German’s Chocolate was a type of chocolate that was made for Baker’s by a man named Sam German.  Yep, the cake is named after a type of chocolate, not a country.  I had no idea.  No matter where it comes from, it is super tasty.

German Chocolate Cake

The three layers of cake with the coconut frosting are amazing!

German Chocolate Cake – (From The Joy of Baking)

  • 4 ounces (120 grams) semi sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2 1/4 cups (270 grams) cake flour
  • 3/4 cup (60 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch processed)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (240 ml) hot coffee or boiling water
  • 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
  • 1 1/4 cups (280 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups (450 grams) granulated white sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Coconut Pecan Frosting

  • 1 1/4 cups (125 grams) pecans (roasted)
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
  • 1 cup (240 ml) evaporated milk (can also use light or heavy cream)
  • 3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sweetened flaked coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

The Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and move the rack to the center of oven. Butter or spray three 8-inch cake pans.  On top of spraying the pans line them with parchment paper.  To see how to line pans with parchment click here.  The parchment will help you remove the cake pans in one piece without break them.

In a double boiler or a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Melt in a double boiler

On a piece of wax paper or parchment, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Sift the ingredients

In a small bowl, combine the hot water/coffee and buttermilk.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter until fluffy (this will take about 2-4 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine.

Add the buttermilk mixture and flour mixtures in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat only until the ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the melted chocolate.

Mix the ingredients

Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans and smooth the tops. If you make a little well in the center of the cakes they will cook flat.  Cakes rise the most in the center so creating a well will allow them to rise totally flat.

Fill the pans evenly

Bake for about 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes. Butter or lightly spray a wire rack with a non stick vegetable spray before inverting the cakes onto the rack to prevent the cakes from sticking. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

Cool the cakes completely

Coconut Pecan Frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Roast the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned with a nutty scent. Remove from oven, let cool, and then coarsely chop.

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, egg yolks, butter, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, and when the mixture begins to boil and thicken, remove from heat. Stir in the chopped pecans, coconut, and vanilla extract.

Pour in the coconut and nuts

Let cool until spreadable.

Let cool completely

Creating the ultimate layer cake

Place a dab of frosting on a serving plate.  This will hold the cake in place so that it does not move around.  Then, place one layer of cake, on your serving plate, and cover with one third of the frosting. Do the same for the second layer.

Cover the first and second layers with frosting.

Then add the third cake layer and frost the top of the cake with the remaining frosting (the sides of the cake are left bare).

Top the final layer with the remaining frosting

The finished cake can be stored at room temperature for a couple of days or it can be refrigerated.

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What to do this Weekend in DC – (Feb 5-7)

Posted by Rex on February 05, 2010 - Print This Post Print This Post
Things to do in DC / 2 Comments

Usually I post about things to do in DC, but this weekend is going to be crazy.  18-24 inches of snow are supposed to fall in the Nations Capital.  To you guys in the Midwest this doesn’t seem like much, but think about it this way.  Last year we got 6 inches of snow.  Further, there are only a handful of snowplows.  So even a couple of inches of snow cause havoc.  That is why there was no bread, milk, meat, eggos and frozen pizza in the grocery store.  It is coming up to the big game weekend and I had to wait 30 minutes at the butcher counter just to get ground beef. Don’t even get me started about the people fighting over the last snow shovel.  It is a mob scene out here.

Looks like Tucker is gonna have another fun weekend!!

So instead of posting what to do in DC, I decided to link to some great recipes that will keep you toasty and warm.

Continue reading…

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Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Posted by Rex on February 04, 2010 - Print This Post Print This Post
Potatoes, Recipes, Vegetables, cheese / 3 Comments

I have said it and I will say it again.  I love potatoes.  They are tasty, filling, and go great with cheese.  A couple of days ago I posted Braised Short Ribs.  They were delicious and created some of the tastiest gravy that I have ever had.  What goes great with gravy?  Potatoes.  What goes great with braised short rib gravy?  Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes.

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

They were creamy and delicious.  They had just enough goat cheese to taste the cheese without overpowering the potatoes.  Amazing!!!

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Lime Pie – The Drink

Posted by Rex on February 03, 2010 - Print This Post Print This Post
Cocktails / No Comments

I was searching through this months Food and Wine and discovered a little drink that looked amazing.  The drink was originally called Ramoncita Lopez Special, the name was too long.  As a bartender, anything with more than two words in the name is overkill.  Further, the drink tastes like a key lime pie.  No shit, it is awesome.  Since I didn’t use key limes, I felt I should not call it key-lime pie.  So I limited it to just Lime Pie.

Lime Pie - The Cocktail

The foam comes from an egg white.  If you are little worried pick up some pasteurized eggs.

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Braised Short Ribs

Posted by Rex on February 02, 2010 - Print This Post Print This Post
Recipes, beef / 1 Comment

Last week it was 65 and this week it was 25 and snowing. Go figure. We got about 5 inches of snow in 8 hours. Not too shabby. Since it was so cold, I wanted a hearty dish. Something that would warm the soul. So I chose to braise some short ribs. Fall off the bone succulent shredded meat. Not only does this dish warm the soul, it provides you with some amazing pan gravy for potatoes. You guys know me, I love potatoes.

Braised Short Rib

The beef was truly fall of the bone amazing!

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No Knead Pizza

Posted by Rex on February 01, 2010 - Print This Post Print This Post
Baking, Bread, No Knead, Pizza, Pizza Dough, Recipes / 1 Comment

Over the last couple of weeks I have started to make No Knead Bread every other day. Why? It is really tasty and takes no effort. Mix, let sit a day and bake. Nothing more, nothing less. Every time that I bite into the amazing crust of this bread, I think, this would be an awesome pizza crust. So, I made a pizza with it. How did it fare? Read on….

No Knead Pizza

The crust browned nicely making a perfect base for the pizza.

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Parmesan Oven Fries

Posted by Rex on January 30, 2010 - Print This Post Print This Post
Cooking, French Fries, Potatoes, Vegetables / 1 Comment

I am a huge fan of potatoes.  Maybe that is the Midwesterner in me.  Maybe it because I love starch.  I really don’t have an answer for it, but I do know that I love potatoes.  So whenever I am looking for a side, I always look to potatoes first.  Searching through the internet I found a great recipe for Parmesan Potato Wedges.

parmesan oven fries

Topped with parmesan and parsley these potatoes are awesome!!

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