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A croque madame is essentially a French ham and cheese sandwich, but not only a ham and cheese sandwich. See, this sandwich has a coating of bechamel sauce, and topped with an egg. Now how’s that for a nice pick me up brunch item!?

Let’s get started, as staring at the photo only makes me want another one.

(Serves 2)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 6 thin slices of Gruyère cheese
• 8 thin slices of Black Forest Ham
• 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 slices of thick cut French sandwich loaf
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, 1 tbsp butter

Begin by making the bechamel sauce. Get two saucepans, and heat one on a medium low heat, and the other on medium heat. To the pan on medium, low heat, add the milk, and let it get warm. To the other pan, add the two tablespoons of butter, and let it melt down and begin to bubble a bit. Add the flour to the butter, and mix it very well to incorporate the two. Continue whisking for about two minutes, being careful not to let the flour mixture brown. Slowly add in the warm milk, and continue whisking until you everything is nice and smooth. You will whisk this for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add in the salt, nutmeg, and the parmesan cheese. Give a good mix, then remove it from the heat until it is ready to be used.

Next, get a large skillet going on the stove, and bring that to a medium heat. Butter four slices of the bread, and lay them into the skillet, butter side down. The goal here is to get them nice and golden brown, without burning them. As they begin to cook, add a tablespoon of butter to two pieces of the bread. Lay down three slices of Gruyère cheese on top of the mustard, then top each with four slices of the black forest ham. Let them continue cooking on the skillet, lifting to peak every couple of minutes, until the have reached that golden brown color, and have a crunchy exterior.

Now for the assembly.

Get your broiler going on 475 degrees.

Add the slices of toasted bread to a baking sheet. Place the toasted bread on top of the bread with the mustard, cheese, and ham. Now take the bechamel sauce and generously spread it all of the top of each sandwich. Take half a cup of the Gruyère cheese and add that to the top of the bechamel sauce.

Place this under the broiler until the cheese is nice and bubbly and everything is warmed through, roughly 4-6 minutes.

During this time, add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and let it melt on medium-high heat. Crack the eggs, leaving the yolks whole, and continue cooking in the skillet until the whites around the yolk are cooked through, sunny side up style.

Remove the sandwiches from the broiler, and place on a serving plate. Top each sandwich with the egg. Dig in!

What you get in a totally sexy sandwich. You get the perfect sharpness from the cheese and mustard, along with the creaminess of the egg and bechamel sauce, then on top of that, you get the tender ham. Wow. Words sometimes cannot explain, however I am extremely glad that I forgot to eat breakfast this morning! Hope you enjoy.

My wife, on the other hand, would frequent there to buy a bag of pumpkin ‘muffies’ for the kids. That was her treat to them, and did they ever love them. They were called ‘muffies’ because they were only the tops of the muffins. As the restaurant is no longer the Atlanta Bread Company, but a restaurant known as Portabellas, the ‘muffie’ tops no longer exist. With the abundance of pumpkin pie filling around the grocery stores this past Halloween season, I thought I would at least make my attempt on making them a full blow pumpkin muffin, and one that would hopefully bring back their memories of the muffin top. I think I accomplished just that.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 whole eggs, room temperature
• 15 oz canned pumpkin
• 1 1/4 cups of sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Additional sugar for topping
• Muffin pan liners
• Powdered sugar

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

In the meantime, add the canned pumpkin, eggs, oil, sugar, baking soda and salt to a large bowl. Whisk the mixture until it is nice and smooth.

Mix the cinnamon, and about a tablespoon of additional sugar to a small bowl.

To another bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until you have formed a nice, smooth batter.

Line your muffin tray with the muffin tins, and begin to ladle or pour in the muffin mixture, only about 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture on top. Place the muffin pan into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a knife into the middle of a muffin, and if the knife pulls away clean, with no mixture on it, your muffins are done.

Remove the muffin pan from the oven, an remove the muffins from the pan, letting them cool on a rack, or plate for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

To serve, add a muffin to a plate and shower with powdered sugar.

The end result is nothing but an awesome, and quick pumpkin muffin. Watching the kids eat these, I could tell that they had the same excitement as the day my wife would bring home a bag of muffin tops.

Reflecting on why the business is doing so bad now, my recommendation would be to possibly refocus, do some better marketing, and maybe bring back those muffin tops. But, hey, why bother I suppose, when you can get the same experience by making them at home. Hope you enjoy.

It was only a couple of weeks ago, on a usual weekend morning, where I wanted to make something unusual for the egg eaters in the family. As everyone was in their usual lazy morning routine, I was busy cutting round circles into the bread, seeing if anyone was watching. What they did not know is that I was about to rock their world with a simple, and unique breakfast.

Ingredients: (serves 1) [Print this Recipe]

• Sausage patty, cooked
• 1 slice of bread
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• Sriracha Sauce
• Maple Syrup

Begin by heating a skillet on medium heat. Butter both sides of the bread, and cut out the center. Place your bread, and cut out circle onto the skillet, and let it cook for a minute. Place the cooked sausage patty in the hole, add a nice squirt of the Sriracha sauce, then crack the egg on top of the hole. After a minute or so, lift an edge of the bread and once it is nice and golden, gently flip it over and begin cooking the other side. Depending on how you like your egg cooked will determine your cook time after the flip.

When you are ready to plate, remove the egg in the basket onto your plate, and drizzle with a bit more Sriracha sauce, and maple syrup.

The result is nothing but amazing. You get a bit of the spice from the sauce that is balanced out nicely with the sweet syrup. Not only that, but a nice surprise awaits in the middle. A nice sausage patty that is nice and crisp, along with the egg.  A bonus is using the cutout bread and sopping up any left over yolk, sauce, or syrup.  I’m not sure what could beat this breakfast!

My wife and kid loved the egg in the basket as well. I left out the Sriracha on theirs as they cannot handle much of the spice. Hope you enjoy!

I will admit that we are back in the full swing of things. The kids are all back in school and my wife and I are extremely busy trying to get out of the door on time, and with that said, the kids are not always getting a warm breakfast. I will also admit that I think breakfast is a very important meal of the day and can set the right mood in most everyone. Granted, by kids are not without food. They are eating bowls of cereal for the most part, keeping them occupied until lunch. So, it is always a good deal, and I know that my kids get excited when we are able to have breakfast for dinner.

This past week prompted a question I always get from my oldest son when he walks through the door ‘Hey Dad, what’s for dinner?’. Breakfast, I said, and as they all overheard that, you could sense the excitement. What they did not know, is that it was not your standard pancakes and bacon, but instead, a pizza idea I had in mind.

See, pizza is becoming a weekly standard in my house. Batching out the dough is no problem and when you come home from work, everything is pretty much ready. The cool thing about pizza night, is that the dough is your canvas, and you are the artist. Endless thoughts and ideas come into play, and is why I thought I would offer breakfast pizza to my kids.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• Homemade pizza dough, or store bought if you prefer
• 3 breakfast sausages, uncooked, casing removed
• 1 yukon gold potato, thinly sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, smashed
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 large egg
• pinch of salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp light corn meal

Begin by heating a small sauce pan on medium to low heat. Add in the oil and the garlic clove, and let it cook on low for about 20 minutes.

During this time, add the sliced potatoes to a pot of boiling water. Turn off the heat and let the potatoes cook for about 3-5 minutes before removing them with a slotted spoon. Lightly pat dry.

Preheat your oven to 475-500 degrees, with a pizza stone in the oven as well.

Roll out your dough into the size you prefer, and the thickness you prefer. I like thin crust, but that’s me.

If you have a pizza wheel, use it. Lightly dust with the corn meal and add your rolled out pizza dough to the top.

Brush the garlic oil all over the dough. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Top with the thinly sliced potatoes, dollops of the sausage, and add the cheese. Open the oven, and gently slide the pizza onto the stone. The corn meal really helps in this effort.

Slide the stone out a bit, and crack the egg, right in the middle. Slide everything in the oven, close, and cook for about 12-17 minutes, until the cheese is nice and bubbly and the crust is a golden brown.

Once cooked, remove to your pizza pan, slice, and serve.

You should have seen one of my kids expressions. It was priceless. He was so excited, and he never had seen an egg on a pizza before! That bite was all his.  Every bite was delicious as well. Breakfast in a bite. It doesn’t get any better than that. Enjoy!

If you are like me, I often times judge a Mexican restaurant by their table sauce. Whether it be green, or red, or somewhere in between, I am always investigating and dissecting the flavors. Some of my favorite sauce around town has got to be the red sauce from Conejito’s Place, and the green sauce from El Rey. It is that red sauce that I had to master, and I think this is the one, hence why I want to share with all of you.

This one is simply coined my red, and it is one that will knock your socks off in heat and flavor.

Ingredients:

• 4 large roma tomatoes, whole
• 5 serrano chilies, stem removed
• 6 cloves of garlic, whole, skin on
• 1 large onion, halved
• 2 tomatillos, whole
• 2 additional cloves of garlic, raw
• 1 handful of fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup of water

That’s it.

Begin by adding everything but the cilantro, salt, two cloves of garlic, and water to a large cast iron skillet. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, add everything to a large baking sheet.

The goal is to roast all of your ingredients until the skins are charred. The serrano chilies and the garlic will be the quickest to roast, and once blackened, can be removed from the skillet. The garlic can be set aside to cool, while the blackened serrano peppers can go straight into a blender or food processor.

Continue roasting the tomatoes and onions until they get that great char.

Once everything has charred, add everything into the blender or food processor. If you are using a blender, remember you are dealing with hot stuff here and you will want to place the cover on the blender, and a towel, along with your pressure on the top of the cover so it will not explode.

Your blender should now include everything, including the water, cilantro, salt, vinegar, and two cloves of raw garlic.

Pulse about 7-10 times or until your desired consistency.

Pour the salsa into a storage container and let it come to room temperature before serving.

Serve with anything and everything. Something about the heat and garlic really make this salsa stand out from the rest. Hope you enjoy.

Shrimp and grits is considered “lowcountry” cooking, which is typically associated with South Carolina and the bordering states. Maybe that is why I have shrimp and grits on my mind, because we have been thinking about South Carolina for a few months now. That had to be it! Actually not, shrimp and grits has been rooted and well before the recent thoughts of South Carolina.

Grits is something that I have plenty of in my cabinet, however, I never really make them on a regular basis. So as my wife and sister-n-law went out shopping for the afternoon, I thought I would prepare a nice meal for everyone before they took off on the road and before we started the work week. You can tell why folks from the South love this dish. It is not only simple, and hearty, but it has some really great flavor. This dish would be great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It was also one of those dishes where everyone, and I mean everyone, went back for seconds.

Lets get started.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 ribs of celery, diced
• 1/4 cup of shallots, diced
• 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 cup of stone-ground yellow grits
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 4 tbsp additional butter
• 1 lb of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 30 shrimp)
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 3 tbsp chipotle adobo sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Simple ingredients which pack some really great flavors and texture, plus it is really quick to make. With that said…

Begin my melting the butter and olive oil in a sauce pan.  Once melted, add in the garlic, shallot, and thyme. Let this cook until the garlic become fragrant, then toss in the water, broth, and cream. Stir well, and bring up to a low boil on medium-high heat.

Get a whisk and slowly begin adding in the grits, stirring the entire time. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to stir, cooking for about 10-15 minutes, then add in your parmesan cheese. Reduce the heat to low. Stir on occasion as you make your shrimp and sauce.

To a large skillet, add two more tablespoons of butter and let that melt on medium-high heat. Toss in your bell peppers, and celery and give that a toss, or stir. Cook for a few minutes then toss in the shrimp. Cook the shrimp until just about opaque, then remove from the skillet and set aside. Bring up the heat just a bit and toss in your white wine. Cook for about 5-8 minutes or until the wine reduces. Next toss in the tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, and some salt and pepper. Give a good stir. Add in the remaining two tablespoons of butter, put the shrimp back in, and give a good stir.

Now you are ready to plate.

Give the grits another stir. Ladle in some of the grits into a serving bowl, then take the wine and tomato sauce mixture and add that to the top of the grits. Place a few shrimp in the bowl, then drizzle some of the chipotle adobo sauce around the perimeter of the grits.

Ok, so here is the deal. When everyone is around their bowl of shrimp and grits, you literally get those sound effects you are looking for when guests eat. There were the “oh”, “oh my”, “ummmmmmm”, and the occasional “wow”.

Creamy and cheesy grits that balanced out the perfect heat of the chipotle adobo sauce, and the texture of the celery and shrimp, along with the flavor of the wine sauce really made this lowcountry cuisine shine. Hope you enjoy.

But what is also ridiculous is the grab and go items that you see marked up. It kills me to see prepackaged things like nuts, grapes, or even chopped celery and carrots for crying loud. At first, I thought, what a great idea, chopped vegetables, but then when I flipped the container over to take a look at the price, it was close to five dollars for the price of one cup of chopped celery and carrots! The price for a bag of carrots was close to one dollar and celery, just over a dollar. This goes the same for other items too, one of them being trail mix.

Trail mix is the quintessential snack and contains not only great ingredients, but also loaded with excellent carbohydrates giving you the boost you need any time of the day. When I saw the trail mix at the store and noticed the price to be just under seven dollars for about 2-3 cups of mixture only containing peanuts, M & M’s, and some granola, I was blown away. I knew that I could purchase my own ingredients, making 3 times the amount for about the same cost. Not only that, but I could make it the way I wanted it.

Simple ingredients yielding a great snack, saving you lots of money… who could go wrong?

Ingredients: (1/2 cup per each)

• Plain M & Ms
• Dried Cherries
• Pretzels, broken
• Salted Peanuts
• Cashew Halves
• Whole Grain Cereal (I used Cranberry Almond Crunch which contains dried cranberries, granola clusters, and almonds)

That is as simple as it gets. This makes a bunch of trail mix so you can save some for home, take some to work, and store some in the car. The kids love it, and the adults love it to. Each bite is filled with a great balance of texture and a sweet and salty flavor that is just spot on.

The great thing about trail mix is that you can make it your own. You can add seeds, toasted coconut, and even candied ginger if you want. The ideas are endless, but the flavor and cost is something to be desired. Enjoy.

But let’s face it, we were on our own in the morning, and whether we wanted three bowls of fruity pebbles, or something warm on the stove, we were responsible for that. I am not sure what age it was before I got tired of eating cold cereal and really wanted a warm breakfast before heading out in the cold, but I turned to making things like eggs, bacon, and toast quite often. I would watch my dad make his breakfast on the weekends, and figured I could do the same. Eggs, as simple as they look to make, can be tricky to make especially if you are wanting them sunny side up, or over easy, or heck for that matter, scrambled.

It was not too long ago when I wanted to kick up the standard plain omelette, and give it a boost in flavor. That is when I thought of the Thai omelette, otherwise known as Kai Jeow. A Thai omelette is simple to make, but the importance in flavor here is the use of fish sauce, along with a bit of soy sauce. If you have never had a Thai omelette, well, now is your chance. This is comfort food through, and through.

Ingredients:

• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• dash of soy sauce
• Chives, diced (optional)
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• Canola oil, enough to generously cover the bottom of your skillet
• Cooked rice, optional

Begin by adding the fish sauce and the soy sauce to the eggs. Beat them until they become foamy. Set aside.

Get a skillet onto the stove, add the oil, enough to shallow fry, and bring it up to a medium high heat. You will want the oil to begin to smoke a bit before adding the eggs.

Once the oil is heated, add the eggs. You will notice that they will begin to puff up a bit. This is normal. Continue cooking for about a minute or two. With a slotted spoon, lift the egg up. you should have a golden brown on the bottom side. Once golden in color, carefully turn over, cooking the other side. Once this side is cooked, remove the omelette with the slotted spoon, removing as much of the oil as possible.

To serve, fold the omelette over like a satchel, sprinkle with the chives, and most importantly, serve with the spicy Sriracha sauce. The great thing about this omelette is not only the flavor and texture, but it is a dish that you can serve with practically anything. You can even stuff it with ground meat such as pork or beef. Me? I like it served plain, dipping every bite into the Sriracha sauce. The subtle flavor of fish sauce, and the balance of spice really make this one a must make, any time of the day. Enjoy.

So this past Christmas, as the kids were opening gifts, family members slid over a box to me. I gave them the “look”, and with curiosity, began opening the gift. I saw the picture of the blade on the box, and tore into it like I was five again. It was a deli slicer!

My first instinct was what was I going to slice? What was I going to cook? Was my next trip to the deli to ask for the whole roast beef or ham, and take that home to slice? I had no idea, but then it dawned to me, why not make sliced ham, and make what is a traditional Sunday fare in Milwaukee, hot ham and rolls.

So as my wife was out and about shopping one morning and my kids were quietly tucked away in their bedrooms playing video games, I was in the kitchen hugging my deli slicer. Just kidding, I was not hugging it, but I was admiring this beautiful piece of machinery. My very own slicer!

After cleaning the slicer, and reading the instructions, I brought out some ham from the refrigerator, set the slicer on the thinnest setting and began to glide back and forth on the rotating blade. I lifted a piece of ham off of the tray, and actually giggled as it was so thin, and something to be so proud of in my very own kitchen. I continued to slice and slice and slice. My own deli, right at home.

Wisconsin hot ham and rolls is something bizarre, and if you have never been to Milwaukee, it is a must on a Sunday morning. I kid you not, people line up in the deli after church, and order hot ham, then head over and pick up their rolls, go home, and enjoy their hot ham and rolls. I remember them clearly as a kid, but never questioned the idea of why we were having hot ham and rolls for brunch on a Sunday morning. I am also not kidding when you can drive around town and see hot ham and rolls signs outside a gas station. Hot ham and rolls in Milwaukee is just that popular.

There is nothing to it however. It is what it is. Hot ham and rolls. Now with my slicer, I do not have to sit in a line at the deli, waiting on mediocre ham. I can have my own ham, cook it the way I want it and slice it paper thin. Hot ham and rolls any day of the week!

Ingredients:

• Ham, sliced paper thin
• Soft rolls, sliced
• 1/4 cup of water

Begin my heating up a small skillet on medium heat. Add in the water and ham, cover, and let steam for a minute or two. Remove and place on your roll. Yes, that is it folks. Hot ham and rolls. It doesn’t get any easier than that. Enjoy.

One of the easiest things to possibly make, and one that is interesting to serve for any meal of the day, could possibly be the popover. If you have never had a popover, just imagine biting into a muffin looking piece of bakery, that when bitten into, yields hollow deliciousness. It might be difficult to explain, but the popover is not only fun to eat, but it is incredibly simple to make.

As noted above, I wanted to enjoy a great meal, and for my dinner, I decided to go all out and make prime rib with popovers. There is something traditional about that combination, and I have to say, I am so glad that I made these popovers. This recipe will make approximately eighteen popovers, so cut in half should you not need that many.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups of 2% milk
• 2 tsp table salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp butter

That’s it. That is all you need to make something so amazingly good. Add everything but the flour and additional butter to a large mixing bowl, and do just that, mix until the eggs are nicely beaten. Gradually add in the flour and keep mixing until you have a nice, smooth batter.

Set the mixing bowl aside, and let the batter rest for about ten minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. During this time, take the additional butter and grease your muffin tins, making sure you get the butter in and around each muffin tin. Ladle in the batter, about  1/2 or 3/4 up in each muffin tin.

Place the tins in the oven and bake approximately 30-35 minutes or until you they a golden brown. You will notice when taking them out of the oven that they rise above the tin, giving them the name they deserve, the popover.

To plate, I decided to lightly brush clarified garlic butter of the top of each one, giving them an additional kick to something that was already so delicious. Enjoy, and happy holidays!