Blindfolded Eggs over Cheesy Garlic Grits

I’m not going to talk about Wisconsin’s loss to Cornell in the NCAA Men’s Tournament today, only because it fills me with a canyon of despair that makes the Mariana Trench look like a pothole and makes teenagers in the midst of a hormone spurt during Prom (or, the cast of Jersey Shore), seem like calm, rational human beings. So here is the situation, friends.

Change up your Sunday brunch with this tasty and filling dish.

Instead, I will write about breakfast, because breakfast is the greatest of the meals, which includes tea, snack time, and Taco Bell’s so-called “fourth meal.”

I eat eggs like a mad(w0)man, and I generally don’t tire of it, but sometimes I want to mix it up when scrambled eggs or fried eggs or omelets don’t inspire me.  I could eat a croissant or cereal, yes, or maybe a bowl of fresh fruit, but when it’s Sunday…I want eggs! And this morning I found inspiration. Leafing through my latest issue of Cooking Light I saw a recipe for “Blindfolded Eggs over Cheese Grits,” and I knew that was what I was going to eat for breakfast…at 1pm.

What are blindfolded eggs, though? I didn’t know myself, but according to the article, they are eggs that are half-fried and half-poached.

So this recipe is inspired by, but not the Cooking Light recipe, because friends, it has a good deal of cheese and a slice of bacon per serving. As it should be (so long as you eat everything in moderation, of course).

Fruit Kuchen

When I was growing up, my mom would make Fruit Kuchen for brunches and special Sundays. It is beautiful and tasty, and makes it look like you put way more effort into it than it actually required. This time, I didn’t have blueberries, so I used pears instead. It was still pretty yummy, but blueberries really make this shine.

Fruit Kuchen
¼ lb. butter
¼ tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar (or less if the fruit is sweet – I always use less)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
peach halves and blueberries (frozen works great!)Topping

Topping
1 cup sour cream + 3 tbsp sugar
2 egg yolks

Banana Crumble Muffins

These are some seriously moist, yummy muffins with a fun crunchy top! Rice, her partner, my partner, a coworker and my boss agree. I was going to take more than 2 small ones to work, but I ate them. So there!

I got the recipe from the My Baking Addiction blog post called My Favorite Banana Crumb Muffins. I can see why they’re her favorite. I made a few alterations (my recipe changes are below). If you’re interested in her adapted recipe (adapted from allrecipes) please see her post. I wish I had added nuts, 1/2 – 3/4 cups toasted walnuts would have done nicely.

Banana Crumb Muffins

Muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Crumb Topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 T all-purpose flour
slightly less than 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 T butter

Get ready for some muffins!

Biscuits and Gravy

While Matzo gets ready to write her introductory post, I thought I’d go ahead and start with an actual food post.

Breakfast seemed like the most natural place to start.

I was not introduced to the wonder that is biscuits and gravy until I found myself in graduate school in Arizona. I was a two-egg-bacon-toast-and-hashbrown kind of girl (with flirtations with eggs Benedict) until the day my friend from Florida ordered biscuits and gravy when we went out for breakfast at a local greasy spoon.

My, my what a marvelous and simple dish. My arteries squeed with joy. There was one place down the street from my apartment that served biscuits and gravy on top of hashbrowns and the biscuits and gravy itself was then topped with a rasher upon rasher of crispy bacon.

Since then I’ve moved out East, but biscuits and gravy followed me here. The recipe is simple enough, and life is made easier for me when I don’t have to make the biscuits from scratch. I like Pillsbury biscuits myself but not the ones with layers–the ones that more resemble homemade biscuits. Of course, you can make your own biscuits, in which case, I salute you.

The added bonus is the recipe is pretty easy and relatively inexpensive (just like I like it!)