Whole Wheat Bagels version 1

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(They tasted better than this photo makes them out to be!)

This recipe is to be made in a KitchenAid type stand mixer...

1.5 Cups AP Flour
2 Packets Active dry yeast (5 tsp of yeast if you buy in bulk)
1.5 Cups Water, at 110 F
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Salt

3 Cups Flour (1 Cup AP, 2 Cups unbleached white Whole Wheat)

1 Gallon Water
1 Tbsp Baking soda


In your mixing bowl add the 1.5 cups flour and yeast. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the 110F water then pour over the flour and yeast. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat for 3 minutes on high speed.
Add the rest of the flour and mix on a medium low speed until incorporated. Let the mixer knead the dough for 4-5 minutes until you get a moderately stiff dough. You might have to add a bit more flour - maybe a few tablespoons. you don't want it to be overly sticky. It will end up being smooth and elastic. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and allow to rest for fifteen minutes.
Cut into twelve portions - try not to totally flatten out the dough too much. Shape into smooth balls. Punch a hole in the middle of each with a floured finger, and pull gently to enlarge hole to about two inches. You really want a big hole in the middle because the hole will become much smaller as the dough proofs. Place on a greased baking sheet; cover; and allow to rise for twenty minutes.


Broil five inches from heat for about 90 seconds on each side.

Bring 1 gallon water and 1 tablespoon baking soda to boiling; then reduce heat. Boil the bagels a few at a time, for 6 minutes, turning once in the middle. Drain and place on greased baking sheet.


Bake at 500F for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 450F and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from pans and move to a wire rack to cool. Eat & Enjoy!
Happy Baking,
~Nikko
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Sorry no video for this one - will do one next time I make them!

Cheese Danish Recipe

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So we were on vacation in Clearwater Florida and went to Lenny's for breakfast one morning. Lenny's is known for their breakfasts and some would say the best breakfast available in Florida (or the world). The best part about the breakfast is that you are treated to a nice basket of homemade pastries when you order your food! OMG they are delicious! One of the pastries in our basket was a cheese danish. I decided it was about time for me to try my hand at making them so I went to Ina Garten (she's my go to when it comes to sweets) and got a recipe. I adapted this version a bit from hers...

8 Oz. Cream cheese, at room temp (that's one large box)
1/3 Cup + 2 Tbsp Sugar
2 Extra-Large Egg Yolks, at room temp
2 Tbsp Ricotta cheese
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp Lemon zest, grated (about 2 lemons) you can use Penzey's lemon zest reconstituted
2 Puff pastry sheets, defrosted
1 Egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Put the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and cream them together gently until smooth. You do not want to do a fast whip on anything here! You can use a mixer to do this or by hand. Once they are creamed nicely, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix just until combined - do not over work the mixture.

Unfold one sheet of the puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10" x 10" square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling into the middle of each square. Brush the border of each square with the egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center - overlap the fold a bit and pinch together well. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash. Repeat this step with the remaining pastry sheets. Place the pastries on a parchment lined sheet pan and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

While the pastry is in the refer, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Banking!

~Nikko

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Video coming soon!

English Muffins The CIA Way

This recipe comes from the acclaimed CIA... It's a pretty easy recipe; one thing to remember - it's a very sticky dough!

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup water, warmed to 110F
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cornmeal, or as needed
Oil or solid vegetable shortening, as needed

Place the yeast and warm water in the bowl of a mixer and stir to completely dissolve. Let the yeast proof until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, butter, sugar, and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix ingredients together on low speed using the dough hook until all ingredients are blended, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix until the dough is smooth, another 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5 hours. Fold the dough gently over on itself in three or four places and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into rounds. Add the cornmeal to a plate. One at a time put the dough rounds into the cornmeal and coat both sides lightly. Place on a sheet pan that has been heavily dusted with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until slightly risen, about 30 minutes.

Preheat a griddle over medium heat and brush lightly with oil or shortening. Cook the English muffins until lightly brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins over and cook until golden brown, another 5 minutes.

Split the English muffins by pulling them apart with a table fork. Toast them just before serving. Serve very hot. Eat & Enjoy!

Cheers,

Nikko

Pancakes

I have two recipes I use for making pancakes. Both have been tried and trued over many years. The one here is the one that produces very good pancakes, and I share with anyone who asks for it - the other however falls into the secret files, and I'm not sharing...

1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Sugar
2 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk
3 Tbsp Butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for cooking
Softened butter, for serving
Warmed Maple syrup, for serving

Sift the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder into a large bowl. Whisk together the milk, egg, and butter in a small bowl. Make a well into the flour and add in the wet mixture. Whisk everything together well, but do not over mix. It shouldn't take you more than 30-40 strokes to bring it all together well. If there are a few lumps - leave them be they will work themselves out. Bring a griddle (or large saute pan) to a medium head and add a spot of butter. Once the butter has melted coat the bottom of the pan. It's always good to start with a test pancake to make sure your temperature is at the right level (this will vary per pan) - the good thing here is if it's good you can eat it, and if not give it to the dog... You can make your pancakes any size you want, but I almost always go with a 1/4 cup of batter. Once you have your batter in the pan just leave it alone until bubbles form on top and a few of them pop. Once they have popped it's time to flip. Carefully flip them over and cook the other side - this will not take as long as the first side. If you need to store them before serving put your oven on it's lowest serving and store them on a hotel pan under a towel until you're ready to serve. Serve with butter, jelly, syrup, etc... Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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I am fluent in French Toast...

My favorite toast comes from France... French toast is such an easy breakfast to put together. Eggs, bread, butter, syrup (if that's your thing), cinnamon, nutmeg and you're ready to go...

4 Eggs, beaten to within an inch of their lives
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp Cinnamon
pinch Nutmeg, fresh ground if you can
4 slices bread - I personally think sour dough is the best here but any will do
butter
syrup

I think the key to really good french toast is breaking down the eggs as much as possible. You really want to whisk them so that they are totally separated. Doing this lets the bread get a nice even coat of the eggs. With that said, add the eggs, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a bowl and beat the heck out of them.

Add the bread and give it a minute on each side to soak up a bit of the eggs (you can do this in batches).

Heat a large saute pan to a medium heat and add a bit of butter and let it melt. Make sure the pan is coated with the butter and add your slices of bread. Cook on each side until you see a bit of color start to form. If you want, and I do, you can sprinkle a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg over the bread while it's in the pan for a bit of extra flavor. If you decide to add a bit more don't go too crazy with the spices. I like to serve my french toast (and pancakes) on a heated plate. I feel it makes everything work better for some reason. So warm up your plates, remove the bread from the pan and top with syrup or butter - or both if that's your thing - Eat & Enjoy...

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

.:.

The South West Breakfast Wrap

What you are about to read about and see could be deemed healthy...

1 Tumaro's Chipotle Chile Tortilla Wrap
.25 Lb Boars Head Cajun Turkey, cubed
5 Egg whites
2 Tbsp hatch chilies
2 Tbsp non-fat sour cream
.25 Cup tomatoes
2 Tbsp chipotle cheddar cheese

Heat the cubed turkey in a skillet over medium heat. Separate the eggs and put the whites in a bowl. Add the hatch chilies and sour cream to the egg whites and beat well. Add the egg mixture to the turkey and cook until the eggs are done to your liking - just remember if the eggs are done in the pan they will be overdone on the plate... Mix in the tomatoes and cheese. Build your wrap - lay down the wrap - add your egg mixture towards the back of the wrap - roll the wrap over the mixture - tuck in the sides and continue rolling. Cut on the bias, plate, eat & enjoy...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko
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Biscuitville - Raleigh, North Carolina

My family has a house up in the Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina area. It's truly beautiful up there in the summer. There are some really good foodie joints in the area and one of my favorite breakfast spots is Biscuitville.


My favorite thing about Biscuitville is that they make a fresh batch of biscuits every 20 minutes! How cool is that? They have a variety of options to go in the biscuit, but they're quite good on their own or with butter or a drizzle of honey. As you can see from the photo on that day I had a smoked sausage one... If you're in the area (or anywhere near one) I would stop by and give them a try...

www.biscuitville.com

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Redneck Eggs Benedict

I love breakfast... Just so many ideas to try...

It was the 5th of July when this creation came to mind. On the 4th of July I normally go over to my buddy Tom's house bright and early and we cook enough BBQ to feed an army. The day starts off with me making enough biscuits and gravy to feed everyone and anyone who cares to have some breakfast - Then it's cases of ribs in the smoker, beer bum chicken on the grill(s), gallons or beans - slaw - tater salad all made from scratch - I'm getting hungry just thinking about it... Anyway, this was the day after and I had brought home a few racks of ribs that were left over. Eggs Benedict sounded really good, but then I saw the bottle of Redneck Pepper sitting there and Redneck Eggs Benedict came to life.

Plain white toast instead of an English muffin or a crumpet
Nice smoked rib meat off the bone instead of Canadian bacon
A fried egg with a dose of Redneck Pepper instead of a gentle poached egg
And last but not least a healthy covering of your favorite hot sauce instead of hollandaise

I had thought about making an extra spicy hollandaise but thought just hot sauce would be more redneck - and I don't think hollandaise would really work here...

4 Slices of white bread, toasted
1-2 Cup(s) warmed rib meat
4 Eggs, fried
Redneck Pepper (www.redneckpepper.com)
Hot sauce

big yum...