2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 ounces medium mushrooms, sliced (optional)
6 green onions, including some tender green tops, sliced
6 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Dash of ground nutmeg
1/2 package (5 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3/4 sliced ham, chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Chopped parsley for topping

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, combine oil, mushrooms (if desired), and green onions and cook until vegetables are tender, 6 to 7 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, water, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg. Pour over meat and vegetable mixture in skillet. Let set for 20 seconds.
3. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Fold in spinach and ham and stir until eggs are cooked, about 5 minutes longer. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and parsley and serve immediately.

I am going to go easy on you and me this week and just ask you to list 5 recipes that you want to master!  have fun!

4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
3 cups vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups raspberry preserves

1. preheat the oven to 350. spray a rimmed 11 by 17 inch baking sheet with nonstick spray
2. combine the coconut, flour, sugar, shortening, walnuts and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. mix on medium speed for 4 minutes, or until fluffy
3. spread half of the dough mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet, using a spatula
4. spread the preserves evenly over the mixture and then cover with the remaining dough mix
5. transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the dough resembles a soft-baked cookie
6. remove from the oven and let cool, the dough will firm up when completely cooled
7. cut into squares slightly larger than 2 inches

this is another one of those super easy, but very yummy breakfast casseroles!

8 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-n-half
1/3 cup maple syrup
10 to 12 slices soft bread, 1 inch thick

for topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups chopped pecans

1. generously butter a 13-by- 9 in casserole dish
2. mix together the eggs, half-n-half, maple syrup, and sugar in a large bowl. place the bread slices in the prepared casserole dish and cover with the egg mixture. cover and let soak overnight in the refrigerator
3. preheat the oven to 350. remove the casserole from the refrigerator
4. make the topping: melt the butter in a saucepan. add the sugar and maple syrup and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. stir in the pecans. pour the mixture over the bread and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving

so, we took another girls day trip today to calvert and had brunch at cocoamoda and it was great, if you want to live vicariously though us, here you go:


dee got the best dish in my view, with the croque-monsieur - classic french toasted gruyere cheese and ham sandwich with sauce mornay and garnish of fresh fruit


simone got the omelette aux herb - omelette with cheddar cheese, sauteed onion, potato, and a medley of herbs


I got the blackberry crepes and they were amazing


alicia got the praline crepes and said they were just as incredible as she thought they would be


sarah-jane went for the saumon fume - smoked salmon with chopped onion, capers, cream cheese, fresh lemon,and toasted brioche and it looked delicious and interesting


and of course, we had truffles!

so, in my new cake love cookbook, there is a recipe for triple lime-chocolate crunchy feet that looked really good, so I decided to try them last night. of course, I made my own "tweaks" to the recipe, and they came out really good, if I do say so myself!


crust ingredients
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt

dry ingredients
2 cups cake flour (all-purpose flour will also work)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup white chocolate or vanilla chips (I used milk chocolate, but I think the white chocolate or vanilla would be better)

liquid ingredients
2 limes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons tequila (tequila with lime if you have it)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

creaming ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
2 tablespoons lime zest
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks

26 small brioche pans

to prepare the brioche pans

1. in a small bowl, mix together the turbinado sugar and the kosher salt for the crust
2. place the brioche pans on sheet pans and spray them liberally with a cooking spray. sprinkle a pinch of the crust mixture into each brioche pan.

prepare the dry ingredients

1. sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking soda together into a medium bowl
2. add the salt and chips to the bowl and use a fork to gently combine

preheat the oven to 350 and set the racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions

prepare the liquid ingredients

1. zest the lime and set aside for use with the creaming ingredients
2. juice the limes into a medium bowl and add the remaining liquid ingredients, whisking to combine

prepare the creaming ingredients

1. mince the lime zest
2. crack the eggs and the egg yolks into two separate bowls and set aside cream together the butter and the cream cheese in a large mixer bowl with the paddle attachment
   
3. add the sugars and the lime zests beating on the lowest speed until well combined, 3 to 4 minutes
4. with the mixer still on low speed, add the eggs one at a time followed by the egg yolks, fully incorporating after each addition
5. add the dry ingredient mixture alternately with the liquid mixture in 3 to 5 additions each, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. (move swiftly through this step to avoid over working the batter; don't wait for the dry or liquid mixtures to be fully incorporated before adding the next)
6. stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl; stirring to combine any clumps of ingredients at the bottom of the bowl. mix on medium speed an additional 20 to 5 seconds to develop the batter's structure

1. pour the batter into the prepared pans so that they are three-quarter's full.
2. bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops of the cakes don't jiggle in the center and they are blonde across the top and browned around the edges. a cake tester should show just a touch of crumbs when they are done baking remove from oven and place brioche pans inverted on a cooling rack
3. after the cakes have cooled for 3 to 4 minutes on the cooling rack, remove them from the brioche pans (you make have to tap each pan firmly to release the cake)
4. return the cakes to the cooling rack to cool completely before enjoying or storing up to one week covered at room temperature