Before that you could get chicken or waffles, but they were the first to put them together!

I got to throw a Pajama Brunch Party this past Saturday for a few of my gals. You'll be seeing a few posts pertaining to what I made for the festive occasion.

Initially, I was thinking that we would do a build your own breakfast sandwich buffet sort of thing, with a little joke about making Chicken and Waffles. Turns out, most people were interested in that idea. So I got to work on perfecting my Waffles mix. I landed on this Waffle Recipe and it turned out nice. 

The Best Ever Waffles

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 eggs separated

½ cup butter melted

1 ¾ cup milk

Method

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
Separate the eggs, adding the yolks to the dry ingredient mixture, and placing the whites in a small mixing bowl.
Beat whites until moderately stiff; set aside.
Add milk and melted butter to dry ingredient mixture and blend.
Fold stiff egg whites into mixture.
Ladle mixture into hot waffle iron and bake.

(Not gonna lie, I TOTALLY forgot to whip up the egg whites and I just through the whole egg in at once. still turned out to be a perfect consistency for waffles.)

As I am already very happy with my fried chicken recipe (Thanks Auntie!), I started thinking about different sauces than just Maple syrup. I decided to make Honey Butter sauce to go with the chicken and waffles because I keep dreaming about it. So I attempted to do a copy cat recipe of this yumminess of which I dream regularly and what better way to try it, but on fried chicken and waffles!Not quite thick enough, high on the yum factor.

Honey Butter Sauce

Ingredients

2 ounces butter

4 ounces liquid honey

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

To make sauce: Melt butter or margarine, stir in Honey and whipping cream.

Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir in vanilla and cinnamon

Mix well and enjoy.

I failed to get a good photo of the Honey Butter. Husband actually put it on his toast the following morning  and he loved it that way. 

 A Chicken and Waffle Sandwich with fruit salad a la Kim!

 A Chicken and Waffle Sandwich MONSTER!

Until the next brunch...

**Today's title comes from Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo reading as follows:

T.J. Hicks: Did you know Holland invented chicken and waffles?

Deuce Bigalow: Really?

T.J. Hicks: Before that you could get chicken or waffles, but they were the first to put them together! Black people all over the world will be forever grateful to the Dutch for that.

Deuce Bigalow: You know the Dutch started the slave trade.

T.J. Hicks: THOSE MOTHER F@%&#RS!**

BFMH: Doughnuts

So today I am having a few of my ladies over to a PAJAMA PARTY!! I decided that no pajama party is complete without Mimosas and breakfast junk food. I also wanted to make something for my Husband that he would enjoy. Thus I decided that I wanted to make this recipe.

Here we have a fine example of fruit salad and pajamas good work Kris!

Banana Chocolate-Chip Baked Doughnuts

Ingredients

1 cup Mashed Ripe Banana (Roughly 2 small bananas)

1/2 cup Raw Cane Sugar

1/2 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt (I use 0% Fage)

1/4 cup Unsalted Butter (Melted)

2 Eggs (Room Temperature)

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Topping (Optional)

1/4 cup Raw Cane Sugar

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 325F

Using your electric mixer with the whisk attachment, add the mashed banana, sugar and greek yogurt. Mix until incorporated.

Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla extra and mix.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the batter and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix!

Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the batter into a zip lock bag and seal shut. Using scissors, snip the bottom corner of one side of the ziplock bag to create your homemade piping bag.

Grease your doughnut baking pan and pipe 3/4 full the batter into each doughnut mold.

Optional: Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of each doughnut batter before baking. Or you can dip the doughnuts once baked in the cinnamon sugar mixture. You may need to paint melted butter on top of each doughnut before dipping the doughnuts in the sugar mixture to allow them to stick. Both options work perfectly.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool before eating.

On a silver platter.

I ended up making this the night before hand, simple because I knew how much cooking I would be doing on Saturday. So I baked up the dozen doughnuts this recipe made and they were delicious. I will say that I expect a larger showing of banana flavor in these, but for that reason, I probably liked them more.These were not QUITE as big of a hit as I thought they would be, but they were very well received. Considering the ease of making them as well as the healthy-ness factor, I think they are are win.

Into the molds....

All Puffed up!

Extreme close up!

I laughed and pointed out...

I was feeling a bit home sick while Husband was busy with work. Also, Bro Bro was flying away this day. So I decided that I would make me, and Bro Bro and family, some breakfast casserole. I decided on a favorite from Cracker Barrel.

Copy Cat :Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lbs frozen hash browns
1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (10 1/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 11 x 14 baking dish with cooking spray.
Mix the above ingredients together, place in prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until brown on top.

I didn't make a full order, as usual, but this time because I made this dish out of what I had on hand. Also, I had a half can of Cream of Mushroom soup (from the Blarney Stone Appetizer), so I used that instead of Cream of Chicken.

And even more unfortunate, I didn't get a photo after it was cooked. But as that is the worst thing that has happened as of late, my life is pretty great.

Husband really liked this dish, and I think that it will be made someday in the future for family breakfasts, you know, when we have a family.


Until the next breakfast...

**Today's title comes from Let It Snow by John Green: I laughed and pointed out that "Hash Browns Mean Nothing Without You" was a pretty good name for a band. **

Thirsty Thursdays: Fetzer Sundial Chardonnay Tasting

WINE NAME	Fetzer SUndail		WINE TYPE	Chardonnay
VINTAGE	2012		PRODUCER	Fezter Medoncio
GRAPES	Chardonnay		REGION	Califnornia 13% Alcohol
PURCHASED	Trader Joe’s		PRICE	$5.99
Companions			Food
SIGHT					NOTES	PTS
Clarity	Cloudy (less)	Hazy	Clear	Brilliant (more)		5/5
Depth of Color	Watery/Thin (less)	Pale	Med/Deep	Dark/Rich (more)		4/5
Color	WHITE - Yellow Gold Brown	Green Tinge Pale Yellow	RED - Purple Red/Purple	Red Red-Brown
Viscosity – liquid	Thin	Normal	Heavy	Syrupy		3/5
SMELL
Aroma	Herbal Nutty	Fruit Mineral	Spice Earthy	Floral Icky		4/5
Bouquet	Dumb/Pale/Closed	Simple/Pleasant	Deep/ Dark	Powerful/Dynamic		2/5
Smell Intensity	Light (less)	Mild	Prevalent	Pronounced (more)		3/5
TASTE
Acidity (like a lemon)	Flat No Bite	Fresh Crisp	Tart Tangy	Sour Vinegar		8/10
Sweetness	Dry	Off-Dry	Semi-Sweet	Very Sweet		4/5
TASTE Descriptors Balanced Chewy Concentrated Crispy(good acid) Deep/Complex Delicate Dull Firm (big tannins) Flabby(no acidity) Harsh Hint Intense Intriguing Jammy (fruit,lack of tannins) Piercing Simple Soft Structured	FRUITY Berrylike Blackberry Black Currant Blueberry Raspberry Strawberry Cherry – Black/Red Plum – Prune Gooseberries Citrus Grapefruit Lemon/Lime Stone/Tropical Apple Apricot Mango Melon Peach Pear Pineapple	FLOWERY Violet Rose Orange Blossom Jasmine Lily Geranium Orchid HERBAL Hay Mint Rosemary Thyme SPICY Black Pepper Licorice Cinnamon Clove	NUTTY Almond Coffee Hazelnut Walnut EARTHY Dry leaves Cut grass Moldy Mushroom ICKY Barnyard Dirty Diaper Boiled Egg Gas Alcohol Flinty Vinegar	OTHER Buttery Oaky Mineral Vanilla Cedar Tobacco Chocolate Leather Butterscotch Olive Bitter Hot - alcohol Sour Sharp Sugary Salty Velvety		8/10
Complexity	Simple	Interesting	Exciting	Dynamic		3/5
Balance	Unbalanced	Good	Very Well	Perfect		6/10
Body	Light	Medium	Heavy	Huge		4/5
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Finish	None	Short	Medium	Long (10 secs +)		1/5
Drinkability	Never Again	Maybe	Yes	Can’t wait		8/10
Value	Waste of money	Eh…	Decent	I love a value!		9/10
Overall	Good as a first bottle for guest when hosting. Very enjoyable and drinkable					72 /100

Thus far, this has been the most delicious and drinkable Chardonnay in both Husband and my humble opinions. This one will for sure be gracing our table and lips for date nights in and parties alike. It is definitely the right price for what an great Chardonnay.

I talked to a calzone for fifteen minutes last night...

I have made this a few time now, and I am always ecstatic with how well it turns out! the big trick is to wring the heck out of the cauli snow. I normally do it in small handfuls to ensure a good dry wringing. 

Yummy Cauliflower Pizza!

Ingredients:

1 head (Small Head) Cauliflower

¼ cups Parmesan Cheese

¼ cups Mozzarella Cheese

¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt

½ teaspoons Dried Basil

½ teaspoons Dried Oregano

½ teaspoons Garlic Powder

Red Pepper Flakes (optional) (but do it)

1 Tablespoon Almond Meal (optional) (but do it)

1 whole Egg

Method

Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450ºF. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil.

Wash and thoroughly dry a small head of cauliflower. Don’t get one the size of your head unless you are planning on making 2 pizzas. Cut off the florets—you don’t need much stem, just stick with the florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups cauliflower “snow”. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Cook for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.

Dumped squeezed cauliflower into a bowl. Now add Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, kosher salt, dried basil (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), dried oregano (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), garlic powder (not garlic salt), and a dash of red pepper if you want. I also added 1 tablespoon almond meal because my cauliflower yielded closer to 2 cups of cauli snow; this is optional and I would not add the almond meal if you have closer to 3 cups of cauli snow. Now add the egg and mix away. Hands tend to work best.

Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down throughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don’t make it too thick or thin either.

Using a cutting board, slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8-11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.

Add however much sauce, cheese, and toppings you want. I’m not gonna give you measurements for this. You know how you like your pizza—so go for it! Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.

Test your patience and allow it to cool for a minute or two. Probably closer to two. Then using a pizza cutter and a spatula, serve up your delicious grain-free cauliflower crust pizza!

Crust, having prebaked on the parchment paper, was easily transferred to the pizza stone.

Notice the onions next to the sauce/ under pepperoni (Sub Vegetables instead for Vegetarian version) and cheese. Trust me on this. :)

This is very well liked that both Husband and E went back for seconds. I figure that must be a GREAT SIGN. I will admit that with this batch, I failed to wring out the cauli snow enough. Hence the reason I stressed that you need to focus on that and make it important to you.

Husband and I both agreed that this will be a staple for our home, especially with kids. That is, of course, if they will eat it. I think it is do able. Muuuhahahaha!

Until the next meal...

**Today's title comes from Jarod Kintz: I talked to a calzone for fifteen minutes last night before I realized it was just an introverted pizza. I wish all my acquaintances were so tasty.**