Recently, I was digging through old posts when it occurred to me that I used to do a lot more baking. I can’t put my finger on why I stopped baking so much. Maybe it’s because the kids got a little older. Maybe it’s because I need to devote more time to work. Maybe it’s because I thought the baked goods were hurting my waistline. Really, it could be any of these things. But realizing that I am baking less was a little sad for me. I love having homemade treats for the kids when they get home from school.

So yesterday, with a mere 40 minutes before school pick up time, I tossed together these easy, fast cookie bars. They came out of the oven just in time for me to run to school — good timing, right?

These cookie bars are soft, chewy and so buttery. The ribbon of sweet chocolate runs through them, giving every bite a satisfying richness. Really, every bite is just bursting with smooth chocolate. How can you go wrong with semi-sweet, white and dark chocolate all mixed together? You just can’t.

And the leftovers? Perfect for an easy lunchbox treat today. Hope Will loved it.

Do you bake often?

Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars
yields 12 bars

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3 oz dark chocolate bar, broken into pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until it’s uniformly brown and grainy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well on medium speed to combine (about 1 minute).

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the stand mixer running on low, add a little at a time to the butter mixture until just incorporated. Add all the chocolate and mix briefly to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread out into one even layer as best you can — don’t worry if it doesn’t quite reach end to end though. The batter will spread while cooking.

Bake for 23-27 minutes, until golden. Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into 12 bars. Enjoy!

A few weeks ago, I bought some brown basmati rice for a night when my husband was working. Though we’ve never really loved any brown rice in the past, this time the kids and I enjoyed the nutty grain. But when it came time to make rice a few days later for the whole family, I pulled out white rice thinking my husband would never want to eat brown rice. So, you’ll imagine my surprise when he made some last week for dinner — without any prompting. Turns out, he was ready to give it another go. And he liked it too.

Well, I guess this makes us brown rice fans. Who would have thought it?

Anyway, when I went to whip up this spicy lunch for myself, I went right for the brown rice … it was perfect for it.

This dish is adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe. Recently, I was asked to join The Food Matters Project — a group of bloggers cooking our way through Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cookbook. If you aren’t familiar with the cookbook (or the book Food Matters), the basic premise is that you should eat like your ancestors would have in the early 20th century. It’s not unlike the lessons I recently learned reading Why Women Need Fat. So, when asked to join in, I said yes right away. I could definitely use the lessons from this book to cook better food for my family.

And me too. Because sometimes recipes aren’t for everyone. This one? Totally not for my kids. And that’s okay.

This week’s recipe for the group was Chipotle-Glazed Squash Skewers. The recipe sounded amazing as is, and I am sure it would make a killer appetizer or side dish. But when I read the combination of flavors, it made me think of lunch. When the kids are in school and I am working, I love having something easy and not-kid-friendly to eat … this was totally that. So I scrapped the skewers, added sweet potatoes and more honey and served this over brown rice and raw kale. Hello.

It’s been a while since I last cooked with smoky, spicy chipotle peppers, powerful little peppers that add a punch to dishes. In this recipe, the chipotles, combined with honey and garlic, turn the sugary butternut squash and sweet potatoes into creamy sweet heat missiles. The nutty brown rice and earthy, firm raw kale make it a total party of textures and flavors.

And yes, I made this one pretty spicy. I love fiery flavors, and love it even more when it’s a sweet fire. Unfortunately, my kids and husband aren’t fans of the heat that chipotle peppers add so this dish really is perfect for my lunch — solo. Oh well, more for me. That’s why it’s perfect for me to enjoy alone for lunch …

You can check out the original recipe at 20something Cupcakes and be sure to check out the Food Matters Project to see how other bloggers interpreted this dish.

Spicy Honey Chipotle Squash and Sweet Potatoes over Brown Rice
serves 4
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Chipotle-Glazed Squash Skewers

 1 1/4 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 – 1 lb sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 chipotle chilis, finely chopped
2 tbsp adobo sauce (from the chilis)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp honey
salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup bite size pieces of raw kale

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with non stick aluminum foil.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the butternut squash and sweet potatoes.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, chipotle chilis, adobo sauce, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. Pour over the butternut squash and sweet potatoes and toss well to combine. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, stirring 2-3 times, until tender.

Arrange one cup of brown rice on each of four plates. Top with 1/4 cup kale each and 1/4 of the glazed squash and sweet potatoes. Enjoy!

Last year, a restaurant dedicated solely to macaroni and cheese opened nearby. Shawn and I had heard about it months in advance and were so excited to try it. Once it opened, we were almost instantly there with the kids. The premise is genius — take a classic comfort food and make it a bunch of different ways. Serve it in skillets. The restaurant has really taken off and is even expanding into a larger space.

Pretty awesome, right?

Well, eating there has made me rethink mac and cheese. I’ve always been of the creamy cheddar mac and cheese persuasion. But it can be so much more — you can change up the cheeses, do more than one, add toppings, mix-ins and drizzles. And you can bake it (or not). There is so much room for adaptation with basic macaroni and cheese.

This one? I was mulling over it after having a pulled pork macaroni and cheese at that mac and cheese place. So when the Wisconsin Cheese Board contacted me about participating in their annual 30 Days 30 Ways with Macaroni and Cheese, I immediately sent this idea over. They loved it as much as I did. Head over there to read my blog post on my mac and cheese philosophy.

Then come back, so you can read a little more about this plate of heaven. It’s okay … I’ll wait.

Now, about this recipe … It’s like a BBQ joint on high.

The silky cheese sauce is laced with a familiar smokiness usually reserved for fall-off-the-bone-tender treats from the smoker. You can thank the Apple Smoked Wisconsin Cheddar and the smoky brisket on top (I used leftover Smoky Slow Cooker Beef Brisket). But it doesn’t stop there … it’s drizzled with sweet honey barbecue sauce and sprinkled with sharp Wisconsin blue cheese.

When you dig in with your fork, you have to stab a bit of the creamy macaroni and a piece of the brisket — preferably one that is laced with barbecue and blue cheese. It’s a total explosion of flavor … kind of like when they shoot off all the confetti at the end of the Super Bowl. (Psst – This would be perfect to make for Super Bowl Sunday.) If you like mac and cheese and brisket, you will adore this. Swear.

Be sure to check out all the mac and cheese posts at 30 Days 30 Ways with Macaroni and Cheese. Heaven!

Smoked Cheddar and Blue Cheese Brisket Macaroni and Cheese
serves 8

1 lb macaroni
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon ground mustard
8 oz freshly grated Wisconsin Apple Smoked Cheddar Cheese
kosher salt, to taste
2 cups leftover beef brisket
¼ cup honey barbecue sauce
4 oz crumbled Wisconsin blue cheese

Cook the macaroni according to package directions.

While the macaroni is cooking, heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Whisk in the flour and cook until the mixture is smooth and liquid-y. Whisk in the milk and ground mustard. Cook, whisking occasionally, until  well combined and hot.

Whisk in the Apple Smoked Cheddar Cheese until smooth (if necessary, raise the heat on the burner a little to aid the cheese in melting). Taste and season as needed with salt.

Combine the cooked macaroni and the cheese sauce and pour into an ungreased 9×13-inch glass baking pan. Smooth into one layer.

Spread the brisket over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Drizzle with barbecue sauce and sprinkle all over with blue cheese.

Set the broiler to high. Slide the macaroni and cheese into the oven placing it about four-inches from the element. Broil for 5-10 minutes until hot and bubbly. The blue cheese should start to lightly brown in places.

Serve immediately.

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Disclosure: I was compensated for the ingredients that went into developing this recipe. All opinions are my own.

I’m mildly obsessed with superfruits, which are basically the health super heroes of the fruit world. They provide so many valuable nutrients like antioxidants and just taste so good too. Really, I can’t get enough of pomegranates, adore blueberries and crave cranberries (which are huge here in New England). Recently, I got to try another superfruit — tart cherries.

Are you familiar with tart cherries? I wasn’t until a big ol’ package of them arrived in my mailbox recently courtesy of the Cherry Marketing Institute and Kitchen PLAY. But after one sweet-and-sour taste I realized two things: I’ve had them before, and the tangy flavor is slightly addictive. They are available all year in frozen, dried  or juice form. The dried are my fave and make a great addition to salads, cookies and trail mixes. But the frozen ones are delicious too and they can be used in sweet or savory dishes.

So, what about these healthy attributes to the tart cherry? According to the Cherry Marketing Institute, more than 50 studies on tart cherries linked it to anti-inflammatory benefits, arthritis pain reduction and heart health benefits. It might even be helpful for post-workout recovery.

Honey-Tart Cherry Glazed Salmon with Rustic Tart Cherry Salsa is a great way to get some tart cherries into your diet (Psst! February is National Cherry Month). For this recipe, I used frozen tart cherries to make a slightly spicy and very zesty salsa that goes so well with the sweet Honey-Tart Cherry Glazed Salmon. The contrast of zesty spiciness and sweetness is irresistible. It’s the kind of thing that could lead to licking the plate clean … if no one is looking, of course.

Also, this is a recipe easy enough to make for a quick lunch or dinner. It’s ready in about 30 minutes, total … though you could also make it low-effort when you are in a pinch by making the salsa ahead of time. Save leftover salsa for dipping tortilla chips in or enjoying over tacos.

Have you had tart cherries before? Do you like them?

Honey-Tart Cherry Glazed Salmon with Rustic Tart Cherry Salsa
serves 4

Salsa:

1 cup chopped tart cherries (thawed from frozen)
1 small red onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 tbsp honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
salt and pepper, to taste

Salmon:

1 lb salmon fillet, cut into four pieces
1/4 cup tart cherry juice (I used juice from the frozen cherries)
1/4 cup honey

In a medium bowl, stir together the ingredients for the salsa until well combined. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil or parchment (foil preferred). Rinse the salmon fillets under cool water and pat dry with a paper towel. Arrange on the baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cherry juice and honey. Spread half of the mixture over the salmon fillets, reserving the second half.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes until just about cooked through. Drizzle the second half of the tart cherry-honey mixture over the fillets and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes until slightly golden at the edges.

Serve the salmon fillets on a bed of greens with the tart cherry salsa on top. Enjoy!

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the Cherry Marketing Institute and Kitchen PLAY. I am being compensated for developing this recipe and also for writing this blog post. All opinions expressed are my own.

Also, there is a special giveaway going on at Kitchen PLAY right now. Here are the details:

The Cherry Marketing Institute is also sponsoring a delicious giveaway at Kitchen PLAY. Simply recreate one or more recipes from this month’s Progressive Party, post about the experience on your blog and provide a link to your post on Kitchen PLAY to enter.  All qualifying bloggers in each course will be entered to win the following prize pack shipped directly to each winner (valued at $100).

- A recipe rock- Sur La Table red measuring cup set- Sur La Table red mixing bowls, set of three- Yaritza apron- 1 lb bag of dried tart cherries
- 1 bottle of tart cherry juice
- branded cherries toteNo purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited. Open to US residents only. The deadline is February 29, 2012. Please review the complete contest rules before entering. Good luck!

This might just be my favorite scone recipe ever. It’s everything a good scone should be — subtle, but flavorful. Perfect with coffee or tea. And totally memorable.

Scones unfairly get a bad rap, I think. It’s usually with folks who’ve only had the dry, rock-like version that some stores sell. And really, if that’s the only way you’ve had them, it’s not surprising if you groan and turn away when you see someone writing about them. Those scones are an acquired taste, for sure. But I urge you: give homemade scones a chance.

Homemade scones are different. They have a crusty outside, yes, but that gives way to a soft, tender interior. Scones are definitely best the day they’re made, warm from the oven. But they are good the next day too — especially if you warm them up briefly before serving. But you should know that scones won’t last more than two days (they lose that softness after that) … but then again, scones rarely last more than two days in my house anyway.

When Shawn asked me to make some scones this weekend, I decided to just work with what we had in the fridge — and this recipe was born using flavors we love with a tried and true process. This is a mash-up of my family’s favorite pancake recipe for Blueberry White Chocolate Buttermilk Pancakes and a killer recipe for Raspberry White Chocolate Scones that’s another favorite. Tangy buttermilk, sweet white chocolate chips and some delicious tart wild blueberries are like breakfast-craft for me. So good.

These scones are buttery with a nice coarse sugar sprinkled top … You’ll love them. I swear.

I heated up a couple of these for the kids this morning and Will was so excited that the flavors were like his favorite pancake. He’s declared this his new favorite scone. Sweet.

Blueberry White Chocolate Buttermilk Scones
yields 8 scones
adapted from Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, plus 1 tbsp reserved
2 large eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
coarse sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then set side.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt (a wire whisk is great for this). Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the 1/4 cup of cold butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs. Fold in the white chocolate chips and blueberries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk until well-combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir gently from the inside  out until the dry ingredients are all moistened. The dough will be crumbly.

Turn out the dough onto a floured board and with floured hands, pat into a 3/4-inch thick circle. Using a pizza wheel, cut into eight triangles. Carefully move from the cutting board to the prepared baking sheet. I use an offset spatula, which is perfect for it.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush the tops of the scones with it. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until cooked through and just starting to turn golden at the peaks.

Enjoy hot from the oven or let cool and store in an airtight container at room temperate for up to two days.

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More from Sarah W. Caron of Sarah’s Cucina Bella

• Snapshot: Sarah Caron in the Newtown Bee (a profile by our local weekly newspaper)
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This morning felt like a baking kind of morning. I have a dozen recipes bookmarked to make from various cookbooks, but when I saw one for Oatmeal Macaroons in the 1936 tome The New England Cookbook, I was intrigued. These little babies are free of flour and butter and just sounded so interesting. Together with Paige, I whipped up a batch this morning.

Did I mention that they were super easy? We mixed up the cookie dough and had them baking in about 10 minutes. So simple.

These aren’t like your standard macaroons, which are little mounds of coconut heaven. No, these fall somewhere between that macaroon you’re familiar with and the French macaron, which is a billowy meringue cookie. It has the macaron’s light, airy and sweetness and a lightened version of the macaroon’s texture. They are great alone as a little sweet treat or spread with a little jam. They’re also perfect for a little afterschool treat.

Don’t forget the milk.

Oatmeal Coconut Macaroons
yields 24 cookies
recipe from The New England Cookbook, 1936

1 large egg white
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup shredded coconut (sweetened)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg white and salt. With the whisk attachment, beat until stiff peaks form. With the mixer running on medium speed add the sugar a little at a time until fully incorporated. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer.

Fold in the oats, coconut and vanilla extract. Drop by the teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between lumps.

Bake for 11-13 minutes until slightly golden. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.

This dish is uncomplicated. It’s simple — just a few basic ingredients prepared without fuss. It’s a dish that proves that good food doesn’t require a lot of steps, ingredients or time.

Really, it doesn’t. Food can be amazing just by preparing it in a different way than you are used to. Tired of boiled? Try steamed. Tired of raw? Try sauteed. Or roast! Roasting is a perfect way to switch up your vegetable routine without getting fussy.

This dish has a naturally sweet flavor with ribbons of savory and salty running through it. Roasting each of these vegetables alone — butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and onions — draws out an inherent sweetness. They’re delicious. But roast them together — and with the magical ingredients of olive oil, salt and pepper — and they become this trifecta of sweet-savory goodness. This is the dish you make when you want to have an uncomplicated comforting dinner.

Serve this over brown rice, which brings a light nuttiness to the flavor as well.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprouts and Onions

serves 4

2 cups diced butternut squash (about 3/4-inch dice)

2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered

1 white onion, peeled, quartered and sliced thin

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with either nonstick aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the squash, Brussels sprouts, onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the squash is tender and the sprouts are lightly browned.

To serve: This makes a great side dish. It’s also perfect served over rice as a main dish. Sprinkle with finishing salt just before serving.

Enjoy!

Coffee cake is one of those things. It’s comforting and familiar and perfect for breakfast. This one, made from a recipe from the 1930s, has a dense crumb and an irresistible buttery cinnamon sugar topping.

No, it’s not that impossibly fluffy and almost-dessert-sweet coffee cake from the grocery store. But it doesn’t want to be. It’s a totally different coffee cake — one that stands up to the fork without squishing into oblivion and that can be eaten by hand without crumbling all over. And it’s really great with a hot, steaming cup of coffee.

It is coffee cake after all.

Making this, I wasn’t sure if the vintage sensibilities would make it a winner for us. But it was. Hugely.

I whipped it up for a brunch with friends last weekend where the cake quickly vanished. Seriously, not a trace was left behind. Good sign, right? And it was so good that I baked another just for our family.

Back to the brunch for a second. Though I adore brunch, I don’t have people over (or go out) for it nearly enough. So I was thrilled to have a little one at my house. The brunch menu was simple — bagels and lox with all the fixings, scrambled eggs, berry and pineapple fruit salad and this coffee cake. In the course of conversation, I shared that this was a vintage recipe — something dug out of my great collection of early 20th century cookery books, pamphlets and recipe cards.

This recipe comes from the third edition of All About Home Baking, published in 1936 (the original was published in 1933) by the General Foods Corporation, a now-defunct company whose products (Calumut baking powder, Post cereals, Maxwell House Coffee and General Foods International Coffees, to name a few) live on. I bought this hardcover book off eBay a while back.

My friend asked about my interest in vintage recipes, which really got me thinking about why I have been so into pre-1960s cookery. I made this conscious decision to reclaim lost cooking techniques because I feel like as the reliance on prepared, prepackage and shortcut based cooking has grown, we’ve lost some of the skill and technique that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used in the kitchen. To them, making a quick coffee cake for breakfast or brunch or whatever was just that. It was simple, uncomplicated and easy.

And when I find a winner — like this coffee cake — I love to share it.

All told, this recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake takes about 30 minutes to make — maybe 40, if you include the cooling time. And most of that time is totally hands off (making the dough for the cake takes maybe 5 minutes). Be warned, instead of a batter this really makes a crumbly dough. Don’t worry if it doesn’t form a ball — you just need all the ingredients to have come together before you press it into a pan with floured hands.

And don’t change a thing about the buttery cinnamon-sugar topping. It’s the best part. (Aren’t topping always the best part?)

You can do this. Dust off that cake pan this weekend and give it a try.

Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake
recipe from All About Home Baking, 1936
serves 8

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk

Topping:

1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan all over the inside with a little butter.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or two knives.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk until light and frothy.

Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir well until all combined. The dough will be somewhat stiff, but keep stirring until everything is incorporated.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Using floured hands, gently pat it down into one even layer.

Brush the top of the coffee cake with melted butter. Then, stir together the sugar, flour and cinnamon for the topping. Sprinkle all over the top of the coffee cake.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly. Let cool for five minutes in the pan. Then, gently loosen the sides with a butter knife. Turn out onto a plate and then turn back onto a serving plate.

Enjoy!

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More from Sarah W. Caron of Sarah’s Cucina Bella

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When Shawn and I used to eat out (a frequent occurrence in our pre-children days when money was plentiful and bills were not), I would order Buffalo Chicken Salad whenever it was on the menu. I loved the crunch of the fried chicken, the spice of the buffalo wing sauce and the creamy coolness of the blue cheese. When you put a variety of flavors and textures like that together, it’s almost certain to please my senses.

Actually, if we are going to be super honest, just the mere act of putting buffalo wing sauce on salad at all makes me super happy. Something about the spicy tang flavor wrapped around the cool, crisp lettuce just does it for me. When I was fresh out of college, I would sometimes pack buffalo wing sauce as dressing for my lunch salads at work.

What?

It’s been awhile since I last had a buffalo chicken salad though. Beyond the fact that eating out is a rare thing these days, I don’t often eat fried anything these days so it sort of fell off my taste-bud radar over the years. But when I recently bought buffalo wing sauce for a recipe I was developing for work, it was all I could think about. Before I even set foot in the store to buy the sauce, I had visions of this salad dancing in my head.

I decided to put a simplified spin on it that takes the finer points of the salad making it a little more waist-friendly and a little speedier to whip up.

The salad is built on a bed of baby lettuce, which are tiny whole leaves of lettuce — a fork-friendly option. Choose one you love — it’s important. I usually go for a mesclun mix or a baby romaine. That’s topped with cubed leftover chicken such as rotisserie chicken, sweet red bell pepper, crisp celery and creamy blue cheese crumbles. Then it’s drizzled with spicy buffalo wing sauce and tangy vinaigrette. Oh, bliss on a plate and it only takes a few minutes to put it all there.

When I was making this, I was concerned that I might miss the crunch of the fried chicken. But I didn’t — the cubed chicken gives that necessary poultry flavor without negating the natural goodness of salad. If you really want a little more crunch though, some chopped walnuts could totally do it.

This salad is a perfect update of my old favorite — and so incredibly easy that it can be whipped up in minutes. Really, minutes.

Do you have a favorite restaurant meal that you don’t eat as often anymore? What is it?

Buffalo Chicken Salad
serves 1

2 cups baby lettuce (variety of your choice)
1/2 cup cooked diced chicken, such as from a rotisserie bird
1 celery rib, cut in half length-wise and into 2-inch pieces
4 strips red sweet bell pepper, halved
1 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp buffalo wing sauce
1 tbsp vinaigrette

Arrange the lettuce on a plate. Top with chicken, celery, sweet bell pepper and blue cheese. Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce and then vinaigrette.

Enjoy.

These eggs remind me of summer. Sweet fresh tomatoes are encircled with the brilliant flavor of fresh basil. There’s slightly sweet roasted garlic, which I have been obsessed with lately, blended with rich heavy cream — a nod to winter. And the warmth of the baked dish make it perfect for a chilly morning. Or dinner.

I feel in love with baked eggs in tomato-based concoctions last winter. Runny yolks are always a favorite of mine, but even more so when they are paired with flavors that compare, contrast and compliment them. And it’s a great bonus that there are so many possibilities for flavor combinations. This seemed like the perfect dish to make when Betty Crocker and Land O’Lakes recently asked me to create something with Land O’Lakes eggs.

This version is a favorite since it uses so many fresh ingredients (and, of course, fresh flavors). There is just no contest when you start with ingredients in as close to a natural state as you can get. I bet this would be even more amazing in fall, when fresh tomatoes and basil from local farms are available and the air just starts to take on that crisp coolness.

But for now, hothouse tomatoes do the job just fine.

Want to try this for yourself? It’s easy.

Start by gathering and preparing your ingredients. It’s seven simple things (plus salt and pepper) — easy as can be. You’ll need to dice the tomatoes and chop the basil. Also, you need to combine the heavy cream and roasted garlic.

Layer it in the small oven-safe pan. Tomatoes and basil first, egg second, garlicky cream third.

Sprinkle it with freshly grated parmesan.

Then bake it.

Try this dish for breakfast in bed, with some buttered whole grain toast and fresh orange juice. You can thank me later.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy eggs?

Baked Eggs with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes and Basil
serves 1

1 large fresh tomato, diced (about 1 heaping cup)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
3 cloves roasted garlic
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 large egg
1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small oven-safe bowl rectangular pan (about 6x4x1-inches), combine the tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir well.

Meanwhile, in a mini food processor, combine the roasted garlic and heavy cream and whirl until mixed.

Crack the egg into a bowl and then pour into the oven-safe bowl or pan over the tomatoes. Drizzle the heavy cream mixture over it. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the egg white is set.

Remove from the oven. Enjoy!

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Disclosure: I am being compensated by Land O’Lakes and Betty Crocker for this recipe and post. All opinions expressed are my own.

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More from Sarah W. Caron of Sarah’s Cucina Bella

• Roasted Confetti Hash on Tablespoon
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