breakfast – 622 press | LETTERPRESS GOODS MADE BY HAND

I’m sure all of you have spent a little time cruising Pinterest Fail: a blog dedicated to documenting Pinterest projects that didn’t quite work out (or crashed and burned miserably), or at least seen some of the best (worst) that have gone viral. If you’re like me, you’re the most skeptical the first time you make a recipe found on Pinterest—but lucky for you, I’ve had lots of time to experiment lately, so here are more than a few of the best!

Editor’s note: All photos in this post belong to the creator of each recipe, which are linked to within the copy.

BREAD
I’ve been making Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuits for so long that I no longer need a recipe—in fact I forgot I had even pinned it until I started putting together this post! They live up to their restaurant counterparts and are super quick and easy to put together. They’re a great accompaniment to soups and garlicky meat dishes.

Our family’s Christmas tradition is to stay home all day and spend the afternoon making and eating hors-d’oeuvres. We all have our perennial favorites, but we try to each bring something new to the party as well every year. A few years ago, my new app was Homemade Soft Pretzels and Beer Cheese Dip. They’re both putzy and time-consuming, but if you’ve got a couple hours, they’re great!

I love apple fritters—they might be one of my favorite doughnuts. So when I saw Apple Fritter Pull-Apart bread, I had to try it. Sure, it’s sort of semi-homemade, with the “bread” being Pillsbury biscuits, but it does contain fresh fruit, so that’s good, right?

PASTA & SIDES
Dining options in Bermuda are fairly limited when it comes to non-American or Western Europe cuisine. So to satisfy my cravings, I’ve been learning to cook Asian dishes—and this One Pot Thai Pasta is by far the easiest! I was skeptical because it seemed too easy, but the flavor was spot on and didn’t taste as though it had been created in 15 minutes with fairly mundane ingredients (I skipped the tamarind paste and fish sauce).

I love homemade pasta. I make huge batches of ravioli a few times per year so I always have some in my freezer. A few weeks ago, I had some girlfriends over for a ravioli-making party, but I wanted to make something else for dinner so we’d all have plenty to take home. In keeping with the theme, I whipped up some Lemon-Pepper Pasta. (Full disclosure: I didn’t really use this exact recipe, but melded it with my regular pasta recipe, which can be found here.) The lemon added a great hit of freshness to the tender pasta that went perfectly with a few shrimp and some pesto.

When I had had enough of my Thanksgiving leftovers (but still had a full fridge), I started searching for recipes that would use up some of the things I had the most of—including sweet potatoes. When used in Sweet Potato Gnocchi, they lend another level of flavor and make the fluffy little pillows even lighter and more delicious. Throw them in a pan with some browned butter and sage (you can even melt a little goat cheese on top—yum!) and they’re a truly delicious side or meal.

MEAT
I happen to live with a man who doesn’t consider it a meal if it doesn’t contain meat. While he’s happy with a simply grilled steak or chicken breast, I’ve been on the hunt for more interesting flavors—this Slow-Cooker Balsamic Pork is perfect! I’ve made it with pork tenderloin that I sliced to serve and a pork shoulder (butt) that I shredded for sandwiches.

A few months before I moved to Bermuda, Andrew took some house guests deep sea fishing. I’m not a huge fan of baked fish, but I needed to find something to do with all that frozen wahoo! Luckily, I had just stumbled across Baked Honey-Marinated Cod, which sounded sort of like the Black Cod dish from Nobu that I had been craving. Obviously it didn’t quite measure up to all that, but it was really good!

DESSERT
I have a pretty serious sweet tooth, but baking is really not my thing—all that measuring! So I’ve really just got one trusty, easy dessert recipe, and I’m sure you’ve heard of it: Three Ingredient Brownies. It’s not quite chocolatey enough for my taste, so I would recommend stirring in some extra chocolate chips. Or, for a fancier addition, I’ve also topped them with caramel and a sprinkle of sea (or Kosher) salt for salted caramel brownies! Now those are dangerous!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I could eat turkey and dressing with a side of cranberry sauce for two weeks straight, but if you’re sick of dousing everything in gravy and throwing it in the microwave, here are a few creative solutions for the loads of leftovers!

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Hash

I make this hearty and nutritious breakfast all the time, but it sure is easier when you’ve already got most of the ingredients already prepped in your fridge!

Ingredients:
1-2 eggs per serving
Leftover roasted sweet potatoes, cubed
Leftover sausage or bacon, cooked and crumbled (I had bacon leftover from an appetizer, or turkey would work here too—dark meat would be best!)Fresh or leftover veggies—I love mushrooms, brussels sprouts would be fabulous as well. Toss in some onions and whatever else you’ve got in the fridge!

Throw veggies and meat in a hot, oiled frying pan. Heat thoroughly, making sure not to stir too often so you get some delicious caramelization. Portion onto plates, throw a little butter in the pan. Fry your eggs over easy or medium—you want a runny yolk to create a delicious sauce for your hash. Top each plate of hash with an egg or two and enjoy!

Want to make this dish but no cooked sweet potatoes to be found? Cube one up, cover with water and microwave for about 7 minutes, or until you can pierce the cubes with a fork. Much faster than the oven!

Lunch: Cranberry Turkey Panini

A little savory, a little sweet, all covered in melty cheese. What could be better? In my family, we make my grandma’s cranberry-orange relish from scratch, but this recipe might work even better with the canned stuff.

Ingredients:
2 pieces of bread, buttered
2 slices of cheese: whatever you’ve got hanging out in the fridge will work2 slices of turkey—I think I’d go light meat for this one
A hefty scoop of cranberry sauce or relish, drained of any extra liquid

Layer in a frying pan or panini maker in this order: Bread (buttered side down), cheese, turkey, cranberry, turkey, cheese, bread (buttered side up) to prevent the bread from getting soggy. You’ve made a grilled cheese, you know what to do.

Looking for a little more flavor? Try a smear of dijon mustard on the inside of the bread, or mix a little balsamic vinegar into the cranberry sauce (extra points if you cook it first to make a reduction).

Dinner: Turkey Tortilla Soup

My aunt gave me this recipe a few years back and I make it all the time. I usually pick up a rotisserie chicken because I’m too lazy to roast one myself, but you’ve already done the work so you can go scratch all the way after turkey day!

Ingredients:
2-4 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced (I use the pre-prepped stuff in a jar or tube, but garlic powder powder will NOT work here)
1 jalapeno, minced—WEAR GLOVES! I’ve burned my eyes more than once while taking my contacts out, several hours and several hand washings after cutting up a pepper
1 bunch of cilantro, plus more for topping
1/2 t. cumin (I usually eye ball it and end up using more)
6 oz. can of tomato paste
32 oz. (or more) chicken broth
Leftover turkey—I never measure the meat, but I basically pull a small rotisserie chicken. Dark meat is best in this recipe, so start with two drumsticks and add in some breast meat if you need it.

Toppings:
4+ tortillas, sliced and baked till crispy
1 avocado, cubed
shredded cheddarlime juice (optional, I don’t use it, but my mom says it makes the soup!)

In a large soup pot, saute the veggies in olive oil. When they’re soft, add the cumin and hit them with a stick blender to make a puree. Cook for another minute or two, then add the stock and stir in the tomato paste. Let it simmer for a bit, then add the turkey, continuing to simmer until it’s warm. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve and top with whatever ingredients appeal to you—but definitely tortillas and cilantro!