Mexican Bell Pepper Shakshuka with Habanero Cheddar Cheese, Cilantro Whipped Feta, + Garlic Rubbed Grilled Bread

I've been bad again, I promised I would do a better job blogging, but I have miserably failed. This portion on my life has been complete rock bottom, and I just can't seem to wrap my head around all of the issues. Bur what I do know, is that when I'm down in the dumps or sad, cooking and baking is my go-to stress reliever. And now that it is pretty much springtime, that means it's time to celebrate my favorite day (and meal) of the week... BRUNCH!! We were feeling extra adventurous and decided to make the new foodie-media darling, Shakshuka. Essentially, it is a dish with you stew tomatoes, spices, herbs, and peppers to create an extra potent sauce. I decided it would be cool to do it with a Mexican twist to it by using mainly bell peppers + onion with just a bit of my homemade brown butter tomato sauce. Besides the whole pure gold of runny yolk braised in a spicy bell pepper sauce, there are two different types of cheese... shredded habanero cheddar + cilantro whipped feta. The cheese serve as a vessel to hold the eggs in their "craters", so that the egg white doesn't run everywhere. But with my Shakshuka being influence by Mexican flavors, I kicked up the bell pepper sauce with some cumin, coriander, cayenne, paprika, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, and cilantro. Between the char on the veggies and the smokey spices, you really get that authentic Spanish style flavor. And y'know that lovable characteristic of sopping up the broth at the bottom of a bowl of mussels... well this has that too! You have to get some good, hearty, thick-cut bread, which you then fry or grill and rub-a-dub-dub a garlic clove all over the sides of the slices (just for that little bite on your tastebuds). I mean honestly, there is literally nothing more satisfying than a crunchy piece of bread dipped into a luscious, runny egg yolk, and then scooped up with some melty cheese and charred peppers. And can you believe it... THIS DISH IS VEGETARIAN, that never happens here on H+H. Trust me on this though, you won't miss the meat one bit because it is that satisfying and fulfilling. So, give this recipe a whirl, whether it's for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and/or dinner. You seriously won't regret it!! Enjoy :)

beautiful peppers + onions

bell pepper shakshuka with wells filled with habanero cheddar

next up... cilantro whipped feta

crack dem eggz in the cheesy craters

season with salt + peppa, y'all

bake it + enjoy the heck outta it

oh snap, bread sopping is my favorite pastime

it's like brunch bruschetta. 

drip. drip. drop.

that's one sunny yolk.

what dreams are made of.

For the Bell Pepper Shakshuka:

¼C Canola Oil

4 Bell Peppers (we used one red, orange, yellow, and green), Cut into Strips

2 Jalapenos, Seeded + Cut into Strips

2 Red Onions, Sliced

4T Dark Brown Sugar

4 Large Cloves of Garlic, Sliced

½C Homemade Brown Butter Heirloom Tomato Sauce

4T Unsalted Butter

1t Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, + Red Pepper Flakes

¼t Cayenne

1T Dried Oregano

3 Bay Leaves

3 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

Sea Salt + Fresh Cracked Pepper, To Taste

For the Cilantro Whipped Feta:

8oz Feta Cheese, Crumbled + Room Temperature

4oz Whipped Cream Cheese

3-4T Fresh Cilantro, Minced

Sea Salt + Fresh Cracked Pepper, To Taste

For the Mexican Bell Pepper Shakshuka:

Hot Sautéed Bell Pepper Shakshuka Mixture

1C Habanero Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

Prepared Cilantro Whipped Feta

6 Medium Eggs

1T Fresh Cilantro + 1T Fresh Parsley, Minced

Verde Hot Sauce, For Topping

Grilled Sourdough Bread (that has been rubbed with a clove of garlic while it’s still hot)

Directions:

1. For the Cilantro Whipped Feta: Add crumbled feta to a food processor and pulse until small crumbs remain. Add in whipped cream cheese and puree for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally, until the feta is super creamy. Remove from the food processor and place into a bowl and fold in the minced cilantro and a pinch of salt + pepper. Set aside until you are ready to use.

2. For the Mexican Bell Pepper Shakshuka: Heat a wok over high heat until it is just about to start smoking. Add in the canola oil and throw in the sliced bell peppers, jalapeno, red onions, and brown sugar. Cook the peppers until slightly soft while having a good char on them. This will take about 10 minutes or so. Toss in the garlic and sautéed for 2-3 minutes. Next, get out your cast iron skillet and bring it up to medium-low heat, adding in the butter until it is completely melted. Move the charred peppers and onions to the warmed cast iron. Stir in some of my homemade brown butter heirloom cherry tomato sauce, all of the spices, and herbs. Season with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Simmer this Shakshuka mixture for about 10 minutes, or until everything has started to thicken. Taste and adjust the seasoning as this dish is meant to be potent and flavorful. Remove the bay leaves after the cooking time has elapsed.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

4. Assembling the Shakshuka: Using a spoon, create 6 wells in the Shakshuka bell pepper mixture. Next, sprinkle in a small handful of the shredded habanero cheddar, followed by a spoonful of the cilantro whipped feta on top of the shredded cheese. These two components will help “cradle” the eggs, so that they will not spread out and cover all of the Shakshuka sauce. Crack one egg into each of one of the holes, and finally sprinkle with kosher and fresh cracked pepper on top of each egg.

5. Baking the Shakshuka: Place the Shakshuka into your preheated oven. Bake the Shakshuka until the egg whites have solidified, but the yolk remains runny. This should take about 10-15 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven and how big the eggs are. But, just keep an eye on them if it has passed the 10 minutes because this is all about the runny yolks, folks.

6. Finishing the Bell Pepper Shakshuka: Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh minced cilantro and parsley. Drizzle on some of the Verde hot sauce.

7. Serve the Bell Pepper Shakshuka with garlic rubbed, grilled bread for mopping!

Revamped : Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing Glaze

Revamped: Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing Glaze

By far + away, the single-most FAVORITE recipe here on PLC are my Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls. They are probably my greatest creation. Actually at the time when I first concocted the idea of this "dessert for breakfast", it was the only one on the internet. Now different versions are popping up EVERYWHERE. So, I am very proud to say that this was the ORIGINAL idea behind the celebrity. Anyway, I am a firm believer in that everything can be improved upon, so why not revamp the most visited recipe on my site? Well, it happened that my Mountain Man's place of work had a Valentine's Day Bake Off, so I knew I just had to enter my Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls to be judged. I changed a few things around a bit this time though. Firstly, I took out the cocoa powder in the dough. I felt like that made the cinnamon rolls a bit cake-y in texture, so I wanted to achieve a more yeasted cinnamon roll this time around. But of course, in order for it to be considered "red velvet", there's gotta be buttermilk, red dye, vinegar, and cocoa powder. Instead, I sifted cocoa powder on top of the butter, sugar and cinnamon for a lightly chocolatey filling. It was perfect. To make sure the rolls were extra puffy, I used instant yeast instead of active dry yeast, but either will work for y'all, I'm sure. Also, I felt like my cream cheese frosting was a tad bit thick last time, so this go-around, I whipped up a cream cheese icing glaze. It's still thick enough the coat the rolls, but it is thin enough that in seeps into the middle of the rolls... making them extra gooey. And that's all we want, amirite?! We added some cinnamon into our cream cheese glaze, for a little more spice, but you can easily leave it out, no worries!! As for the garnishes, we found some nifty red velvet cake sprinkles to sprinkle over the top to be super festive and they were awesome! But you can also use any Valentine's Day themed sprinkles or crushed red hots. It's up to y'all!! These are 10 times better than the original, so I hope y'all can get around to makin' them soon!! Enjoy (we sho' did) :)

roll out the red velvet dough with some flour...

spread the melted butter everywhere...

sift over some cocoa powder, cover with sugar, + sprinkle on a mess of
cinnamon (and press gently down so it adheres together)

and tightly roll them up...

so they look gorgeous like this...

and this...

then proof them, so they rise a bit and look like this...

then bake them until they are huge + puffy

and cover them in the cream cheese icing glaze...

and finish them with some sprinkles, butofcourse!

For the Cinnamon Rolls:

2C Buttermilk (minus 2T)

2T White Distilled Vinegar

½C Vegetable Oil

½C Sugar

2-3oz Red Food Coloring (or to the color of your liking)

1 Package of Instant or Active Dry Yeast (0.25oz Packets)

4C AP Flour + ½C AP Flour

½t Baking Powder, Heaping

½t Baking Soda, Scant

1t Salt, Heaping

1C Butter, Melted

1-2T Cocoa Powder (depending on how chocolate-y you like it)

1C Sugar

Generous Sprinkling of Cinnamon

For the Frosting:

4oz Cream Cheese, Softened

7T Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 ½C + 2T Confectioners’ Sugar

3-4T Buttermilk, For Thinning

1t Cinnamon (optional)

¼t Salt (or to taste)

1t Clear Vanilla Extract

Festive Valentine’s Day Sprinkles & Crushed Red Hot Candies, For Decoration

Directions:

1. Measure out the 2C buttermilk in a large measuring cup, and then remove 2T of the buttermilk and substitute by adding in the 2T of white vinegar. Mix the buttermilk, vinegar, vegetable oil, sugar, and red food coloring in a pot. Heat the mixture until just before the boiling point. Turn off the heat and leave to cool for 45 minutes to an hour. Meanwhile, sift together the 4C AP flour and set it aside. When the milk mixture is warm (but not hot), sprinkle in the package of yeast. Let it sit for a minute or two, and then add in the sifted flour. Stir the mixture and cover, and then let it rise for at least an hour.

2. After rising for an hour, add in ½C AP Flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the mixture together. Refrigerate the dough overnight to help it become firm and better for presentation.

3. The next day, sprinkle a rolling surface generously with flour. Take the dough and form a rough rectangle, and then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle or spread on 1C of the melted butter over the dough. Now, sift the cocoa powder over the butter, followed by sprinkling 1C of sugar over the cocoa and butter, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Press the spices lightly into the butter to make sure they adhere together.

4. Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it. Spray a 13x9-baking pan with Pam, and set it aside. Then, begin cutting the rolls into approximately 12 thick round rolls and place them into the prepared buttered pans. Let the rolls rise for an hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

6. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 17-25 minutes or until light golden brown.

7. To Make the Frosting: Beat together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl until creamy. Mix in the clear vanilla extract and buttermilk, then gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth and fluffy. Add in the cinnamon if you are using.

8. Spread the cinnamon rolls with the icing (generously), sprinkle with garnishes if using, and enjoy immediately while they are still warm.

Caramelized Sourdough French Toast with Mixed Berry Compound Butter, Macerated Blackberries, Homemade Whipped Cream, & Buttered Maple Syrup

Caramelized Sourdough French Toast with Mixed Berry Compound Butter, Macerated 

Blackberries, Homemade Whipped Cream, & Buttered Maple Syrup

So, there was a nasty cold front that moved through Atlanta this week, and it was absolutely dreadful. Pipes were bursting, roads were freezing... all chaos ensued. It's funny how Southerners act like the world is ending when it isn't even snowing. We're all a bunch of nut cases. But really, can you blame us? We live in a world where it's a hot as hell, the cold is far too frigid. Anyway, the sun finally came out today, YAY. And it started feeling like springtime again. We all know that gives me the itch to make a decadent brunch on the porch, butofcourse. I already had a gorgeous loaf of sourdough bread, so french toast was meant to be. Now, I feel really strongly about french toast. There a three keys to success when making this iconic breakfast staple... 1. Thick, THICK slices of bread 2. Perfect Batter 3. Lots & lots of gourmet toppings. First we tackle the bread. I cut my slices about two inches thick and soak them for about 15-20 minutes in the batter. Now the batter is important because that is where all the flavor is injected. So mine is flavored with heavy cream, milk, vanilla bean rum, orange zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg. When you soak the thick slices of bread in this luscious batter, the middle puffs up into this almost souffle-like center, but the crusts remain crunchy + chewy. But what really puts this recipe over the top is the dusting of powdered sugar. Some of you might be wondering how I get the french toast so perfectly caramelized-- and that's because of the confectioners' sugar! I used a fine mesh sieve to lightly dust the sugar all over both sides of the soaked bread and quickly tossed them into hot butter. Since the pieces of bread are so thick, you have to cook them a good while until everything has heated through and the outsides have evenly browned & crisped. It is also very important to bake it in the oven for about 10-20 minutes to round everything out and keep it warm for serving. Onto the gourmet topping... I made homemade mixed berry compound buttered, macerated blackberries, whipped cream, & buttered maple syrup. Mixed berries + french toast are a match made in heaven, y'all. So don't leave them out... especially the compound butter... and the whipped cream... oh shit, don't leave out anything, alright?! Finishing out the meal, I served our french toast with cheesy scrambled eggs + praline bacon. Umm yumm. Well, I hope y'all make this soon because it makes Sunday Brunch that much better!! Enjoy :)

Soaking the thick slices of french toast in batter...

Ahh the dusting of confectioners' sugar...

SEE-- the PERFECT caramelization

french toast, cheesy scrambled eggs, & praline bacon

raspberry sorbet mimosa in a mason jar

For the Mixed Berry Compound Butter:

4 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Softened

1C Mixed Berries (I used raspberries, blackberries, & blueberries)

1t Vanilla

1T Sugar

Pinch of Salt & Cinnamon

For the Macerated Blackberries:

3C Fresh Blackberries

½C Sugar

2T Balsamic Vinegar + 1T Fresh Lemon Juice

For the Caramelized Sourdough French Toast:

1 Loaf of Crusty Sourdough Bread, Sliced Very Thick

4 Extra Large Eggs

½C Heavy Cream

¼C Milk + Vanilla Bean Infused Rum

3T Sugar

2t Vanilla Extract

1T Fresh Orange Zest

¼t Cinnamon & Freshly Grated Nutmeg

Pinch of Salt

Confectioners’ Sugar, For Dusting

Unsalted Butter, For Frying

For the Buttered Maple Syrup:

½C Maple Syrup

4T Butter 

For Serving:

Prepared Mixed Berry Compound Butter, Cut into Rounds

Prepared Macerated Blackberries

Warm French Toast Slices

Prepared Buttered Maple Syrup

Homemade Whipped Cream

Directions:

1. For the Mixed Berry Compound Butter: Beat together the softened butter, vanilla, sugar, salt, and cinnamon until combined & fluffy. Add in the mixed berries and beat until they have broken up and evenly dispersed throughout the butter. Spoon it onto a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a log and refrigerate until the butter has chilled and hardened. Cut into rounds and enjoy on your French toast.

2. For the Macerated Blackberries: Using a fork or the back of a wooden spoon, mash 1 cup berries with sugar and balsamic vinegar in a large bowl until sugar begins to dissolve. Gently stir in remaining berries; let sit at room temperature, tossing occasionally, until berries are juicy, 1-2 hours.

3. For the Caramelized Sourdough French Toast: Cut the bread into 8 large wedges. Whisk the eggs, heavy cream, milk, rum, granulated sugar, orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large baking dish. Add the bread and turn occasionally until soaked through, about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the confectioners' sugar in a fine-mesh sieve. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add half of the bread and dust generously with the confectioners' sugar; cook, turning and dusting often with more confectioners' sugar, until golden brown and caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes (add more butter to the skillet, if needed). Transfer the French toast to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Add more butter to the skillet and repeat with the remaining bread. Serve with maple syrup.

4. For the Buttered Maple Syrup: Heat maple syrup in a small pot and whisk in a tablespoon of butter at a time, while whisking the entire time, until the mixture is completely incorporated. Serve warm.

5. For Serving: Serve the French toast with some mixed berry compound butter, macerated blackberries, a drizzle of buttered maple syrup, and a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Enjoy!