Saturday, February 23, 2008

WEEKEND BRUNCH ~ CROQUE MONSIEUR STRATA & CHERRY COMPOTE

~ 'Winter Beauty'
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CROQUE MONSIEUR STRATA
~ Make ahead and sleep in late.
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 chopped onions
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. rosemary
coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. dry vermouth
3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed baguette
1 cup Boar's Head rosemary ham (or Black Forest)
1 1/2 cup grated Emmenthal or Gruyere cheese
6 organic eggs
1 1/2 cups half & half (or milk)
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Hungarian paprika
freshly chopped parsley
  • Melt butter in saucepan and saute onions, thyme, rosemary, and salt & pepper until soft. Add sugar and vermouth and cook until caramelized, stirring often. Set aside.
  • Combine bread, ham and half the cheese into onion mixture. Spread evenly into greased casserole.
  • Whisk eggs with milk, Dijon and paprika. Pour evenly over bread and onion mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Cover and set in refrigerator several hours or overnight.
  • Bake in preheated 350-degree oven about 40 minutes or until cooked through and custard set. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving. ((4-6 servings)

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CHERRY COMPOTE

1 can (21-oz) red tart cherry pie filling

1 can (15-oz) pineapple chunks with syrup

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/3 cup dried cherries

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Combine cherry pie filling and untrained pineapple chunks. Mix in dried apricots, dried cherries and cinnamon. Bake at 350-degrees 1-1/2 hours.

Gardener's Note: For more information on Cyclamens

visit ~ The Cyclamen Society.

4 comments:

Ki said...

We love cyclamens. We even planted some of the florists type outside in spring and they seem to be have survived the winter. I was on a trip to Japan once in December and they had a TV show on how the propagators cultivated the plants and that the plants would soon be for sale. I was led to believe that they would come on the market on a specified day and the interviews with people waiting for them made it seem like it was quite an event, like cherry blossom day on a smaller scale. Here you can buy them in any supermarket and they appear without any fanfare. "Oh, they have cylamens in Shoprite". :)

joey said...

Thanks Ki ... Alway a delight to hear from you. I too adore cyclamens, lots of 'bang for the buck', lasting forever, and the vibrant colors make me feel happy lighting a dark corner in the house. Mine vacation outside in the summer, which makes them happy, then return to my sunporch to re-bloom. I have several so you might see more 'pop up'.

Unknown said...

You did a great job at capturing these guys! I tried once and didn't have luck, :(. I love the frilliness of your shots!

joey said...

Thanks lisa marie. Cyclamens are tricky for me too because of their intense color and saturation ... lighting is key.