Scandinavian Almond Cake

To my knowledge, I have no Scandinavian blood in me.  But you can't live in the upper midwest without being immersed in Nordic culture. While there are some foods I shall never understand— lutefisk being tops on my list—I admit I have a fondness for the desserts.

Recently, Kathy and I were avoiding some highway construction and found ourselves passing the Nordic Ware factory.  Nordic Ware is probably best known for developing and trademarking Bundt® pans. I noticed they have an outlet store next to the factory and there was a sign indicating it was open.  One of the things that we purchased was an almond cake pan.  It came with a recipe for Almond Cake, which I cannot find on the Nordic Ware website.  They sold two styles of pans.  The all aluminum style came with a recipe for Almond Cake while the newer pans with a non-stick coating come with a recipe for cinnamon bread instead.  I have nothing against cinnamon bread but it will have to be incredibly tasty to beat out this Almond Cake.

INGREDIENTS:

Toasted Oatmeal

I have found oatmeal is a polarizing breakfast option. People either love it or hate it. While I love oatmeal for breakfast, Kathy was in the other camp. She surprised me one day when she found this recipe in a Quaker Oats ad in the March 2014 issue of Family Circle and for reasons that are still unexplained, proceeded to make it, eat it and like it. She even packed the dried mixture up in canning jars and sent Josh back to college with it. Although any math teacher worth their weight in whiteboard markers will remind you correlation does not prove causation, and yet Josh's grades improved after Kathy's care package was sent...just sayin'.  ;-)

INGREDIENTS
2 cups Quaker® Oats
½ cup chopped nuts (pecans are a good choice)
⅔ cup nonfat dry milk powder
⅓ cup Quaker® Oat Bran
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)
½ tsp. salt
Snipped dried fruit (dried cherries are my personal favorite)
Honey (optional)

Egg Bake

Kathy's sister was the source of this recipe.  Where she got it, I am not certain.  It is the go-to dish for weekends when the kids are home.  If it is Christmas or Easter morning you can be sure a pan of Egg Bake will be served for breakfast.  From preparation to clean-up everything about this recipe is simple.  The left-overs will heat up nicely in the microwave in about the same time it takes to make a cup of coffee in the Keurig.

Preparation Time:  10 minutes
Cooking Time:  50 minutes
Makes: 12 servings

Oven-Baked Cinnamon French Toast

What makes this oven-baked French toast recipe different from other similar recipes is the awesome cinnamon topping.  It took only 10 minutes of preparation time the night before.  Thus, very simple. 

Sunrise Pancakes

In our kitchen there are cookbooks which open directly to the most-used recipe.  In The Tresury of Creative Cooking by the Editors of Consumer Guide, (Copyright 1992 by Publications International, Ltd) the book will consistently open to pages 294 and 295 and the recipe for Sunrise Pancakes.  With the convienence of making pancakes from a box or mix, it may seem weird to make pancakes from scratch.  I think this recipe, which takes a bit more time than the just-add-water mixes, is well worth the modest investment in time.   

Banananananana Bread

That's right, this is Ba(na)^6 Bread. Typical recipes ask for only three banananas.  I found this recipe in the July-August 2010 issue of Cook's Illustrated.  I had been waiting to try it but it seems it is difficult for my family to let 6 bananas go ripe.  I skipped the walnuts...'cause their icky.  The following recipe is taken from the Cook's Country web site and was called Ultimate Banana Bread: 

Basted Eggs

Basted eggs are part of my family's culture and heritage.  There is nothing like the memories of waking up at my parent's cabin to the smells of the thick-sliced, smoked bacon from Meat on Mille Lacs and Foldgers coffee in the pot. Either of these distinctive odors will produce a memory of the cabin for me.  Mom makes certain the bacon is cooked very slow.  Once the bacon is finished, it is time for the eggs to be cooked.

When she is cooking eggs for a large crew at the cabin, Mom likes to use an old stainless steel 12-inch fry pan and will cook about 8 eggs at a time.  A non-stick fry pan will also work. A smaller pan with a lid would be appropriate for fewer eggs.  After the eggs have started to set up, she pours a small amount of water into the pan, turns the heat down, covers the pan with a tight lid and steams the tops of the eggs.  The steam helps to cook the entire egg white so there won't be any of the uncooked whites jiggling about on the top.  Of course, cooking the eggs over-easy will also cook the tops of the eggs, but too often flipping the eggs will break the yoke and create a less attractive egg.



INGREDIENTS