Chocolate heaven

What you see above is Michelle Snow's flourless chocolate torte -- or what's left of it. Wait a minute, I can't let those crumbs go to waste. Hang on while I leave the computer for a second...

Okay, we'll go back in time and see what it used to look like. This dessert is truly divine. Its texture is almost like cheesecake, and its flavor is rich and deeply satisfying for any chocoholic.

My sweet 20-month-old niece was just diagnosed with celiac disease, so it's wonderful to know she will always have an amazing gluten-free dessert like this to keep her from missing out.

My sweet friend and neighbor Michelle Snow is the author of several books about cooking, food storage and saving money, including "The WOW diet," "It's in the Bag," and "Queen of Common Cents." I will forever be grateful to her for this delicious recipe!

THE RECIPE:


Butter for greasing pan
Cocoa powder for dusting pan
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 c. butter
6 eggs, separated
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place a pie pan on bottom rack of oven. Grease a 10-inch spring-form pan and dust with cocoa. Melt butter and chocolate chips together in microwave. In a large bowl, blend egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt with an electric mixer until light yellow and thick. Add chocolate mixture and cocoa and mix well.

In a separate, clean bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until medium-firm peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold egg whites into chocolate batter, half at a time, until no streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and place on middle rack in oven. Pour 1 cup boiling water into pie pan below. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out moist but clean.

Cool torte to room temperature on wire rack. Refrigerate several hours before serving. Garnish as desired: powdered sugar, whipped cream, berries, or nothing at all.



*Note: For a truly gluten-free version, ensure that your chocolate chips are gluten-free and that your vanilla is pure, not imitation.

Beautiful blueberries

For Mother's Day breakfast, we ate this blueberry strata, which I got from the Kraft website. It's a breakfast you assemble the night before, and it's a snap to throw together. It was good, and we were all happy to have something new, but I have to say it wasn't as flavorful as I expected. We couldn't really taste the cinnamon and syrup added into the egg mixture. The blueberry syrup poured on top, however, made the dish worthwhile.

I would make this again, but I might fiddle around with the recipe. Let me know if you have any suggestions! By the way, my young family only needed half the recipe.

THE RECIPE:

12 slices white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
8 oz. cream cheese
8 eggs
2 1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 c. maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Spread half of the bread cubes onto bottom of greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with blueberries. Pinch off small chunks of cream cheese and sprinkle around, then top with other half of bread cubes.

Whisk together eggs, milk, cinnamon, syrup and sugar. Pour over bread. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake strata, covered, for about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 to 35 minutes more, or until center is set. Pour blueberry syrup on individual servings.

Blueberry syrup:

2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 1/3 c. maple-flavored or pancake syrup

Combine blueberries and syrup in small saucepan and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour over blueberry strata.

Humpty Dumpty's favorite

Every now and then, I crave egg salad. This recipe was the result of one of my hankerings. My daughter and I combined some different but yummy flavors, and we were really happy with the results. We packed up our salad and fresh rolls and had a nice picnic as a family. This is a great recipe for spring and summer!

THE RECIPE:

12 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise (I used the olive oil kind)
2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. yellow curry powder

Mix dressing ingredients thoroughly in a salad bowl before adding chopped eggs. Add eggs last and gently mix until combined. This prevents the eggs from breaking down. Refrigerate at least a half-hour before serving so flavors can blend. Spoon salad onto rolls or croissants. Serves 6.

Enchiladas for breakfast

 My family loves enchiladas....enough to have them for breakfast.

I saw these overnight ham and egg breakfast enchiladas on The Girl Who Ate Everything and had to give them a try. My family was very happy with the results. We used leftover Easter ham.

THE RECIPE:

2 c. cubed cooked ham
1/2 c. chopped green onions
2 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
10 flour tortillas
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. flour
1 1/4 c. half-and-half
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
Salsa and sour cream for serving

Toss together ham, green onions and 2 cups cheese. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Fill each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup of ham mixture, then roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Whisk together eggs, salt, flour, half-and-half and chiles. Pour over enchiladas, then cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over top. Bake another 10 minutes, or until eggs are set. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Fancy french toast

The gal at Smitten Kitchen came up with an innovative way to make french toast. She calls it cinnamon toast french toast, and it tastes fantastic. You can make it ahead of time, even the night before, then have breakfast ready to go in a flash. I would never have guessed regular, cheap sandwich bread could make such great french toast.

THE RECIPE:

1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
16 slices white sandwich bread
1 stick butter, softened and spreadable
6 eggs
3 c. whole milk
 1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Lay bread in single layer on two cookie sheets, then spread butter on each slice. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Toast bread in oven for 7 to 10 minutes, or until bread is golden and crisp.*

Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Cut two slices of cinnamon toast in half. Arrange toast in two rows, starting with a half slice, then fanning out whole slices and ending with a half slice.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and vanilla, then pour evenly over toast. Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon sugar on top. Let stand as little as 15 minutes or as long as overnight. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until puffed and until no liquid seeps out when toast is nudged around in pan. Cut into squares and serve with syrup.

*Switch cookie sheets halfway through if they are on different racks to ensure even cooking. Bake time in this case is more like 10 to 15 minutes.

Heavenly breakfast

This pile of beauty you see before you is called heavenly breakfast*. It is a yummy twist on biscuits and gravy. The recipe came from the Brewer family, who lovingly introduced it to my family years and years ago. It's comfort food at its best. Serve it with a side of fresh seasonal fruit and enjoy!

THE RECIPE:

1 16-ounce can jumbo flaky refrigerator biscuits
6 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
Pepper
Paprika

Bake biscuits according to package directions. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Mix flour, salt, and pepper to taste, then add to melted butter, stirring until smooth. Whisk in milk, then cook until thickened, stirring frequently to prevent sticking or burning.

Meanwhile, separate hard-boiled yolks from whites. Slice or roughly chop whites, and crumble yolks. Stir egg whites into finished sauce.

To assemble heavenly breakfast, break up a biscuit into chunks, then spoon white sauce over top. Sprinkle with crumbled egg yolks and paprika to taste.

*Dishes similar to this are traditionally known as eggs goldenrod.