Love My Philly

I have some great news for you. Yes, you can have cake for breakfast. This pound cake recipe is incredibly versatile and virtually fool proof. The addition of Philly Cream Cheese keeps the cake ultra moist. It’s perfectly delicious fresh from the oven and also keeps wonderfully wrapped in the freezer for those unexpected guests. I added a touch of lemon zest because I’m a sucker for a citrus pound cake. Feel free to leave it out if you aren’t keen on lemon.

Lemon Pound Cake

adapted from Kraft Cookbook

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 eggs, room temperature

2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 325. Sift together flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer. In the mean time, work the lemon zest into the granulated sugar. This process should take about five minutes, and the sugar will become very fragrant. Add the sugar to the butter mixture and continue creaming. Add the lemon and vanilla extract. Add eggs one at a time, beating for about one minute each. Scrape down the bowl after each addition. Slowly add the sifted flour and baking powder. Don’t over mix in the electric mixer. Bring the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Pour into a greased and floured pan and bake for 60- 75 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Wednesdays are those days when the previous glow of the weekend has faded and the upcoming weekend feels decades away. Nothing makes me feel closer to weekend happiness than day dreaming about what I’m going to cook and eat for the upcoming weekend.

This weekend I’m going to invite some friends over for a late morning meal. Eggs, potatoes and cocktails with friends on a weekend afternoon- now that’s living the good life.

See? The weekend is only a day dream, and a party planning thought away. Try it!

Brunch Pancakes with Cherries Great pancake recipe with the goodness of Philadelphia cream cheese and cherries!

Breakfast Potatoes Easy and perfectly delicious hash browns with ham and cheese!

Mock Mimosas For the real deal Mimosas just replace the club soda with champagne or prosecco.

I say there’s nothing more romantic that having someone cook for you. In my world, breakfast in bed is one of the ultimate expressions of care and affection. Breakfast doesn’t have to be big, or grand, or complicated. Just throw together a simple meal with a few eggs, breakfast meat and bread, throw it on a tray with a garden picked flower and a steaming cup of coffee and you’ve won my heart.

Brighten the day of your sweetheart with breakfast in bed. You might be surprised by how far the simple gesture goes.

Bacon and Egg Bagel Melt Think pizza bagel meets breakfast pizza. Sound wacky? The melty cheese is sure to win you over.

Vegetable Frittata Eggs and veggies all in one bit. This couldn’t be easier!

No Fail Omelet No reason to be intimidated by making an omelet with this simple recipe. You’ll be a pro in no time!

These simple jam and cream cheese turnovers are a great way to confuse breakfast with dessert. With frozen puff pastry, slightly softened cream cheese and any jam you have on hand, you can create a super impressive breakfast treat that is sure to WOW your overnight guests, or office coworkers, should you decide to share. One bite of these beauties and I guarantee that you’ll be reaching in for a second and maybe even third.

This recipe makes 18 mini turnovers and come together in about 30 minutes.

Cream Cheese and Apricot Turnovers

Gourmet March 1993

2 sheets (about 1 pound) frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) cream cheese
1/2 cup jam, such as apricot or cherry, or orange marmalade
an egg wash made by beating together 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon water
about 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling the turnovers

On a lightly floured surface roll out each sheet of pastry into a 12-inch square and cut each square into nine small squares. My pastry dough came frozen and was already rolled out. Put about 1 1teaspoon of the cream cheese in the center of each square, top it with 1 teaspoon of jam, and brush the edges of each square with water. Fold the squares in half diagonally to form triangles, pressing the edges together firmly, and press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal them well. Arrange the turnovers on a dampened baking sheet, brush them with the egg wash, and with a sharp knife cut several slits (for steam vents) in the top of each turnover. Sprinkle the turnovers with the sugar, bake them in the upper third of a preheated 425°F. oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are puffed and golden, and serve them warm.

One of my favorite things to do is to confuse breakfast with dessert. We’ve all had those mornings when the the thing that gets us out of bed is not the loads and loads of office work and piles of untouched dirty laundry, but the thought of cakes and pastries with out morning coffee. If I can sneak chocolate into my breakfast somehow, I know that the day just of a little easier.

Here are some great ways to sneak dessert into your breakfast.

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Sandwich Cinnamon raisin bread makes this simple breakfast sandwich feel extra indulgent.

Light and Fluffy French Toast Casserole Think breakfast bread pudding. Perfectly sweet and cramy, with the perfect crunch for the pecans.

Dutch Boy Pancake with Fresh Fruit Fruit plus warm puffy pancake plus cream cheese and marshmallow frosting. Now that’s a champion breakfast!

Sometimes it’s all I can do in the morning to throw together a slice to toast before I rush out the door. Here’s a simple recipe that will make you feel like you’re eating a fancy breakfast treat, without the time pressure. Simply mix a few tablespoons of softened cream cheese with diced strawberries and spread it on freshly toasted bread. It’s so easy! Why didn’t you think of that!?

Strawberry Toast

1 or 2 pieces of bread, toasted (I used multi grain sourdough bread)

3 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened

1-2 strawberries, diced

Toast bread. Blend cream cheese with the diced strawberries and spread across warm, toasted bread. Top with sliced strawberries and rush off to work.

Sure, everyone knows that they love blueberry muffins, but when I tackle a muffin recipe, I insist on experimenting with the fruit. I had some lovely sugar plums ripening on my kitchen counter and thought they might find good use lightly cooked in butter and cinnamon and thrown into muffins.

With the flavors of cinnamon and cardamom, these muffins are a fun departure from traditional blueberry muffins. If you have other seasonal fruit lying around your house. Feel free to experiment. Peaches, nectarines and apples would also be lovely in this recipe.

Sugar Plum Cream Cheese Muffins

makes 12-14 muffins

• 1 cup diced plums, sauteed in 1tablespoon butter and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of cardamom
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 3 teaspoons orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine (melted)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Sautee diced plums over medium heat with 1 Tablespoon butter and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients and set aside.
4. In a large mixer bowl, cream the cream cheese, lemon juice and vanilla until smooth.
5. Add eggs, then butter and milk and then the flour mixture. Mix until just moistened.
6. Fold in the plums.
7. Fill paper-lined muffin pans 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
9. Remove from pan immediately.

You might be surprised how a simple family tradition can really shape your life. One of my favorite family traditions growing up was our Saturday night ritual. Those were the nights my dad would bust out the waffle maker and fry up the bacon… for dinner.

For some reason, there was nothing cooler than having syrup laden waffles and and crisp bacon for dinner. Sometimes it’s the little things that light up a work week and bring the family together to relax and enjoy one another.

This week, try breakfast for dinner. You just might like it enough to make it a family tradition.

Double Strawberry Waffles- You could go for either frozen waffles or tackle making your own from scratch. Think of all the awesome variations you could take on this recipe. Substitute blueberries for strawberries and add a few blueberries into plain Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Pineapple would also be a fun addition to your Philly cream cheese.

Bacon and Egg Pie- Super simple and unbelievably delicious recipe. Throw some tomatoes on top for a bit of color. The crust is made out of canned buttermilk biscuits so it couldn’t be easier!

Oven Baked French Toast with Cranberry Maple Sauce- This breakfast is perfect served with crisp bacon on a chilly fall night.

Who knew that simply adding a few tablespoons of Philadelphia Cream Cheese to your scrambled egg mixture would create the most fluffy, rich and delicious eggs? I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, but this combination of cream cheese and chives mixed with eggs is simply dreamy.

For a healthier option, consider using two whole eggs and two egg whites. You may also opt for low fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese, you’ll never miss the extra egg yolks or calories.

Scrambled Eggs with Chives

serves 2 -3 people

serve with warm buttered toast or biscuits.

8 large eggs
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into bits and softened
1 tablespoons minced fresh chives plus additional for garnish
1 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a bowl whisk together the eggs, the cream cheese, 1 tablespoons of the chives, and salt and pepper to taste. In a large heavy skillet melt the butter over moderate heat, add the egg mixture, and cook it, stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked through. Serve the eggs sprinkled with the additional chives.

Breakfast is, without a doubt, my favorite meal of the day. I’ve been known to daydream about breakfast and morning coffee before I even go to bed at night. Because my love for breakfast runs so deep, I don’t normally just resolve myself to a bowl of cereal or a banana. Breakfast is a little bit production in my house. You simply can’t have eggs without at least toast or potatoes, and if I’m baking up muffins, they need to be a real treat.

When it comes to breakfast, you have to ask yourself a serious question. How long after breakfast will you be able to lounge around in your pajamas? That is to say, are you grabbing a quick breakfast and running out the door or will you be able to relax with a good book after your morning meal.

Either way your breakfast may take you, there’s a healthy, delicious, and unique Philly recipe to take you there.

For those crazy mid week mornings when you can barely keep all your early meetings straight, reach for:

Nutty Pear Toast- Feel free to indulge in any fruit you have on hand. Strawberries and bananas would be lovely. Apples and cinnamon would be a dream.

Cheese and Chive Egg Sandwich- This cooks up in ten short minutes and will keep you satisfied well into your lunch hour.

For mornings when your priority is catching up on your TiVo, here are some lazy weekend recipes.

Breakfast Egg Burrito- Serving a crowd for breakfast. These burritos are perfect for those hungry overnight guests and the recipe is flexible. Add bacon, scallions, extra veggies or jalapeno cheddar according to your taste!

Morning Maple Waffles- Whether you use fresh waffles or easy frozen waffles, this breakfast dish will definitely have you coming back for seconds.