Apple Fritter Monkey Bread and Salad-topped Frittata
I love getting my hands on a new cookbook. I devour the pages and then go back a second time and put flags on the recipes that I want to try. While that may sound organized, I also have lists of cookbooks and recipes scattered about my house on random notepads and slips of paper. Downloading recipes into my Paprika recipe app from blogs, Instagram and newsletters are also part of my morning routine. Whenever I have overnight guests or I’m planning a meal for family or friends, I dip into these reserves to plan meals. The authorities tell us not to make a new recipe for the first time for guests, but I figure why not? This is the perfect time – when I have a captive audience of taste testers! It helps that these taste testers are often my own kids.
I was recently planning a breakfast for my daughter and her boyfriend, and the dozens of apple recipes in my recipe reserve popped to mind. Apple cider pull-apart bread, apple fritter bread, apple cinnamon rolls, apple cakes, scones, galettes, you name it. I was tempted to try so many of these but then I remembered that I’ve had Apple Fritter Monkey Bread flagged in my One Tin Bakes cookbook for a year or two. Of course, I would need a savory egg dish to give me permission to serve this nostalgic treat as an accompaniment. Back to the bookshelf I went. As I browsed through one of my newer cookbooks, Smitten Kitchen Keepers, her Slumped Parmesan Frittata caught my eye. Decision made.
Apple Fritter Monkey Bread
Apple Fritter Monkey Bread in a 13x9 baking pan.
My memory of monkey bread is from the late 80s/early 90s using the blue cylinders of Pillsbury refrigerated biscuit dough in a tube pan. Fun fact: During the 1980s, Nancy Reagan popularized serving monkey bread during Christmas by making it a staple of the Reagan White House Christmas. Well, one Christmas morning I made monkey bread at my parent’s house and caught the oven on fire as the sugary cinnamon syrup dripped out of the pan to the bottom of my mom’s oven. This updated version is from Edd Kimber or The Boy Who Bakes, the inaugural winner of the first series of The Great British Bake Off. His recipe uses a homemade brioche dough and is baked in 13x9 tin pan. Leakage averted.
I had debated making the Apple Cider Pull Apart Bread from Sarah Kieffer but thought the 13x9 version looked less time consuming and had less rises and hands-on time. I made the dough on Friday and placed in the fridge to rise. Sunday morning, I rose before everyone else and in a peaceful kitchen with the sun shining through the east windows, I rolled out the dough and cut it into 1-inch squares. Calming. However, rolling each 1-inch piece into a ball, dipping in butter followed by cinnamon and sugar took a bit of time. You place the balls with the chopped apples into the pan, cover and let rise another hour. You can cook the apples ahead of time and should. I think you could make it all the night before and let the second rise happen in the fridge and just pop in the oven in the morning. Takes 20-25 minutes to bake. Let it cool slightly and then drizzle a simple powdered sugar glaze over the top. My house never smelled so good!
Here are the monkey bread parts:
Brioche Dough: flour, sugar, salt, rapid rise/fast action yeast, milk, eggs, butter — ideally started two days ahead.
Apples: Granny Smiths peeled and diced, unsalted butter, brown sugar cooked on stove top. Okay to make the night before and refrigerate.
Coating: butter, cinnamon, sugar
Glaze: powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, water
Granted this “one tin bake” was a lot for four people! Athough it says “best served on the day it’s made” — I sent some home with my daughter and rough as it sounds, we managed to nibble on it for several more days! The recipe ingredients are listed in weights, so it’s easy to half … except for the three eggs. I’m thinking next time I’ll try scaling it down to one third and baking it in a small round pan. If anyone tries this, let me know!
A bottoms-up close-up view of the Apple Fritter Monkey Bread 🐒
Slumped Parmesan Frittata topped with mixed greens
I’m used to making frittatas with whatever peppers, onions and other veggies I have on hand in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove and then finishing in the oven. Smitten Kitchen’s Slumped Parmesan Frittata is different in that it’s only baked. The beauty of this frittata is in the simplicity of ingredients and the texture. The egg mixture is flavored with sautéed shallot, black pepper and parmesan. Frittatas on the stovetop sometimes can be a bit rubbery or overdone. But in this recipe, the egg comes out fluffy, tender and moist like a softly scrambled egg, thanks to a whole cup of milk.
The Slumped Parmesan Frittata in all her glory.
I was also attracted to the rustic-ness of pleating the parchment paper into a cake pan and then simply lifting it out onto a cutting board to serve. It calls for baking in a 9” cake pan but for some reason I got rid of my old 9” pans and only have 8” pans. I don’t think this made much of a difference in baking time. I baked it at 425 degrees for 22 minutes. Stick a knife in it to make sure it’s set and not runny.
It was supposed to slump in the middle, hence the name. But I’m not sure mine actually slumped, maybe because I used an 8” pan or maybe I let it cool and didn’t notice. In any case, I piled the “salad” on top which made it a colorful work of art and super healthy looking! The salad consisted of mixed greens with raw chopped shallot soaked in red wine vinegar, olive oil and grape tomatoes, lots of kosher salt and pepper, and herbs. I used parsley and chives per the recipe suggestion and also added basil. Everyone commented on the basil. I mean who doesn’t love some basil?
You can play around with the salad-to-egg ratio per your taste. I had so many greens that I didn’t get a good photo of the frittata. But she was beautiful.
Ingredients:
2 Tbs unsalted butter
½ cup minced shallot
Kosher salt
1 ½ Tbs cornstarch
10 large eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup milk
Generous 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (or Romano)
2 tsp red-wine vinegar
1 ½ Tbs olive oil
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups mixed greens
1 Tbs or more of herbs (parsley, mint, chives – or try basil!)
Prepare the eggs
Melt butter in frying pan, saute half of the minced shallot with salt for 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool. You’ll add the cornstarch to the shallots, stir and then add eggs, salt, lots of black pepper. Whisk together and stir in cheese. Pour egg mixture into pan lined with parchment and bake at 425 degrees.
Toss the salad
Combine the raw shallot with red wine vinegar and let rest 5 minutes. Toss together the olive oil and tomatoes with a generous amount of kosher salt and pepper.
Serve it up
After five minutes of cooling, lift the frittata onto a wood cutting board and top with the mixed greens, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and your herbs of choice. Place the cutting board in center of the table and let your guests slice a wedge.
Breakfast musings
I love starting the day slowly with a beautifully prepared breakfast. I think it’s my favorite meal to prepare for guests. Perhaps because I can make some of it ahead. I like waking up before guests and while sipping my coffee, I can prepare the meal without any pressure or anyone looking over my shoulder. I always like offering something both sweet and savory. And especially if it’s the last morning, I like sending my guests away with a full stomach, lingering morning conversations and a pleasant start to the day. So be forewarned. If you come to visit, bring an appetite for breakfast and please sleep in.