Thursday, April 30, 2009

Heaven in the Hill Country: Recipes from Hoffman Haus



Heaven is Hoffman Haus on a warm, sunny day.


FP and I both adore Hoffman Haus, a unique bed and breakfast in the Hill Country town of Fredericksburg.  Comprised of several guest cottages surrounding a generous home and dining hall, the property is naturally landscaped for a casual Central Texas feel.  Each room has its own theme, but all share owner Leslie Washburne's classic, minimalist style.  In other words, you won't find any doilies or porcelain knick-knacks at this B&B.  And that's just one of the many reasons to love it.

The best part of any stay at Hoffman Haus just might be the food.  Each morning, a basket filled with homemade treats is delivered right to the door of your cottage and no matter what it holds, you know you're in for a treat.  Maybe you'll enjoy some home-baked muffins while watching the sun rise in the courtyard (feed the last bite to a lucky koi fish in the pond), or you might decide to curl back into bed with a cup of coffee and a plate of cheesy, comforting eggs.  Good morning, indeed.

As I was organizing my kitchen yesterday, the following recipe fell from between the pages of a cookbook, and it seemed like the perfect time to share it on the blog.  Leslie gave me her recipe for easy Eggs Florentine years ago, and it's a simple way to get a little taste of Hoffman Haus whenever you're in need.  I've also thrown in a recipe for Artichoke Phyllo Packets from an article I wrote on the Natural Palate, Leslie's farm house cooking school just up the road from the inn.  It's not as easy as the eggs, but it's well worth the effort.  
Enjoy!




Hoffman Haus Eggs Florentine

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
1/2 lb. havarti cheese, grated
1/2 lb. feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a round pie plate or quiche pan and set aside.

Using a colander or your hands, squeeze as much liquid out of the thawed spinach as possible.  Combine spinach with remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl - mixture will be thick.  Pour into the prepared dish and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.



Artichoke Phyllo Packets with Creamy Lemon Tahini Sauce

Artichoke Filling:

1/2 c raw almond slivers
2 tbsp. pine nuts
1 c frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1/4 c vegenaise (vegan mayo)
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Place all ingredients in bowl of food processor and process until combined and mixture is the consistency of a coarse paste. (This filling is also great tossed with pasta and served hot or cold.  - C&S)

To make packets:

Frozen phyllo dough
Canola, olive, or other vegetable oil

Thaw phyllo dough overnight in refrigerator.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Cut the stack of sheets lengthwise down the center, along the fold.  Depending on the
brand, you may need to make two cuts.  Sheets should be approximately 12x4
inches.  Use three of the cut sheets per packet, with a light brush of oil in between
each layer.  Place 2-3 rounded teaspoons of filling toward one end of stack and fold up triangularly, like a flag, trimming any excess phyllo after the last fold.  Brush top of packet lightly with oil.  Bake packets on a cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve with Creamy Lemon Tahini Sauce.

Creamy Lemon Tahini Sauce

2 tbsp. tahini
2 tbsp. mellow white miso
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 c water

Place all ingredients in bowl of food processor and process until smooth.

8 comments:

Eddie G said...

Umm...yum :p

Momcat said...

Hoffman Haus - just the perfect place! The C-man and I have enjoyed several weekends with Leslie. I love the garden - a peaceful oasis. And the rosemary bushes. Fondest food memory - chocolate French toast.

OK, I surrender. It's time to go back!!!

Food Czar said...

Thanks, C&S. We've always stayed at Camp David, which is right on Main Street in Fredericksburg, and famous for its gourmet breakfasts. Next time, we'll have to look into this place!!!

The J.R. said...

Good Mornign Kids...This place sounds great....well, other than no doilies or knick knacks...you know how I love my little gems...thats probably why my house looks like the inside of an old ladies hand-bag...but I like to see everything twinkle at night when I am lying on my chaise after I have been out on the veranduh watchun the peacocks in the yawd...anyway, I may have to visit this place to get away from the hustle and bustle I am subjected to each day...yesterday the mail man was late...I cannot work under these conditions....Ok, thats all for now...I have to go pick out something to wear for my lunch date; a gentleman caller, you know....Until next time...J.R.

Oh and P.S...I think you should assign someone the task of bringing the artichoke packet things to the pot luck....ohhh, wouldnt that be a fun idea...a party where everything was a recipe that you had posted on your blog...

P.P.S...I thought you kids woudl love this since you are all about the organic,vegan, raw movement...but during a manic episode I thought that a vegetable garden would be the perfect project to keep me occupied this summer....so I made one in the South lawn...I worked around the current sprinkler system so that I dont have to water...I just set that sprinkler section to come on every afternoon and presto...anywho, I will keep you posted as to my progress and have decided to create recipes solely using ingridients from my garden...I have sweet yellow onions, red onions, Tomatoes, grape tomatoes, squash, zuchinni, banana peppers, brussel sprouts, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers,spinach, and sweet corn...everything is starting to come up as well...on average everythign is about 3 inches tall so far...

Eddie G said...

I think you should make the phyllo pockets, J.R.!

On second thought...no.

You might do something crazy like adding a tsp of pure chicken extract :D

Classy&Sassy said...

Kudos on the garden, J.R.!! I call dibs on some tomatoes :)

Momcat said...

Another DE potluck party? I'm there!

J.R. should bring his famous 'J.R.'wiches' - they've been in the blog, right? These are totally yummy!!!

C&S - can we please (pretty please with sugar on top) have another potluck?

Anonymous said...

very nice thanks for the sharing.............

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