Gour-Maybe? Guest Blogger - Jennie Weizel - With Homemade Breakfast Treats!

Chocolate Banana Bread! Notice artsy pics - way to go Weizel!

Is that Chobani? Wait, nevermind, I made it!

Whole Foods $7.99 a pound? I don't think so! Make it in your very own kitchen!

Hi Gour-maybe readers, I am excited to have friend and former co-worker (we don't really hate her for leaving) Jennie Weizel to talk about our favorite meal of the day: breakfast. Among many things including food, sarcasm, and good hair days, Jennie and I share a love of hobbies usually loved by the elderly like jam-making, and we are A-ok with that! Below she shares links to her favorite homemade breakfast staples: Greek Yogurt, Granola, Strawberry Jam, and Chocolate Banana Bread. Perfect to make big batch, and keep on hand. We can pretty much guarantee we'd make a parfait!  Click on the links for her inspiration and follow her on Twitter @jenweizel. Let's hear from the lady herself:

"Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I don’t understand you people who don’t eat anything until lunch. That’s crazy talk! Maybe when you try these recipes you will change your non-eating breakfast ways. These recipes are extremely simple and I usually make them ahead of time on a Sunday evening while watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians    - the news - this way each morning I can just grab it and go.

You might be thinking, “I could buy all of these things she is making herself” and you definitely could—but then you couldn’t brag to all your foodie friends that you MADE YOUR OWN GREEK YOGURT! I will just leave it at that. (we couldn't agree more! Go for the foodie bragging rights!)

The Greek Yogurt and Granola are great paired together and I always enjoy the Chocolate Banana Bread with my cup of coffee.

One of my favorite things to make is Ina Garten’s Strawberry Jam (Gour-Maybe also secretly desires to BE Ina Garten) recipe and it will take your breakfast or PB&J to a whole new level. Ina always makes me want to hop on the next flight to The Hamptons. It is a little bit more of a time intensive recipe but it’s worth the wait. After all, who doesn’t like sugar, Cointreau, and fresh fruit?

We heart you JW! Come blog on Gour-Maybe anytime!!!

The Most Amazing, Easy Blueberry Muffins

After discussing what I could bake for my boyfriend who isn't a big bread person (WHAT????) or a big sweet person (MUST BE NICE!!!), I had crossed off cakes, cookies, and pastries, when he mentioned Blueberry Muffins as something that he'd like. So I decided that I'd try and track down a recipe for the best Blueberry Muffins around. I love sweets, and breads, and sweet breads, so this was not a chore for me. I am particular as to what I like in a muffin, and I've always loved a muffin with a topping or crumb. I also happened to have on hand a pint of half-devoured gigantic, fresh blueberries. So when I stumbled upon THIS RECIPE from "A Cup of Jo" (a fabulous blog that you should follow), and I saw 1 cup of blueberries (check) ingredients I had in my pantry and fridge (check) and a crumb topping (check check), I knew I'd found the one. I made slight modifications, adding ginger and cinnamon to the dry ingredients. I did use the lemon zest. Other than that, I followed the recipe. People get ready, these are (Gordon Ramsey voice) the MOST.... AMAZING....muffins! I would make them for a crowd, because otherwise you might eat every single one. Recipe either at the link or reprinted after the jump.

Spicy Crab Cakes with Hatch Chile/Poblano Risotto

It's almost the end of Hatch chile season (sniff), so to say, "Adios" properly to my favorite seasonal pepper, I am doing another Hatch recipe. (This will end soon, I promise!). I love crab cakes, but part of the reason is that I always buy the good stuff: JUMBO LUMP. Don't go buying the stringy stuff and expect it to turn out the same way. Crab meat is like plastic surgery, you don't want the cheapest! I also love risotto, and was a little skeptical at how a "Hatch chile" and "Poblano" pepper version would turn out, but I wanted something with a little kick to support the spicy crab cakes. If you prefer another starch, by all means do a salad, a vegetable etc. The result was a spicy, complex risotto, with lots of flavor and a great amount of heat and a little tartness thanks to the goat cheese. You could potentially use a Queso Fresco as well. Get the recipe after the jump!

Linguine Pescatore - Recipe Coming Soon

Homemade Linguine Pescatore - recipe coming soon!

Drink This Now! 2008 The Federalist Zinfandel

Looking for another great bottle of red wine that won't break the bank? I always am! Since it's election year, it seems only appropriate to get political with wine by drinking a bottle or two of the 2008 The Federalist Zinfandel. Learn more about their wines on their website here. If you don't get the reference/connection of "Federalist" and "politics" well, I don't know what to say - but Google it! I'm not usually a Zinfandel girl: I prefer Pinot Noir, but I try to keep an open mind and usually find something new to add to my list. At $29.00 retail (not restaurant), it's well-priced, versatile and delicious. We drank this over the weekend at Up Restaurant in Houston, and when you drink more than one bottle, as we did, you really get to know a wine. Usually summer heat is enough to make anyone go for a cold glass of white wine, but this red is spicy, light, and just right for a table or group even when people are having lots of different things. Our table had red fish, short ribs, lamb chops, and pasta. We all enjoyed it. Try it and let me know what you think!

Down the Hatch Chile, Caramelized Onion, Sirloin and Fontina Grilled Flatbread

It's HAAAAAATCH SEASON!!!! Are you excited? You should be. I am. Can you tell? This Hatch Chile, Sirloin and Fontina Grilled Flatbread is the perfect summer recipe. Especially if you aren't cooking it in Dallas, where you could probably grill it on the sidewalk or a car hood. If you have a man or grill master in your life, I strongly suggest you delegate. Works for me! This recipe is easy because many of the components are pre-made. You can make your own pizza dough or enchilada sauce from scratch, but this tastes pretty freaking good! So before you go showing off, you might want to try the easy way. Of course, the magic of flatbreads is that if you don't like one of the ingredients below, you can always switch it for something else. Make it your own!  Get the full recipe after the jump.

It's Bikini Season, But Who Cares, We're Making Homemade Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

While some might find Summer a good time to eat fruits, veggies, and other bikini friendly fare, Gour-maybe says, "C'est la vie!" and makes Fried Chicken. Evidently, a good piece of dark meat is more important to us than other things. I'm a little behind, but will post this soon. The recipe is spicy, savory and with the tartness of buttermilk in the mashed potatoes, a real Sunday Night treat. Check back next week for the details!

Cookbooks a Bread-Making Gour-maybe Can't Live Without 005: Tartine Bread

If you've never been to the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, you have to go. Also go to Bar Tartine the restaurant associated with the bakery. I love a carbohydrate, and their breads and baked goods are worth breaking any Zone Diet or Atkins pledge. I've been coveting the Tartine Bakery cookbook for some time (the cover is soft, like bread - I'm not kidding), and finally broke down this weekend and got it! If you love bread as much as I do, this is the bread you must bake.

Gour-maybe Caveat - these are not recipes for the impatient or faint of heart, but they are very doable with a few key elements. Check out an upcoming post to see me take on their Basic Country Bread recipe. It will hopefully be filed under the Blowout section and not the Fails section!

Hide Your Picnic Basket - Egg Salad with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

Another recipe reprint request for new Gour-Maybe followers. A perfect summer salad (or sandwich). Eggs are just so versatile, and most people almost always have them in the fridge. This egg salad is one that you can make for a group, but I like to make it for myself and not tell anyone so I can eat the entire batch. That's just me. Why might you ask, is Egg Salad "Gour-Maybe?". Typically it wouldn't be, but this is a big step up from the stuff they serve at delis and lunches. Lots of fresh herbs and good-quality eggs and mustard make it flavorful and fresh. I love the tarragon flavor in it. To really blow it out, stir in jumbo lump crabmeat once the egg salad has cooled. Please try it that way, at least once! You might die tomorrow and it would be sad to miss this. Serve it on toasted sourdough bread or just with greens - I love arugula because it has a little kick. Read the simple steps after the jump.