Savory French Toast

Who says French Toast has to be sweet?  I love it with cinnamon and maple syrup, but when I was little my dad would sometimes use garlic and butter, so I wanted to experiment with that concept.


The idea is to make it the same way you usually do, only with savory flavors instead of sweet ones.

 1 loaf thick sliced (texas-toast) white bread


Whisk 1 dozen eggs with:
3 TB white cooking wine
1/2 C milk
1 TS garlic powder
1 TB parsley
sprinkle salt & pepper



Soak slices in egg mix for a minute or two - you should see air bubbles coming up as the egg soaks in.  If you pour the egg into a shallow pan you can soak several pieces at once.

Cook on griddle, or on buttered cookie sheet at 400F for 15 minutes, then flip and bake 10 minutes.


This made enough for 4-5 people, served with sauteed mushrooms, sausage, and seasoned french fries.  If you like garlic bread, you will like this!

Honey Blondies

As you can see, I have finally returned from my quest to make blond brownies that are actually fudgy-textured like brownies should be, and it was so worth it.  After quite a few dismal failures, finally this version came together in just the right way and I was able to refine it to a few ingredients and only two dirty dishes. I've starting inventing occasions just so I have a reason to make these...

1.  Melt 1 stick + 3 TB butter in saucepan.  Use some to grease an 8x8 pan, then flour it.



2.  In the same saucepan - mix until smooth:
              1c brown sugar
              1/2 ts salt
              1 lg egg, room temp
                   (put in dish of warm water if cold)
              1 ts vanilla extract
               and the important bit:  1/4 c honey

3.  Stir in 1c flour and mix well.

4.  Stir in 1/2 cup walnuts

5.  Pour into pan and spread evenly.

6.  Bake @ 350 for 33 minutes - surface will be lightly browned and center is just set.  Cool completely before cutting.



The honey is really the key ingredient.  None of the previous versions were coming out right, until I tried the honey.  Honey has an unusual chemistry and behaves differently than other sugars.  These are better the next day after the honey has a chance to set properly, and they don't go stale for at least the two days that is the longest they've survived so far.
 

Simple Sorbet

It is berry season and here is a great recipe for them!


 All you need is fruit, cream, sugar, and frozen juice concentrate.









The original recipe calls for buttermilk, and you can use that if you want to cut the calories, but I didn't like it as much.  The unused portion of buttermilk goes bad really quickly too, so if you buy some make sure to use it within a day of opening the carton.

For best results, use very cold ingredients.

Start with ~3 cups of berries. Puree in blender or food processor.


Stir well with 1/3c sugar, 1 can frozen juice concentrate, and 1/3c half&half or lite cream.

Chill in freezer for about an hour.






If you have an ice-cream maker, process the mixture for about 20 minutes.  The texture will be better, but if you don't have one just skip this step.




Spoon into paper cups.  Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours.


There are lots of combos to try.  My favorite so far is strawberries with orange juice concentrate. (try adding a banana!).






Strawberries with limeade concentrate was quite good also, and blueberries with lemonade concentrate got very high ratings from the testing group.


 Peaches might work too but I haven't tried them yet...
   



 Blackberries will be ready to pick soon, so I'm going to try them with lemonade or maybe cherry punch concentrate.  Blackberries have a lot of seeds and some fiberous stuff in the middles, so strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth before mixing with other ingredients.

Superfast Seafood Pie

 Comfort food season is coming to a close, so I wanted to share this one before the weather turns hot. 
In less than an hour, you can have a seafood pie every bit as good as restaurants make.

1.  Pie crust
2. Can of diced potatoes, drained
3. Scallops
4. Cream of Shrimp condensed soup
5. Can of crabmeat, drained


Saute scallops until they are firm and lightly browned, about 10 minutes on med-hi.

Press bottom crust firmly into pie plate.
Fill with potatoes, scallops, and crabmeat.
Pour soup in even layer - use as-is from can, do not dilute with milk.
Spread top crust and crimp edges.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Cover crust edge with foil and bake another 15 minutes.  Serve hot.

Other combinations are possible - you can use Cream of Potato if you don't like shrimp; you can saute other seafood or fish instead of scallops.  There are lots of ways to customize and still get a nice mix of flavors.  You can add spices, such as thyme, marjoram, saffron; I put a sprinkle of Old Bay seasoning on the scallops.

Melty Bacon-Cheeseburger Dip

I have only made this once, but I really liked it.  The rest of the test group didn't seem to enjoy it as much, but they are a couple of moody bastards so you can't go by them... :)

 

This recipe is easy and kids love to make it:

Cook and drain 1# ground meat.

Mix with 1# cubed Velveeta, 1 can (drained) chopped tomatos or chopped green chilis.

Add 1c shredded mozzarella and 1/4 c bacon bits.

 

Heat over low heat in a saucepan  - OR -  microwave on high.  Stir every two minutes until cheese is fully melted.

Serve with tortilla chips or veggies for dipping!  You might need to pop the dip into the microwave to re-warm if it gets too thick as it cools.

Taco Muffins!?!

These turned out really tasty for something that was so quick and easy to make!  Try them for your Cinco de Mayo party!

The basis is Pillsbury Grand Jr biscuits.  You can put lots of different things on top.  One package has 10 biscuits; split them in half and press each half into a greased muffin pan.  (Don't use whole ones - they rise too much and push the toppings off)

Top with a tablespoon of cooked taco meat, a spoonful of taco sauce, and shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.  Cheese should be melted.  Then just scoop out of the muffin pan with a rubber scraper and serve with taco stuff.

Also try making this with pizza sauce and toppings.
The Grand Jr biscuits are a good size for standard muffin pans.  You can also make this without a muffin pan, but get the bigger biscuits and just press them together in a cake pan.

Three Ingredients To Beer Bread

This is the easiest recipe to make bread, as long as you like a little hint of beer flavor.  Most breads use yeast, which produces a gas that makes the bread dough rise and have little air pockets.  In this recipe, the beer replaces the yeast and does the same job, only without all the processing steps that yeast requires.




Mix in large bowl:

3 c. all purpose flour (not bread flour)
1/2 c. sugar


 make a well in the middle and pour in:

12 oz light, mild tasting beer  (for drinking I prefer dark, heavy beers, but those don't work very well in this recipe.  Stick to light, mild flavors)





Stir just until well blended.  (if you mix too much, it breaks up the bubbles and you get a flat, dense bread)










Spread in greased loaf pan.





Bake at 375 for 45-50minutes.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes.  Turn out onto wire rack and let cool for at least 1 hour.


You can sprinkle cheese on top before baking, or try cutting a slice down the center and spreading with a line of pesto.

Roasted Broccoli Soup

I have always wanted to be able to make broccoli soup that comes out savory and flavorful.  I have had it at restaurants, and finally found out that the secret is to roast the broccoli first.  It brings out a lot of flavor in the broccoli.

I found quite a few different recipes, and tried several before I was able to refine the process down to fewer ingredients and simpler steps.  This version is really easy to make and is Gluten Free!

Cut ~2# broccoli into florets.  Discard stumps.

Spread florets on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Drizzle florets with olive oil, sea salt, garlic powder.

Roast at 425F for 25 minutes, stirring after the first 10.  Florets will be soft and lightly browned.

Toss florets into stock pot with 4c chicken or veggie broth.

Bring to a boil over med-hi heat, then cover and simmer covered for 25 minutes.

Strain out about half of the florets with a slotted spoon.  Puree in blender or chopper, then stir back into the soup.  (This step thickens the soup without adding starches)

Stir in 3 TB lemon juice and 3/4c parmesan cheese.

Peanut Butter Pie

This one is so easy and so rich and tasty that the only problem will be keeping yourself from making it all the time!

Beat 5oz cream cheese with 1/2c confectioner's sugar until blended.

Mix in 1/3c smooth peanut butter. Stir until smooth.

Gently fold in 8oz thawed whipped topping.



Spoon into graham cracker crust.


Refrigerate 2-3 hours.

If traveling, freeze 2 hours.

Serve with whipped topping or chocolate sauce.

White Chocolate Brownies

I have a bit of a conundrum with the name of these.  They are essentially brownies, but  made with white chocolate.  Which basically makes them "whities" but somehow that sounds wrong...








So, you are on your own as far as what to call them, but I assure you they are delicious.  It took me several attempts to get the texture to come out chewy and soft like brownies; this is the best version I was able to come up with.



Melt 1/2 c butter with 6oz white chocolate baking bars (do NOT use white chips - they don't melt)


Stir until smooth and let cool for a few minutes.


Stir in 1c sugar and 2 room temperature eggs. Keep stirring until fully blended - it will look a bit thick and pasty.


Transfer to a medium bowl, then stir in 1c flour until smooth.  I tried doing this step in the same pan but it is difficult to stir.


That's it - five ingredients.  You can add nuts at this stage if you like.


Spread batter in heavily greased or parchment-lined 8x8 pan.


Optional- drop small blobs of raspberry or apricot jam and swirl with knife.


Bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes.  Center will be slightly soft, and top will be evenly browned.

Cool in pan on wire rack.

Cider Mac & Cheese

The ultimate comfort food!
The flavor is strong, sort of like cheese fondue, and goes really well with smoky ham or sausage.


13oz box macaroni of choice - cook as directed on package.



In medium pan on medium heat:


Melt: 3 TB butter.

Saute: 1 diced Granny Smith apple, 3 minutes

Sprinkle with 3 TB flour, mixing constantly.  The flour should make a pasty coating.

Slowly stir in 1 c. hard cider and 1 c. light cream.

Stir constantly over med-low heat until smooth.

Bring to boil, then stir in 12oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Mix until smooth.

Stir in pasta.

Pour into greased large roasting pan or casserole dish.  Top with more shredded cheese.

At this point you can refrigerate and bake later, but the flavor and texture will be better if you bake right away at 350 for about 20 minutes. If you refrigerate and bake later, increase baking time to 30 minutes.

Serve with the second half of the cider, if you haven't already finished it :)

Be sure to use hard distilled cider, such as Angry Orchard Crisp Apple (the alcohol evaporates during cooking and just leaves the cider flavor).  Sweet cider doesn't work for this. 

Only Two Steps to Homemade Ice Cream!!

Did you know you can make ice cream at home?
I was surprised at how easy it is, and it was really fun to be able to make any kind I want.


I used the ice cream attachment for my Kitchenaid, but you can also do it in a regular mixer.


1 pint heavy cream
14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Step 1: Pour both into the ice cream maker and blend according to mixer directions.

Or use a regular mixer, and beat on high until stiff peaks form. 

This will make soft-serve ice cream.

Step 2: For hard ice cream, spoon into plastic container and freeze at least 4 hours.

Thats it, just those two steps to make sweet cream ice cream. 

For flavored ice creams: during the mixing stage, add 2 teaspoons vanilla or other extracts, or 2 tablespoons chocolate, coffee, maple, or other syrups.

Gently fold in fruit or nuts or chocolate chips or other goodies just after mixing. 

I used apple pieces and cinnamon in the batch pictured.


It is really yummy, and doesn't have all the chemical additives of store-bought brands.

I tried several other recipes that had more ingredients, but none of them made a better texture than this one, and the ones that use milk come out kinda crunchy with ice crystals.

A Baddie but Goodie - Breakfast Calzone

There is nothing healthy about this recipe, but it is really very tasty. You can use more or less cheese to adjust to your preferences.



This can be made in advance and heated in the oven later.  I recommend allowing the potato and sausage patties to cool a bit before adding them - if they are too hot, they create a lot of steam inside which can mess up the top dough.  Don't let them get too cool though, because the inside won't be heated through by the time the dough is cooked.

Don't use thin crust dough - it rips.  Get the Classic crust.

Heat potato patties and sausage patties according to package directions.




Spread out one dough on greased cookie sheet.



Cover with layer of partly-cooled potato patties.



Top with cheese (you can use any kind of shredded or sliced cheeses.  I like spicy ones)



Next layer - precooked sausage patties.


Optional - another layer of cheese



Scramble 4 eggs with 3 TB milk.  Optional - add spices such as black pepper or Tabasco sauce.
Spread egg layer on top.


Optional - crumbled bacon


Cover with second dough and crimp edges.



Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.


Serve immediately with salsa and sour cream.