the french (toast) connection

Sunday morning is an ode to breakfast in our house, and lately I have been having a craving for a little french toast, that ingenious homage to stale bread.  But I didn't have any stale bread, and really, I think properly made french toast is worth the purchase of a loaf of bread particularly well suited to the goal of a crispy exterior and a custardy center.  So, yesterday, I picked up a loaf of challah bread at the local grocery, sliced up some 3/4-inch thick slices, and left them out overnight to dry out a bit.

thick slices of rich egg bread ready to take a dip

I made a custard of three eggs, a cup of half and half, a tsp of cinnamon, and a tablespoon of agave syrup.  I used the agave because I had it on hand.  Honey, maple syrup, or just plain old sugar will work just as well.  Once the bread has been dipped in the custard, setting it on a wire rack for a few minutes will give the custard a chance to  penetrate the bread all of the way through.  The secret to very thick french toast is a two step cooking process, which may seem like a pain, but it isn't really.  Heat your oven to 375.  Once you have griddled the french toast it is going in the oven for a little while, to help the custard set up a bit at the center of the bread.  See it as a bit of a respite.  You can set the table, pour some juice, and maybe scramble some eggs while it cooks.

the toast browns beautifully on an electric griddle

Just set the cooked french toast back on the wire rack and place the rack on a rack in the upper third of your oven.  20 minutes in the oven will give you an amazingly tender, but not mushy, interior in the french toast.  And it will stay piping hot while you tend to the remainder of your meal.

Sunday morning perfection--just add butter and maple syrup

Yes, I will admit this plate is calorie bomb.  But if you are going to splurge, all the more reason to make sure it is worth every bite.

feeding a craving

Last night, I had an irresistible urge for some nachos.  An unreasonable urge that wasn't going to take no for an answer.  But I want to prepare a reasonably healthy version that could take on the title of "dinner".  That made me think first of the chips.  I certainly wouldn't classify salty, fatty, bagged tortilla chips as a wise dinner choice.  And I really didn't feel like making my own corn tortillas, as easy as they are.  (Just being lazy I guess.)  That made me think of some unusual tortillas I had spotted at the local grocery.  A sort of hybrid flour/corn tortilla that had a much nicer, softer feel than the usual cardboard-consistency grocery store tortillas.

these new hybrids have a great corn flavor, 

and are made with whole grain

Cut into quarters, and spritzed with a little peanut oil, then baked in a 400 degree oven for about twenty minutes, and these made some crispy, and healthy chips to build into nachos.

I had a couple of jalapenos as well as a banana pepper in the garden, so I sliced those up along with a thinly sliced clove of garlic, and tossed them with some vinegar, salt, a little sugar, and water to make a quick and tasty pickled pepper mix.  Guacamole came together in minutes with a few small diced onions, a diced jalapeno, lime juice, salt, and an avacado.

 a fresh guacamole and a few pickled veggies

Ater letting them sit for a couple of hours.  I took half of them and mashed them in with some drained black beans.  In the freezer, I found a little left over Carne Adovada, so these were going to be pork nachos.  But a little shredded chicken or some hamburger sauted with some onion and chile powder would work just fine, too.  I grated a little cheddar and some pepper jack, and I was ready to assemble.  On each chip, I put about a teaspoon of the black beans, a little chunk of the shredded pork, and a teaspoon of the cheese.

nachos, ready to go under a low broiler

Ten to fifteen minutes under the broiler gave the chips a nice, crunchy texture and melted the cheese to a creamy consistency.  Now, to make it a real meal.  I sliced up some crunchy lettuce, diced tomatoes, and chopped a little cilantro to go on top, along with a little squirt of sour cream.  Served with a tomato salsa (I dress up a jar of Herdez salsa with a little green onion, cilantro, and jalapeno), the guacamole, and the rest of the lightly pickled veggies, it made for a fun dinner with a little bit of a pub vibe, without all the excessive salt and fat.

nachos, with accompaniments, fun,

especially with a cold corona with a squeeze of lime

Some of you may have noticed that I have been MIA for a bit.  Everything is fine -- just got a little distracted by work, but I am back on track now. 

leftovers, anyone?

Jim just loves these giant ribeye steaks we get from Costco.

these big steaks grill up beautifully alongside mixed veggies

like peppers, onions, mushrooms and little potatoes

It's a simple meal from the grill, but needless to say, these two pound steaks (more of a small rib eye roast, really) leave plenty of leftovers.  Which is the perfect excuse to make my version of a cheese steak.

I am not a fan of either cheez whiz or velveeta, so I often make a thick mornay sauce with a mix of cheeses I have in the fridge.  A mornay is simply a white sauce with some added cheese (try two tablespoons each flour and butter cooked together, with a cup of milk and a cup of cheese stirred in.  You are looking for a very thick cheese sauce).  This time I had a nice chunk of Comte that needed to be used.  The sauce can be made ahead -- I stirred in a spoonful of horseradish and a teaspoon of good mustard to pair with the beef, or you can simply cut thin slices of cheese to melt in the sandwich.

onions and mushrooms get sliced, and the beef gets sliced very thinly against the grain.  I use a nice crusty baguette, sliced open, and slathered with garlic butter.  The prep time is the bulk of the work.  These can be either cooked on the grill, or on a grill pan in the house.

It was raining out, so I cooked inside last night

Heat the grill until it is sizzling hot, and start the onions and mushrooms cooking in a little butter.  I use a dollop of the garlic butter from buttering the bread.  Once those have started to soften, press the buttered bread into the grill surface, and toast until you have some nice crisp grill marks, then flip the rolls over to crisp the outside.  The beef is tossed on the grill just long enough to get it warm.  Spread each side of the toasted buns with the cheese sauce (or layer on some thin cheese slices while the buns are still laying on the grill), pile on the warm meat mixed with the veggies, and there you have it.  A delicious way of serving leftover steak.  If you are watching your carbs, this would make a yummy wrap, too, wrapped up in a sun dried tomato wrap that has been lightly toast on the grill.

cheese steaks, served with a crunchy apple slaw

To balance out the richness of the sandwiches, I made a crunchy apple slaw, which is simply a version of my jicama slaw from the earlier tortilla soup post, that substitutes granny smith apples for the jicama.  It is light, slightly spicy, citrusy, and a great crunchy counterpart to the rich beef.  A yummy delight of a meal, great to eat out on the porch on a nice summer evening.

chicken soup?

The classic feel good soup.  Make it the way grandma did, or mix it up a bit with a little oriental flair.  I started with about four cups of home made chicken stock, but a decent store bought broth will work just fine.  Heat the broth just below a simmer, add a tablespoon of soy sauce, and grate in a thumb-sized piece of ginger and a thumb-sized piece of lemon grass.  Both lemon grass and ginger freeze very well.  I buy both, chop them into large chunks, and throw them in a freezer bag, so I have lemon grass and ginger on hand all the time.  Add a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts to the broth, and poach them just until they are cooked through -- about twenty minutes.  Remove the breasts from the broth. 

Now the fun starts.  I bought a package of udon noodles in an oriental grocery store.  They are like very thick spaghetti noodles, and since they are fresh, they cook very quickly.  If you can't find fresh udon, you can usually find a dried version in the oriental ingredient section of most grocery stores.  The dried version will take a little longer to cook.  So don't add the carrots until the dried noodles are nearly done.

sliced poached chicken, green onion and serrano chili, julienned carrots,

cilantro, and udon noodles

Bring the broth up to a fast simmer, and add the noodles and the carrots.  After about 10 minutes, add the cut up chicken.  Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.  I like peanuts in asian style soups, so I chopped up a handful.  

the peanuts, onions, chilies, and cilantro go in the soup as garnishes

Garnished with chili, green onion, cilantro, and peanuts, this soup makes for a quick, healthy, and tasty meal.

an attractive, colorful bowl of soup that tastes as good as it looks