Maple goodness!

Check out the folks over at Maine Sugar Works for some sweet deliciousness this time of year!

source: http://mainesugarworks.com/

 

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Dad’s Sunday French Toast

Dad’s Sunday French Toast

In my mind, I thought that country French cooks didn’t waste anything.  And I think this is why and how French toast must have originated.  By taking what was left over from yesterday, and using to create a substantial meal for today.

So then, French toast must have been made with French bread right?  Oh yeah!

Here in Florida, Publix supermarkets (Where Shopping Is a Pleasure – you know), they have wonderful bakeries.  Not as good as, say, fifteen years ago, but the bakeries are pretty good – and they make great baguettes.

Slice your baguette

I took a whole baguette and sliced it on an angle.  I let the sliced baguette soak for a few minutes in custard made of:

Three eggs beaten

¼ cup of whole milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp cinnamon

(OK, I know you only see two eggs in the picture, but actually used three!)

Whisk all that together in a bowl or casserole dish (something deep) large enough to hold and soak about four of the slices of bread.

On the stove, using a heavy skillet at med/high temperature – place a tablespoon of vegetable shortening and let it melt (or use vegetable oil) and let it come up to temperature.

Soak the French bread in the custard

Drop in the custard soaked baguette slices – fry until just past golden (or as you like it) about two minutes on each side.  Remove and set aside on another ovenproof plate in the oven at 300 to keep warm until all of the French bread is made.

Put two or three slices of French toast on a plate, smear with some room temperature butter and dust with powdered sugar – top with fresh or thawed fruit and drizzle with real maple syrup.  Some pork or turkey sausage pairs well with it.

Happy Sunday!  (OK, OK, if you must, you can make this on Saturday too!)

Fry the French bread

Dad's Sunday French Toast

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Banana and Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Check out HEAVY TWEED JACKET’S Saturday morning pancakes at the link.  I made them on Sunday, terrif!  and easy.

http://heavytweed.blogspot.com/2009/06/pancakes-on-saturday.html

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Apple and Black Raspberry Sorbet

A friend sent me this recipe (snail mail) and I found it with a quick google.  Although I haven’t made this – and I will – it looks too awesome not to post.  So here it is.

 

Courtesy of Bon Apetit Magazine

 

No ice cream maker is needed to make this flavorful sorbet.

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 pounds cooking apples (such as McIntosh), stemmed, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (including cores and seeds)1 1-pound bag frozen unsweetened blackberries, unthawed
1 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Combine apples, blackberries and water in heavy large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer until fruit is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Transfer to sieve set over large bowl. Press to force through as much fruit and liquid as possible. Discard solids in sieve.

Return puree to same pot. Add sugar and corn syrup. Stir over low heat just until sugar dissolves. Spoon puree into 13x9x2-inch glass dish. Freeze until almost solid, about 1 hour.

Break up frozen puree into chunks. Place in processor; puree. Return to same dish; cover and freeze until firm enough to hold shape in spoon, at least 1 hour.

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Over 50,000 views !!!

I just noticed that I received 51,000 view the other day- didn’t know I had passed 50,000.

Thank you all for visiting.

The most hits I get on my blog are for lemon poundcake and Tyler Florence’s Ultimate pot roast.

Thanks again everyone!

=Dad

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What’s Up lately ??

The Christmas and New Years holidays were busy. Managed to get some time off of work and do a little cooking, but it was mostly the traditional stuff. Of course made a turkey (actually two) – roasted one 10 lb bird out on the grill for two hours – it was great and I sure had the neighbors wondering what I was up to.

We did some running around on Sunday after church and somehow got the bug that I had to have a Polish dinner. We stopped at Polina in Casselberry to pick up some Bobak’s kielbasa.

Well, since I had the kielbasa I thought I might as well make some potato pancakes

Potato Pancakes
Gourmet|December, 2000

1 pound potatoes
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil

Peel potatoes and coarsely grate by hand, transferring to a large bowl of cold water as grated. Soak potatoes 1 to 2 minutes after last batch is added to water, then drain well in a colander.

Spread grated potatoes and onion on a kitchen towel and roll up jelly-roll style. Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and stir in egg and salt.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 4 potato pancakes, spoon 2 tablespoons potato mixture per latke into skillet, spreading into 3-inch rounds with a fork. Reduce heat to moderate and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes. Turn potato pancakes over and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt. Add more oil to skillet as needed. Keep potato pancakes warm on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan in oven

I had some left over stuffed cabbage (golumpki) from Christmas Eve. So this made for a pretty nice dish with some nice pumpernickel bread.

So there must have been something in the air — (now be good!) because yesterday there was a package sitting at the front door from my sister in New Haven – two bottles of Jezynowka – blackberry flavored brandy. YUM! Thanks Karen.

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Chicken Stock for stuffing

I use home made chicken stock for stuffing now and I took some hints from Ina Garten on this.

Take the carcass of one roasted chicken (your own or from the store) and simmer it slowly in a large stock pot with

4 quarts of water (I used spring water)

1 medium onion cut in quarters

2 carrots – large chop

2 stalks of celery – large chop with leafy tops

2 bay leaves

tablespoon of whole black pepper corns

tablespoon of kosher salt

handful of italian parsley

handful of thyme

small sprig of rosemary

Simmer this very slowly until the liquid is medium-to-dark.

Strain through a sieve into another pot that you can keep in the refrigerator (or outside frig if you have one).

Then use this when you make your favorite stuffing recipe.

Making Chicken Stock

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