Crème Brûlée French Toast and NOLA

Ormond Plantations version...

My Version....cooking

There's is much prettier on the plate, I forgot to take a photo of our plates. But the taste was wonderful.

I had the opportunity to stay in Ormond Plantation in St. Charles Parish while attending my step-grandmothers funeral in February, and while the chef (they have a lunch restaurant) made me gorgeous breakfast each day. Beautiful place and the food was fabulous! I am still dreaming of the cheese grits with ham.

At home a few weeks ago I made homemade bread loaves, and decided to make this french toast for the family Sunday breakfast. Bread came out gorgeous, and so did the french toast. You should try it. The bread just soaks up the mixture.

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
an 8- to 9-inch round loaf country-style bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
 Powder sugar for garnishing

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a bowl to cool. Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use (I freeze them for stuffing recipes).

 

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, and salt until combined; once cooled whisk in above mixture, and pour evenly over bread in a long baking dish; letting them soak. Chill, covered, at least 8 hours, or overnight.  

 Bring bread to room temperature. Heat non-stick pan to medium high, and cook separately on both sides until done. Before turning them you can spoon white or light brown sugar over them for an extra crisp.

Serve hot French toast immediately. 

NOTE: We omitted the syrup, because it was sweet enough with powder sugar, and Grand Marnier mixture. Next time I am omitting the amount of sugar used, was almost too sweet.

Beef Tenderloin

Some might find this photo harsh, but my husband and son like their steaks rare to medium rare. I did a dry rub on this tenderloin; scallions, garlic, and coriander. Something hubs had in NYC during a dinner with computer colleagues. It made for a good flavor profile, after I put my part of the beef tenderloin back in the oven and cook it longer.

Method:

Clean and trim off head of beef tenderloin (use for stew or stir fry)

Mix 3 tablespoons- garlic, minced, small chopped scallions, and coriander (you can be more liberal with the coriander if you like), salt and course ground pepper to taste.

Rub tenderloin and place in baking dish, refridgerate overnight.

Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 20 minutes for medium rare (depends on size, mine was pretty fat); adding 10 minutes for medium, and then 10 more for well done. This cut of meat is too fantastic to ruin with more than medium rare. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes and then slice.

Apple-General Tso Glaze Stuffed Cornish Hen

These babies were glazed with an apple-wine General Tso mixture. One of those things you begin making and a little of this and a little of that turns into a mouthful of WOW!

I do not make Cornish hens that often, not sure why, but duck seems to find its way into my oven more often.  After just returning from a week of AWP, Association of Writers and Writing Programs convention in Boston, lots of walking, talking, and eating I am a bit pooped to say much more. Enjoy the pics, and if you get a chance just add chopped apples to a Asian glaze recipe and be prepared to be Wow'd. 

Tamales and Tepary Beans

and Tepary bean filled Tamales...can go any way you like them. I have written about both before, because we love them. Making tamales can be grueling when you are doing it alone, but I don't mind...once a year. Back during the holidays I taught my son's girlfriend about he Hispanic tradition of making them for the holidays and put her to work! Ha!

I experimented with this batch. Some were stuffed with pulled pork, and some with chili Tepary beans. Using the sauce from the beans I flavored the masa harina, and used traditional lard. We made six dozen and gave family and friends six each for gifts. Frozen, these made a good treat for us once we returned home from the long family gatherings.

Never made tamales before? Plan ahead and have some friends chip in and you can all sit together and make them. I did this with a friend back in Texas for her family. Afterward she said it would have been too much by herself, as she had asked me to make a Costa Rican party for 30 people. So we made a Costa Rican tamale. You can find most ingredients in the 'International' isle of your local markets.

Tepary beans are considered heritage and heirloom and are available on-line and only in Arizona. Hubs travels there for work and makes it a point to bring me back a bag of black, white, and brown. They are lowest in glycemic index of all beans, and one of the best things to eat if you have high blood sugar issues like diabetics. Check out this recipe for Tepary Beans and a Hungry Chef!

Valentine's Day 'Salsify' Love

What do you make your sweetheart for Valentine's Day?

Mine is complicated. He likes obscure foods. He always has, since we got together 15 years ago. However, I like that. Because I like to experiment with flavors. It says so on my bio to the right!

The story of this dish goes...

While at the local Whole Foods store one Saturday, hubs is rummaging through vegetables and I see him asking a store employee something. I walk over to hear him asking about Salsify. She has,  no clue, he has the smart phone pulling up a pic, she is asking other employees if they know what it is. One guy points him to another similar in looks root, but it is ten times as big. But they all get no where.

I have made this dish before, written about it before. I have also read it does not taste or smell like its alternative name 'Oyster Root', but it does. You have to get it fresh. If you pick it up and it flops over or feels soft, then it is not fresh. Firm and stands like a pencil. This parsnip, potato like root does have a subtle smell and flavor of oysters. Someone might steer you the wrong way and point you to parsnips or some other 'like' root, and then it won't have the aroma.

Salsify usually comes out in February around here (maybe late summer/warm winters), one site says October to January. It comes in white (yellowish) and black, I have only seen black version, but inside resembles parsnip. Even the white version can look like parsnip, kind of. But the most important thing- it tastes similar to oysters. A mild version. Haven't had it? I encourage you to try it. I boil it in a stock (save the water), mash and chop it up; add white wine and butter, along with salt and pepper and maybe a sprinkle of garlic powder. Don't use fresh garlic or you will mask the true flavor.

If you look on the top of the turbo filet, upper corner and right hand side of picture above, that is then end result. Forget the creamed potatoes on the left; it is a pile of mess, but tasty. The whole dish was tasty. Another trip to Whole Foods and I saw they had gotten some in after our last trip.

Where does the real love come in? I hauled myself out of the house on a cold snowy day a few days later to go buy another handful of salsify so I could cook it for his Valentines Day, because he adores it. Four pieces make about 1/2 cup...not much, but a great garnish for seafood.

Happy Valentines Day Everyone! Keep spreading the food love...

PS- here is a pic from the internet

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/knowhow/glossary/salsify/

I almost forgot! The salsify water...I reuse it for sauce or gravies. You can freeze it or incorporate it into the next days meal. We are watching (always) our carb intake and such, so no extra sauce calories, because I was craving mashed potatoes this go round.

Maple Bacon Lollipops

Thats right, a Maple Bacon Lollipop hubs brought home from Roni Sue's Chocolates on Essex in NYC.

My review- cute packaging, but no maple flavor in smell or taste, just sugary. And the bacon added an old (sitting on the shelf) oil flavor rather than a bacon taste. My son nor I went back in for another taste. The bacon bits linger way too long...

Four come to a package, a great novelty gift, but nothing I would recommend. Hubs thought it was something fun since I like bacon. I have had chocolate with bacon and it was fine, but we are not sure how long these have been sitting on the shelf because there is no date.

Cherry-Lemon Pecan Cake

You can find the recipe I modeled this cafe after Lemon cake found on Martha Stewart's sit, with my own addition of reconstituted cherries in a glaze and pecans. Now remember I did not frost the cake, only glazed it, and found brushing it on was the best trick I have ever learned; it went on as smoothly and very evenly as it could cooling I might add, and soaked in well. Frosting would be too much for this cake.

We also found letting it sit for a whole 24 hours before cutting it, well I had a nibble to see how it tasted, but the following night everyone found it to be wonderful. And not too sweet.

I recommend reading through these instructions before starting...


Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans (I used 50/50 whole wheat flour mix- bakers blend or garam flour which is called Chappati flour in Indian stories)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 cups sugar (I cut sugar by 1 cup and used it all in recipe)
• 2 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks (don't be afraid, this will be very much like whipping egg whites, but it all works out in the end.)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk (did not have this so added lemon juice to whole milk and let it sit til curdles)
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded (didn't use this, nor the frosting recipe you will see on site. I made a cherry glaze instead)

Dried Cherry Mixture for Icing

 1/2 cup dried cherries (frozen will work, but thaw)
1/3 cup cherry wine or cherry liquor

Mix together and let sit overnight or about an hour (this mixture works best if warmed up a bit in microwaved or on stove; the heat will help reconstitute cherries- microwave for about 46 seconds on high- stove, warm liquid and add dried cherries, remove from heat quickly.)

Glaze

1 cup powder sugar
1/2 cup dried cherries reconstituted for an hour in cherry wine

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans, tapping out excess flour. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. (Once all of batter is in bundt pan I added some cherries drained from liquid, and pecans to the top of batter; batter will bake up and around these ingredients.)
3. Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack.
4. (I skipped this step and made up #5) While cakes are baking, bring remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Add lemon slices and simmer 25 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lemon slices to a waxed-paper-lined plate. Stir remaining 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice into syrup.
5. Using 1 cup powder sugar, 1/2 cup remaining cherries and cherry wine mixing them until a glaze is created. If you find too runny, add a teaspoonful of more powder sugar until thickens a bit more, but not too runny.
6. Using a toothpick, poke holes in warm cakes on rack. Brush with lemon syrup (in this case the glaze). Let cool completely. (I also skipped this part, as there was no need for frosting) Prepare frosting, substituting 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice for vanilla extract. Frost cooled cakes and top with candied lemon slices.