Saturday Morning Challah French Toast

This is an exciting weekend. The weather is getting nicer and my sister is visiting! We went to the circus and made challah bread together. The natural progression is french toast for breakfast!

Last time we saw each other in NYC, I found this little cookbook at Strand that I love. It's got great pictures and instructions. And mouth-watering recipes, including Vanilla Challah French Toast.

This is by far the best french toast recipe. Challah bread makes all the difference. Stay tuned for a post on homemade challah bread.

Challah French Toast
Makes three servings
Adapted from Perfect Jewish

6 large slices of challah about 3/4 in. thick
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter

Whisk eggs milk, orange juice, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract together in small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a medium size dish or baking pan. Soak bread slices 2 minutes on each side in batches. Heat butter on frying pan over medium heat. Fry bread slices on each side for 2 minutes.

Dusted with powdered sugar and served with strawberry and maple syrup.

Weekend Overnight Baked French Toast

Weekend breakfast is the best thing in the world. Of course, it's the weekend, so right off the bat, every meal is better than a weekday meal. This weekend, however, we made some extra decadent french toast with the leftover Hawaiian bread. The recipe is almost too rich. We tried to scale it back. Be forewarned, too much delicious french toast in your mouth may result in an upset stomach.

Oh, and one more thing...even though most of the work is prepared the night before, you still have to bake it for 40 minutes. Don't be like us and wake up an hour before we had to leave the house to make it. 

Baked French Toast with Walnuts

Adapted from NPR

1/2 loaf of Hawaiian bread

4 large eggs

2 cups 1% milk

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

1 cup walnuts

1/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp butter, cut in pieces

1/4 cup cream

Night before: cut and place bread pieces in baking dish. 

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour mixture into baking dish. Turn the bread slices to soak the other side. Cover and set in fridge overnight.

Prepare toppings: roughly chop walnuts and sugar in food processor. (We pulverized ours...oops...it's still tasty though!) Add butter and cream. Blend until just incorporated.

Next day: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread topping over the bread. Bake for 40 minutes.

Sunday Morning Cherry Lime Dutch Pancakes

After watching Paula Deen make Dutch pancakes with apple pie filling, I couldn't wait to try it myself. This Dutch pancake recipe was very easy to follow, and the result was fantastic! Instead of apple pie filling, I used cherry pie filling with lime zest. It was a simple yet fancy Sunday breakfast.

dusted with powdered sugar and paired with hazelnut coffee

Cherry Lime Dutch Pancakes
Makes 3 servings

3 oz cherry pie filling
Zest of 1 lime
3 eggs
Scant 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix lime zest in cherry pie filling. Evenly fill three ramekins with cherry pie filling.

Whisk eggs until fluffy and light-colored. Sprinkle in salt, sugar, and flour. Beat in milk and butter until frothy. Add egg mixture in ramekins. Bake for 20 minutes.

When they first come out they are puffed up like souffle.

Thank goodness they're not souffles, because they will fall. But it's ok!

This is the first time Bill and I have tried dutch pancakes and we weren't sure what to expect. The verdict? We were very impressed. They are delightful, fluffy pancakes. The cherry lime filling bubbling out makes me want to just dig into it.

And that's just what I did. I think I burnt my tongue.

But it was all worth it. A good breakfast is the best way to start any day of the week, especially a Sunday. And this was a great breakfast!

Saturday Morning Waffles

I'm on a quest to find the perfect waffle recipe. This one is pretty good. Fluffy, but not quite crispy enough. Perhaps some butter will help.

My quest continues.

Still, it's muy delicious on a Saturday morning. Dusted with powdered sugar and served with strawberries.

It's quickly devoured.

Saturday Morning Crepes

Sour cream filling with strawberries and blueberries.

Sweet Potato Ravioli

Got my pasta roller for Christmas...it's time to make some sweet (potato) ravioli! It's another one of Bill's favorites. I can't remember how many times we go to a new restaurant, and I would ask him, "You're getting the ravioli, aren't you?" And the answer is nearly always "Yep!" This dish has very few ingredients, yet it's so delicious! Another great dish for date night at home.

Sweet Potato Ravioli
Makes two servings

1 cup sweet potato, cubed
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
Ground black pepper
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
Salt
Olive oil and Romano cheese to serve

Cook sweet potato in salted boiling water for 15 minutes. Mash it and add Romano cheese, sage, and pepper.

Make pasta dough and roll out into sheets. I use a pastry cutter. It's less uniform than a ravioli cutter, but it works. Fill pasta with sweet potato filling and seal with a second square. Press the middle lightly.

Uneven ravioli adds character, no?

Cook for 7-9 minutes.

Serve with olive oil and more cheese!

Steamed Buns With Chives

My mom has been trying to teach me how to make mantou and stuff buns for three years now, but she has not had a chance to because we live so far apart (especially when we lived in Alaska). Last week I found this recipe on love and olive oil and it looks so good, I had to try it. I think my mom would be proud.

You can make these yummy soft buns with any filling. My mom likes five spice tofu with chives, but unfortunately I only found smoked tofu, which is a little strong. I filled half with the chives, and half with dumpling filling (beef & tofu). Bill likes the meat buns :)

Meat. Yum.

Steamed Buns With Chives
Makes 20 buns

filling (for 10 buns):
2 cups chives, finely chopped
1 piece of flavored pressed tofu, finely chopped
1 oz mung bean noodles, cut to pieces
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

dough:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp honey
2 1/4 tsp quick rise yeast
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup almond milk

Asian chives are larger

Soak the mung bean noodles for half an hour. Mix together chives, tofu, mung bean noodles, soy sauce and sesame oil.

In a small bowl, mix together warm water, honey, and yeast. Let it sit for five minutes, until bubbling. Mix flour and salt in the stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture and almond milk. Knead with dough hook for five minutes. Dust with with flour and hand knead a couple times until smooth. This is a very soft dough. Let it rise in an oiled bowl for an hour or until doubled.

Divide dough into 20 pieces and cool in the refrigerator. Take four pieces out at a time. Roll each pieces out and fill with 2 or 3 spoonfuls of chive mixture.

Gently gather dough together while lightly pull upwards. Press dough together to ensure seams are closed. Keep in refrigerator until ready to steam, or freeze to enjoy later.

Line the steamer. (My steamer came with the rice cooker). Steam in rice cooker for 30 minutes, or the time to cook one cup of rice. If frozen, cook for 45 minutes, or the time to cook one and a half cup of rice.

If you've cooked them but can't eat all of it, they can be refrigerated and reheated in the microwave. Easy lunch!

Imitation Crab Cakes

I admit it. I like imitation crab. It might sound like heresy coming from someone who lived in South Carolina for a year, but imitation crab is not all that bad. In fact, we have this dish pretty frequently because it's ridiculously easy to make and it looks as good as it tastes. Plus, these are healthy because they're baked! Add some blue cheese for some zing.

Imitation Crab Cakes
Makes 9 cakes

6 oz imitation crab, in small chunks
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1 scallion, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 egg
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp dried dill
Salt & pepper
1 cup bread crumbs, divided
4 tbsp blue cheese (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix imitation crab, celery, carrot, scallion, onion in a large bowl. Add the egg and mustard and stir. Season with dill, salt and pepper. Stir in half a cup of bread crumbs. Add blue cheese if desired.

Oil baking pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Form crab cakes and dip them in the remaining bread crumbs. Place on baking pans and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with lemons and tartar sauce. Enjoy!

Turkey Meatball Sandwich

Some things seem difficult until you actually do them. For me, having a pet is one. Now I have two cats. Cooking is another. I like taking on a challenge, but I'm still intimidated by recipes with a long list of ingredients. Making meatballs always seem magic to me. How do they taste so good??

Answer: lots of herbs. Don't mix too much. Just the right amount of bread crumbs so it holds together, but not too dry.

Now that I've made them a couple times, I realized it's simple enough to throw together for a weekday dinner. Get all the ingredients together. Mix in a bowl. Coat it with bread crumbs (this makes a nice crunch that my husband loves). Bake. Done.

But you gotta have good sauce. I love marinara sauce. I'm still experimenting, but this easy marinara sauce is pretty good. Scoop a big heap of it on the meatballs.

Add some grilled mushrooms.

Top it off with cheese. Don't forget the cheese.

Broil in the oven for two minutes or until melted. Add the top back on.

Turkey Meatballs

Makes 15 meatballs

1/2 lb ground turkey

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 egg

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup bread crumbs, divided

2 tbsp olive oil. 

Mix ground turkey, spinach, Parmesan, egg, and spices in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and mix. Make 15 golf ball sized meatballs. Roll each meatball in the remaining bread crumbs. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil on a baking pan. Place the meatballs in the pan. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on top of the meatballs. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Easy Marinara Sauce

Makes 1 1/2 cups 

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

14.5 oz (1 can) diced tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

Salt & pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Add onion and garlic and cook for three minutes, or until softened. Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix in oregano and basil. Cook on medium low for thirty minutes. Stir occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turkey Meatball Sandwiches

Makes 4 sandwiches

4 large dinner rolls
1 1/2 cup Easy Marinara Sauce
4 turkey meatballs

4 button mushrooms, sliced and grilled

4 slices provolone cheese

Assemble sandwich: cut roll into half. Add a spoonful of marinara sauce. Then stack the sandwich with meatballs, more marinara sauce, mushrooms, and cheese. Broil in the oven for two minutes or until cheese melted. Put the other half of the roll on top.

Easy Spring Rolls

I'm on a roll with carrots. ;) Last weekend, we had these carrot cake cupcakes after a dinner party. For the appetizer, we had spring rolls with lots of carrots, cilantro, and bean sprouts. It's the healthiest dish in the world, if not for the dipping sauce.

The ingredients are all sold at the Asian grocery market, or even at your local grocery store. (If Alaska's grocery stores have them, you would think surely upstate New York would too. No so.)

The hardest part is getting the rice paper to not stick to itself. I've tried dipping it in a pot of water, but it's very difficult to unfold it. Then I tried adding a small amount of warm water to a plate before placing a sheet of dry rice paper on the plate. Add some water on top of the rice paper and wait a minute or so for it to soften. This technique is much easier to keep the rice paper in check, but rolling is still an art that I've not yet mastered.

Easy Spring Rolls
Makes 10 spring rolls

20 cooked and peeled shrimp
1 cup (1 pack) vermicelli (green bean noodles)
10 rice paper
2 cups mung bean (green bean) sprouts
2 cups cilantro
1 cup thin carrot sticks
Spring roll sauce for dipping
Lime slices for serving

Cook vermicelli noodles in boiling water for two minutes. Prepare softened rice paper on a plate. Add bean sprouts, cilantro, and carrots towards the bottom of the rice paper. place two shrimps on top. Fold in the sides, and tightly roll up the rice paper. Cut in the middle for serving. Serve with lime slices and spring roll sauce.

Winter Lager Beef Stew

As snow covered upstate New York, I craved this satisfying and soul warming beef stew.

Chopping vegetables is easy and fun now with a never-dull ceramic knife, thanks to my thoughtful husband.

It doesn't hurt that beer is involved either.

Winter Lager Beef Stew

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 lb. stew beef
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 carrot, sliced
1 celery, chopped
3 small potatoes, chopped
1 onion, quartered
1 tomato, chopped
15 cherry tomatoes
1 bottle Samuel Adams Winter Lager
2 cups water
15 whole black peppercorn
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp flour

Heat the oil on medium high heat. Add garlic and beef. When beef is half browned, add the Worcestershire sauce. Stir until beef is browned, about five minutes. Add beef to a crock pot. Add the remaining ingredients except the flour. Mix and cook on high for 5 hours or low all day. Mix occasionally. Scoop a cup of soup out. Add the flour and stir. Mix it back in the stew. It smells as wonderful as it tastes!