Stuffed French Toast

This weekend some of our great friends were in town visiting us. TJ's favorite breakfast is French Toast, so I naturally wanted to make him some killer French Toast on Saturday morning. I think that there are some real keys to making great French Toast. The first thing that you need to do is plan ahead and select a great bread that will give you a great texture and excellent flavor (I chose a nice egg challah this morning). Once you have your bread you need to slice it the night before and allow your bread slices to dry out a bit overnight. The bread will act like a sponge when it is dry and soak up more of the egg mixture.



For my egg mix I like to use about 1 egg per 2 1/2 slices of bread, 1 tsp milk or cream, 1/2 tsp cinnimon, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg per each slice of toast. I place it all in a large bowl and whisk to until the mix is smooth. I think that an emmersion blender works great for the blending of your egg mix. Once I have my mix smooth and creamy I dump it into a 8X8 baking dish for the soaking of the dried slices. I always allow my bread to soak for 15-20 seconds on each side in the egg mix before placing it on the griddle. While your slices cook on their first side you can whip up 8 oz of softened cream cheese with 2 T of butter and 1 cup of pecans. You could also add some fruit to the filling, but I chose to add the fruit to the top of the toast. Once you turn your slices you simply need to scoop up a large dollup of the filling and place it on top of half of the slices. The cream cheese mixture will melt slightly while it waits to be topped by the other slice of toast. Once the slices are cooked through top the cream cheese halves with the non-cream cheese halves and remove from the griddle. I think that it is good at this point to slices the sandwich like toast pairs in half to make it easier to plate and eat. Since TJ was suffering from a brutal sinus cold I wanted to get him some extra vitamin C in the form of some orange slices. These particular orange slices I cut off, rather than peeled off, the outer skin to make them easier to eat. Finish it all off with a little powdered sugar and syrup and you are good to go. Stuffed French Toast is a great way to take a simple dish up a few notches without having to do a whole lot more. Don't settle for plain slices of French Toast, go gourmet. You will love it!!

Not Leftovers...Previously Prepared Pieces

I find it funny that in the sales world we talk about "Pre-owned" items rather than used. Many people have an aversion to leftovers, but previously prepared items have a different ring to them. For lunch today I was looking through the fridge trying to decide what I could eat that would be good and get rid of some leftovers. I decided to combine my Philly cheese steak filling with an egg for a little variation of steak and eggs. As the egg was cooking I noticed I had a little salsa that was made for the Super Bowl. Now we have Southwest Steak and Eggs!!



I guess the one thing that kept coming to the front of my mind was that we need to embrace our leftovers. We are living in a tough economy where we cannot afford to be throwing food away. You have gone to so much work preparing food, don't let it go to waste. I know that some people do not like their food to touch on their plate, but this is different. This is a new dish made with previously prepared items. Sure not everything will play nice together, but that is where you need to use discretion. Trial and error will help you yield the best results. Take a gander in that fridge and see what you might be able to combine together to make culinary magic. I think you will be surprised.

Eggs and Patience

This morning I decided to switch up my normal over medium eggs and go for some scrambled. I have to confess that I never order scrambled eggs when I am out at a restaurant for breakfast because I think that they tend to over cook them and scramble them to death while they are in the pan. Also, I think that scrambled eggs are the perfect platform for mix-ins. You can take a basic egg and turn it into a fantastic scramble by simply adding a few simple items from your fridge that sound good to you at the time. This morning I was feeling like some leftover ham, bacon, mushrooms, green onions and a little cheese. You have to have cheese when you have scrambled eggs!



I sauteed up the bacon, mushrooms, and green onions in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil. (This was simply to provide some fat in the pan before the bacon starting providing some of its own to the party.) I pulled out the mushrooms and onions and allowed the bacon to continue cooking. I added the diced ham to the pan to heat up with the bacon. Once the bacon was done I dumped the ham and bacon onto the plate with the mushrooms and onions.



The real key component of all of this is how you cook the eggs. I turned the heat down on the stove to medium to ensure the right cooking temp for the eggs. (Less heat is better with scrambled eggs.) I placed a small dollop of butter into the pan (maybe a teaspoon) and spread it around to coat the pan evenly. I added the eggs and stepped back. This is the key. Be patient and allow the eggs to cook for awhile before you start stirring them. This allows large chunks of egg to cook together so that once they get to your plate you have hearty pieces of delicate eggs and not tiny little hard bits of over cooked eggs. Use your spatula and stir ever so gently. You are not trying to dice your eggs, just agitate them slightly so that they can cook on all sides. Once you see that the eggs are 75% cooked, pull them off the oven and add back in the items on your plate with some cheese. The eggs will continue to cook and the cheese will melt nicely. Dash a bit of salt and pepper to the top and enjoy!



Scrambled eggs do not have to play second fiddle to the classic over easy egg, but they take some time and patience. Bring a few more goodies to the pan and you can take a traditionally bland dish to another level. The key though is to be delicate and patient with your eggs. You can do it!!

The Hash

One thing that I love about cooking is the freedom that you have to do whatever you want. You can make things outside of the proverbial box and they can still be delicious and creative. Since I have made a vow to extremely limit my carbs for the month I have been forced to try new things. My breakfasts always consist of eggs in one way or another, but the other accompanying items have varied dramatically. In addition, I have had this eggplant in my fridge that I have been trying to decide how to prepare. This morning I was frustrated when I really wanted some hash browns or breakfast potatoes to go with my eggs. Alas, I shall make a veggie hash to go with my eggs. I can try out this funny looking purple vegetable and get a similar sensation to eating country potatoes.



I chopped up the egg plant with some asparagus, onion, green onion, red pepper, and julienned carrots. I felt as though this would give me a great combination of salty and sweet, along with crunchy and soft textures. The eggs would act as the foundation to bring it all together and the bacon would be that something extra to make it great. I sauteed up the veggies with some extra virgin olive oil. In a separate pan I cooked up two slices of bacon that I had cut down into one inch segments. After the bacon was done I cooked my two eggs in a little of the fat to pick up a little extra flavor.


For construction I simply placed a large portion of the hash in an 8 oz ramekin and pressed it down slightly to bind it all together. I placed my plate on top of the ramekin and flipped it over to dislodge the hash and provide a nice bed for the eggs. The bacon was added to the top with a few veggies. A dash of salt and pepper to finish and I was set. I encourage you to think about some items in your fridge or produce isle that you have always wanted to try, but never had the guts to take the leap. Hash is a great way to bring a number of items together and have them all produce a flavorful symphony in your mouth.

Appropriate Start...Southwest Breakfast Sandwich

This is clearly a brand new blog that is just getting off the ground. I have to say that I am not trying to be Julie and Julia here, but I would be lying if I said that it did not influence the construction of this blog. I have a deep passion for food, and not just any kind of food but high quality gourmet food that anyone can make at home. Life is too short to eat marginal food and as our lives become busier I think that we tend to settle for average food that simply fills the grumbling space behind their belly buttons. After talking with multiple friends about the food I make and how they too can be making the same food at home I am jumping into this project with both feet. My goal is to post at least one picture a day of something that I have prepared and eaten throughout the day. It may be one of the three main meals of the day, a snack, dessert, or beverage. If I make it and it is edible it is fair game for the blog. I am not sure where this blog will go or what it will do for me or anyone who reads it, but my hope is that it will inspire and challenge you to get creative in the kitchen. Stop settling for the quick and easy fix to your hunger pains and start creating. Start enhancing your life with great food that has come straight out of your kitchen.

Since this is the first post of the blog I thought it would be great to start with a breakfast item. This morning I decided to make a deluxe egg sandwich after spending two hours at the YMCA. I needed a balanced meal that would meat my post workout needs and leave me satisfied for the morning. Having just made fajitas the night before I thought that it would be great to use some of the ingredients still on hand to make this sandwich. I placed one slice of bacon on my cast iron pan and began to cook it over medium-high heat. Once some of the fat had rendered off I placed a quarter of a red pepper, skin side out, on the pan to cook. I then added some sliced mushrooms around the rest of the pan to begin to brown. Once the bacon was ready to be flipped I flipped the pepper and mushrooms with it. When the bacon and veggies were almost done I hit them with a little salt and pepper and moved them to the edge of the pan so that I had room to cook the egg. I cracked the one egg onto the pan where some of the bacon grease remained. As the egg cooked I added some diced green onion to the pan to start to heat. Right before flipping the egg I popped the English muffin in the toaster to brown. I have found that the time that it takes to toast your bread is equal to the amount of time that your egg needs on it's second side. After flipping the egg I sprinkled it with some salt and pepper and turned off the burner. While the muffin finished I sliced up one half of an avocado. When the toaster popped I knew the egg was ready and I began to assemble the sandwich: bottom of muffin, pepper, mushrooms, egg, bacon, avocado, green onion, salsa, and top of the muffin. I used the salsa for a little extra flavor and color. I opted to not use cheese for the extra fat and calories, but a little pepper jack would have been great on top. I would have placed it on top of the egg and slid it under the broiler to melt it slightly.

This blog is not about bragging about the things that I eat or make on a daily basis. It is my attempt to share with you what I think about when I cook and how you too can be doing the same things at home. I would appreciate any comments or questions that you might have for me and look forward to this culinary journey. Will you join me?

-Dedicated to my dear friend Matt and his New Years Resolution!!