American French Toast

This morning I had to find an excuse to use some of the homemade American Sandwich Bread I made yesterday so I decided to pull out some cookbooks and look for a French toast recipe.  I typically make French toast the way my mom made it growing up where you whisk together a couple of eggs, some milk, splash of vanilla, and a dash or two of cinnamon.  It always tasted great, but I was looking for more of a custardy French toast recipe with some flavor other than cinnamon.

I ended up finding a recipe in one of my Williams Sonoma cookbooks with nutmeg and hint of orange zest.  I was a little worried that Kyle might not like the addition of citrus to the French toast, but we both really enjoyed it.  I also used to cook my French toast on an electric skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, but now I plan to follow this technique of frying the slices in melted butter.  The flavor you get from the melted butter is wonderful and you don't have to worry about buttering your slices before adding syrup.



French Toast
Makes 3 or 4 servings

Ingredients:

6 slices of American Sandwich Bread
1 1/2 cups (12 fl oz/ 375 ml) 1% milk
4 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup (2 oz/ 60 g) granulated sugar
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Confectioners' (icing) sugar for dusting
Pure maple syrup, warmed, for serving

Directions:

In a large baking dish, place the bread slices in a single layer.

In a large glass measuring pitcher, thoroughly whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, granulated sugar, orange zest, nutmeg, and salt.  Pour evenly over the bread and let stand for 1 minute, then turn the bread over and let stand for another minute.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter.  When the butter has foamed and the foam begins to subside, add as many slices of bread as will fit in the pan without overlapping (if you can use a frying pan that will fit 3 slices of bread).  When the slices are golden brown on the bottom, after about 1-2 minutes, carefully turn them over and cook until golden brown on the second side, about 1-2 minutes longer.  You may want to extend the cooking time slightly if you like a drier French toast.  Transfer the finished slices to a warmed platter in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.  Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp butter and repeat with the remaining bread slices.  Transfer the French toast to individual plates, dust the tops with confectioners' sugar, and serve at once, with warm maple syrup.

I found that the bread slices browned quickly over medium heat so definitely keep an eye on it and turn down the heat slightly if needed.

Source: Adapated from The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook 

Homemade Sandwich Bread

A week ago I discovered this wonderful food blog, Annie's Eats, on Pinterest.  My friend Cammie pinned her post on freezer meals and I was hooked!  I've been trying to find recipes other than casseroles to prepare before baby Autumn arrives in late May.  Well needless to say I ended up spending 5 hours last Thursday preparing freezer meals.  I decided to start with her Chicken Gyros, Whole Wheat Pita Bread, The Perfect Hamburger, The Perfect Burger Bun, and White Bean Chicken Chili. 

All the work was well worth it, but being pregnant and on my feet in the kitchen after work was not good for my back.  In the future I plan to double and triple recipes rather than make multiple recipes all at once. 

So far I've tried the White Bean Chicken Chili and the Perfect Hamburger (with Perfect Bun).  Both of them were great, especially the Perfect Bun (which is a light brioche bun).  I also really enjoyed packing the chili for lunch this week, but Kyle thought it resembled too much of a soup (he's not really a soup guy).  I didn't mind the consistency, but in the future I will probably double the amount of beans.

Anyways, I digress.  This post is about some homemade American Sandwich Bread.  Ever since making the buns and pitas I'm now on a bread/roll/bun making kick.  You just can't beat the taste and satisfaction of homemade bread.

I was drawn to this particular recipe because I had all of the ingredients on hand.  It came together rather quickly and I LOVE that the dough cooperated with me.  I typically find bread recipes a challenge because the dough is either too sticky or too dry, but with the purchase of a kitchen scale that has all changed.  I weighed the amount of all purpose flour and didn't need to follow the extra step of adding flour after the 10 minute knead process in the mixer.

I will definitely be making this bread again and I plan to store the slices in the freezer for a quick sandwich, grilled cheese, or some toast (if it's not all gone by Sunday!).








American Sandwich Bread
Makes 1 loaf
Approximate cook time is 2 hours and 15 minutes (includes prep, rise, and bake time)

Ingredients:

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (18 ¾ oz.)

2 tsp. salt

1 cup warm whole milk (about 110°)

1/3 cup warm water (about 110°)

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp. honey

1 envelope (about 2 ¼ tsp.) instant yeast

Directions:

Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 200°.  Once the oven temperature reaches 200°, maintain the heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven.

Mix 3 ½ cups of the flour and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Mix the milk, water, butter, honey and yeast in a liquid measuring cup. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the liquid. When the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping the machine two or three times to scrape dough from the hook, if necessary, about 10 minutes. (After 5 minutes of kneading, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time and up to ¼ cup total, until the dough is no longer sticky.) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead to form a smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.

Please note that a medium mixing speed in your stand mixer will sound pretty violent.  After 5 minutes of running I heard a loud thump and the mixer actually fell on the floor (I know!).  The mixer was close to the edge of the counter, but my recommendation is to push as far back as possible.  I also decreased the speed for the last 5 minutes down to medium-low and the bread still tasted fantastic.

Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat lightly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the warmed oven until the dough has doubled in size, about 40-50 minutes.

On a floured work surface, gently press the dough into a rectangle 1 inch thick and no longer than 9 inches. With a long side facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20-30 minutes.

Keep one oven rack at the lowest position and place the other at the middle position and heat the oven to 350°. Place an empty baking pan on the bottom rack. Bring two cups of water to boil in a small saucepan. Pour the boiling water into the empty pan on the bottom rack and set the loaf onto the middle rack. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim into the center of the loaf reads 195°, 40-50 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan, transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.

Source: Annie's Eats, originally from Baking Illustrated

Pear-Caramel Ice Cream

A couple of weeks ago I had a bunch of ripe pears that needed to be used so I decided to make David Lebovitz' Pear-Caramel Ice Cream.  This ice cream is SUPER yummy -- it's so rich that I can only handle a 1/2 cup serving at a time (crazy I know!). 

I did end up substituting 1/2 of the heavy cream with 1% milk because I didn't have the full amount on hand, but it still turned out great.  If you have an ice cream maker I highly recommend David Lebovitz' The Perfect Scoop cookbook.  I found it on Amazon for less than $15 and it's full of mouth-watering ice cream, gelato, sherbet, sorbet, and granita recipes.

Pear-Caramel Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized ripe pears, peeled and cored
• 3/4 c. + 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
• a few drops of fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Dice the pears into 1/4-inch pieces.
2. Spread the sugar in a large, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, carefully watching and stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula until melted.
3. When the sugar is a deep amber, stir in the pears. The caramel will seize, that's ok. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally for ten minutes. The sugar will have dissolved.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the cream, then mix in the rest of the cream, salt, and lemon juice.
5. Cool to room temp, puree until smooth, press through a strainer.
6. Chill according to your ice-cream maker manufacturer's instructions.

Source: Summarized from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Bacon-Corn Chowder with Shrimp

I decided to make this soup on a whim tonight because I had most of the ingredients on hand and it looked delicious.  Seriously, you can never go wrong with big chunks of bacon!  This soup came together pretty quickly and is super yummy.  I love the smokiness that the bacon adds.  It also doesn't hurt that one serving is 294 calories.  Thank you Cooking Light~

Bacon-Corn Chowder with Shrimp
Cooking Light, August Issue, pg. 26

Ingredients:
6 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
1 cup prechopped onion
1/2 cup prechopped celery
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 cups fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/3 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add bacon to pan; saute 4 minutes or until the bacon begins to brown.  Remove 2 slices bacon.  Drain on paper towels.  Add onion and next 3 ingredients (through minced garlic) to pan, and saute for 2 minutes.  Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.
2. Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender.  Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape), and secure lid on blender.  Place a clean towel over opening in the blend lid (to avoid splatters).  Blend until smooth.  Return pureed corn mixture to pan.  Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done.  Stir in half-and-half, pepper, and salt.  Crumble reserved bacon over soup.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 2/3 cups)

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 294
Fat: 7g (sat 2.7g, mono 1.3g, poly 1.2g)
Protein: 26.8g
Carb: 34.8g
Fiber: 4.3g
Chol: 144mg
Iron: 31mg
Sodium: 547mg
Calc: 94mg

Peach Streusel Coffee Cake

I've been on quite the baking spree lately!  I'm guessing it's due to the fact that all of the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks I have are filled with scrumptious, mouth-watering photos.

I'm definitely planning to bake this again~ it's simple to pull together and would also taste great with other fresh fruits.  Fresh raspberries maybe?



Peach Streusel Coffee Cake
The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book, pg. 131

Makes one 9-inch cake

For the Streusel:
3/4 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract
2 firm, ripe peaches, 1 lb total, peeled, pitted, and sliced 1 inch thick

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease and flour a 9-inch round springform pan or square baking pan or baking dish.  If using a glass baking dish, set the oven temperature to 325F.

To make the streusel, in a bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon.  Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in the butter until coarse crumbs form.

To make the cake, in a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a wire whisk, beat the egg, melted butter, milk, vanilla, and almond extract until creamy, about 1 minute.  Add to the flour mixture and beat just until evenly moistened.  There should be no lumps or dry spots.  Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.  If using a springform pan, arrange the peach slices in concentric circles from the pan sides to the center.  If using a square pan, arrange slices in rows.  Gently press the slices into the batter.  Sprinkle evenly with the streusel.

Bake until the topping is golden brown, 40-45 minutes.  A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes.  Remove the sides of the springform pan, if using.  Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges or squares.

Steamed Salmon with Charmoula

Mouthwatering...this isn't the overcooked, dry piece of salmon you're used to eating.  It's so much more.

I stumbled on this recipe in The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection For Today's Home Cook the other night when looking for "light" recipes my dad would enjoy for Father's Day.  I decided to stick with fish and this particular recipe stood out to me with all of the fresh herbs, lemon juice, and spice blend.  I decided to give it a try and let me tell you, it is super flavorful, quick, and delicious.

The cookbook gives a brief history on the "Charmoula" sauce:

Charmoula is a classic Moroccan preparation that can be used as a marinade or a sauce and is commonly served with fish.  It features many familiar Mediterranean ingredients, but extra doses of paprika and cumin give it a distinctly North African character.  To make the sauce without a food processor, mince the garlic or crush it through a press, chop the cilantro and parsley leaves finely, and combine with garlic and herbs in a glass or ceramic bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Everyone, including my picky husband, loved the flavor of the sauce and said they would "definitely eat this again".  One thing to note, I didn't have time to marinate the fish beforehand and it still tasted great.

Steamed Salmon with Charmoula
Williams-Sonoma Cookbook, pg. 172
Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup firmly packed fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I only had lime juice on hand and it still tastes bright and fresh)
Salt
1 1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 center-cut salmon fillets, about 6oz. each, skin removed

To make the Charmoula, with the motor of a food processor running, add the garlic cloves one at a time until finely minced.  Then add the cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, 1 tsp. salt, the paprika, cumin, and cayenne to taste and puree until smooth.  Slowly add the oil, processing until smooth and emulsified.  Measure out 3 Tbsp of the sauce and reserve.  Put the remaining sauce in a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate.  Put the salmon on a platter and rub both sides of the fish with the 3 Tbsp sauce.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerated for at least 2 hours.

Remove the fish and the remaining sauce from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.  Pour water to a depth of 1 inch in a large steamer pan or other large pot and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.  Set a steamer rack or other large, round rack over the simmering water.  Arrange the salmon fillets on a heatproof plate, place the plate on the rack, cover the pan tightly, and steam until the fish is firm to the touch and is barely opaque when tested with a knife, about 8 minutes {I brought the water to a boil, and then added the fish to a steamer basket that sat inside by soup pot and left the temp on medium-high, and worked just fine}.  Transfer the fish to warmed individual plates and top each fillet with a generous spoonful of the charmoula.  Pass the remaining sauce at the table.

I served the salmon over a couple spoonfuls of couscous and some grilled asparagus.  you decide to make this, please let me know what you think!

Mango-Coconut Sherbet

This Mango-Coconut Sherbet is pretty much amazing.  I've had my KitchenAid Ice Cream Mixer attachment for over a year or two now, but I've never attempted to make any sherbets!  I was also pleased that this recipe comes together so quickly.  As long as you have your ice cream maker ready, all you need to do is puree the ingredients and then churn!  Within 30 minutes you could be enjoying some homemade goodness.

You can find this recipe in the June 2011 issue of Cooking Light (love that magazine!).

Mango-Coconut Sherbet
Cooking Light, June 2011

Ingredients:
2 cups cubed peeled diced mango
1 (13.5 ounce) can of light coconut-milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut, toasted

Directions:
Combine cubed mango, sugar, 1 tablespoon lime juice, and coconut milk in a blender; process until mixture is smooth, scraping sides as necessary. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions to soft-serve consistency. Spoon sherbet into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 2 hours or until firm. Sprinkle each serving with coconut. 

Nutrition Information:
Cal: 171
Fat: 4.1g
Sat Fat: 3.8g
Mono Fat: 0.1g
Poly Fat: 0g
Protein: 1.1g
Carb: 35.4g
Fiber: 1g
Chol: 0mg
Iron: 0.4mg
Sodium: 26mg
Calcium: 4mg