French Toast Strata

The yolk's on you!!  (I doubled the recipe...)

Today’s feature: the dream breakfast or brunch entrée.  It’s hard to believe that there could be an item (or two) that people request over and over again for breakfast, but this is one of my mama’s recipes, which always ensures that it is spectacular (SPECTACULAR!), and that it’s reliable even for an okay baker like me.  I’ve talked about this before (because it is brunch-tastic), but here’s the secret family recipe…

French Toast Strata

Ingredients:

1 lb loaf of unsliced French bread

8 eggs

6 T butter, melted

8 oz. of cream cheese, cubed

2 and ½  C milk or half and half

¼ C maple syrup (plus more to serve)

Easy ingredients, right?  Even easier directions…

Cut the French bread into 1” cubes (makes about 12 cups).  Then, grease a 3 quart baking dish.  I like to coat it with butter (of course), but you could use a spray.  Place half of your bread cubes into the dish, then top with your cream cheese cubes.  Top off with your remaining bread cubes. 

Next, combine your eggs, milk, melted butter, and maple syrup in a bowl and mix well with a hand mixer or blender.  I like to fluff it up on high, but just make sure that it’s well combined.  Pour the mixture over your cubes. 

Use a spatula to slightly press down all the layers to make sure everything is well moistened.  (Ew.  I hate that word.  Do it just the same.)  

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours, but you can go up to 24 if you’re really well prepared.

That morning, removed the plastic wrap and bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes.  I like to broil for the last minute or so to crisp up the top, but that’s a personal preference.   Just bake until the center sets and your edges are lightly golden.  Let stand for about 10 minutes, then serve it up with warm maple syrup.

I promise that this is a winner every time.  It’s the perfect combination of French toast with cream cheese, and it is so easy that you won’t mind making it every time someone requests it (because you really love eating it, too!).

Seconds, please!

Brunch-tastic, part two... This one's for my mom.

My mother has tried for decades...literally, decades, to teach me how to cook.  She has always tried to include me, in one way or another, in her kitchen.  She's a natural born hostess, with an eye for a good recipe.  There are dozens, if not hundreds, of books that have lined her bookshelves throughout my entire life bringing together recipes from different sources: magazines, newspapers, churches, cookbooks (naturally), and now I would venture to guess that even one or two online articles have been printed out for her use.  She can time an elaborate meal to come forth from her two (oh yes, there must be more than one) kitchens with impeccable timing.  She has photocopied, and re-photocopied recipes again and again to cook and perfect throughout my lifetime.  We even have a shared place for our historic recipes - The Wilson Family Cookbook, compiled by my Aunt Louise many family reunions ago, and I've even created an update about four years ago.  My mom's family cook book has been taked out of it's original 1" binder and expanded into a 3" binder, with large, overflowing pockets filled with ideas and personal favorites to remember for next time.

Mine?  It has a couple extra Christmas cookie recipes and one for ice cream sandwiches. 

To be fair?  I can rock a mean cookie platter, but cooking is not for me.  I know there are many friends out there snickering under their collective breath that I sell cookware now.  I deserve it.  But, I'm out to learn one thing: how to make it easier.  My mother has been cooking for me for thirty years (31, as of tomorrow), and I know she will for many more decades to come.  However, I feel like now's my time to step up.  To show her I can do it.  To pay homage to the fact that her recipes will not go to waste.  Instead, I will learn them, and new ones, and make her a dinner some day that will make her proud.

Hopefully.

With this past weekend, I spent my second mother's day away from my mom.  It doesn't get any easier.  Especially knowing those 2000 miles aren't going to shrink any time soon, separation is difficult.  In honor of my mother this weekend, even though I knew she wouldn't be there to enjoy it, I made one of her recipes...  Mama Gliwa's French Toast Strata.  She hasn't trademarked it, yet, but real talk, she could if she wanted.  She could bring dictators to their knees for want of it's awesome-ness.  In fact...

Yep.  That's all that was left.  That dish was cleaned out like the Rapture was coming.  It was probably the top of everyone's 'must get seconds of' list, and rightfully so.  I would give you the recipe, but then I'd have to kill you, so here's one that's pretty darn close.  Thank you mom, for your recipe seeking ways, to help me impress my in-laws, and their friends, on a day when I should be sharing this with you.

Love you!

PS: the Carmalized Rosemary Pears were amazing.  I'll gladly make you that recipe the next time we are in the same state.  You'll love them!



Brunch-tastic! (part one)

We have this issue with our family - over celebration.  For the first six months of every year, it seems as though there is a big celebration every weekend.  Birthdays, anniversaries, mother's day, father's day, MAR10, International Star Wars Day...  You name it, we have a cookout for it.  For this mother's day and my father-in-law's birthday, I thought, why not brunch?  Let's do something a little different.  We just had a huge cookout over Easter weekend, so what better way to highlight a mother's undying love for her progeny than by eating a calorie laden meal that also includes a serving of fruit?  I came up with the breakfast menu, Thomas worked on the lunch, and by our powers combined, we rocked the brunch scene!

You've already seen the cupcakes, so there's no point in dwelling on that, but here's a peek at our entire menu...

 

Starting from the top left (and working around vaguely counter-clockwise): cold meat and cheese platter with a basket of rolls, the maple bacon buttercream topped pancake cupcakes, ham and cheese brunch squares, Mama Gliwa's French Toast Strata, carmalized rosemary pears, asparagus (asparagii?) with a roasted garlic sauce, cold sweet potato salad, grilled rack of lamb, and Edible Arrangement, and a watermelon filled with some yummy punch.

There were 10 of us (plus my 3 year old nephew), and one of the biggest hits was the Ham and Cheese Brunch Squares (thank you, PC).  Even my nephew downed some, and I usually only see him feasting on meat!  It's a little difficult to tell, but the squares were made in the stoneware bar pan.  It not only cooked like a dream, but it cleaned like a dream, too!

 
Now, please note that the Brunch Squares have generous amounts of hash browns, eggs, bacon (we substituted out the ham), cheese, more cheese, and even cream cheese, tomatoes... anything that you consider a staple of breakfast, it's probably in there!  I was a bit dubious about the clean up of the stoneware - after all it is a porous stone, but PC said it wouldn't be a problem.  In fact, since I actually read up on it before hand, it said...

• Hand wash in clear, hot water; rinse and dry thoroughly before storing. NOTE: as soap can flavor foods that are baked in Stoneware, it is important that you do not use soap or detergents to clean your Stoneware or wash in an automatic dishwasher using dishwasher detergent. Follow these steps for general and deep cleaning.

Okay, fair enough.  But what if it gets stained?

Deep Cleaning

• Prepare a baking soda paste by mixing 1/2 cup baking soda with 3 tablespoons water. Apply baking soda paste to desired areas and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Scrape off excess paste using the Nylon Pan Scraper. Rinse and dry thoroughly before storing.

Sweet.  As you can see, I didn't need to deep clean the pan, but no soap?  In this day and age of anti viral/microbal/germythingys, it seemed to me to be a bit much to ask.  I understand you don't want soap to soak into the clay, but to not even grace the pan at all??  I did a little research.  Guess what I found from Rebecca Champlin, who has an MS in Microbiology?  Yeah, I'm going there, so if you're a nerd like me, heads up.  If not, scroll down a bit...

Soap does not sanitize your dishes.  It is simply a releasing agent that allows you to remove the food particles from your dishes easier.  Friction actually does more for removing the bacteria than the soap does.  This is accomplished by rubbing a dish cloth or other cleaning tool over your dishes.  Hot, clear water is the releasing agent for stoneware.  It releases all of the food particles and extra grease from the surface of the stone.  Your pan scraper provides the necessary friction. 

Bacteria need a warm, moist environment to thrive and grow.  That is why it is important to do your dishes as soon as possible to discourage the growth of airborne bacteria on your dishes.  YOU WILL NOT HAVE BACTERIA ON YOUR STONES OR YOUR DISHES IF YOU COOK YOUR FOOD THOROUGHLY. COOKED FOOD DOES NOT CONTAIN BACTERIA!!!!  However, it will grow bacteria if left out too long after cooking it or by not properly storing it in the refrigerator after you finish your meals.  All bacteria known to man are killed at 180 degrees.  Because the stones are porous, the moisture does not stay in them... it dries up very quickly.  If you want to rapidly dry your baking stones, put them in a 200-degree oven for 10 minutes. 

The seasoning on the baking stones (non-stick surface) is caused by the build-up of small amounts of residual oils from your foods. The dark colour of your stones is caused because our stones are made of vitrified clay and the repeated heating and cooling of the stones will darken them.   Our stones have been tested and approved for safe food handling and are acceptable for use in commercial kitchens using the cleaning procedure in the package insert.

Interesting, right?  Love it.  As if I needed more of a reason to believe in this stuff...  So, go ahead, kiddos, dig in.  It's clean, it's easy to clean, and it cooks so nice and evenly that you'll be hooked on the stoneware in no time at all, just like me!

Heads up next time, when I finish going over my part of the bruncheon menu, (and maybe why I also think my new zester is pretty sweet, even if fresh ginger makes me mad...)

A word on cupcakes...

Yum! 

But seriously, I know it's tres fashionable nowadays to love cupcakes.  Maybe I am just following a trend.  However, I love the fun things that are being done with cupcakes now, and I love women like the Brown Eyed Baker who are finding recipes, compiling them, and sharing all of the fun things that you (yes, YOU) can do with baking/cooking on a daily basis.  For example, just a few weeks ago, I made these... 

The ones with the raspberries on top are Limoncello cupcakes.  While the Brown Eyed Baker posted a recipe for these, it was lifted by another foodie I love to follow, arugulove, who modified the recipe in her own ways and made them gorgeously delicious.  Alternately, the chocolate based cupcakes are Irish Car Bomb cupcakes.  AMAZING, to say the least.  I don't care much for frosting and being decorative...it was a stretch to get those raspberries on top, but I can put the frosting in a bag with a tip-less tip and enjoy the love.  This may be the only reason I like cupcakes - the frosting can be fun without a lot of work.  Could you put in the work?  Sure, but when you just spent over and hour perfecting the cupcake, is that really where you want to spend your time?  Maybe you, my friends, but not me.

Regardless, on to this weekend.  Thomas and I are celebrating mother's day and my father-in-law's birthday AND the arrival of our best man from Germany tomorrow with a big family brunch.  We're in charge, which means with Thomas' mad fat kitchen skills, it's going to be awesome.  However, I rock a mean breakfast (thanks to my mother's awesome recipes) so I'll be holding my own in the kitchen over the next 24 hours, too.  Yes, there will be Pampered Chef recipes on the table tomorrow (made with PC products), but today is about the dessert.  THE CUPCAKES.  mmmm....

If I had to pick my favorite things about breakfast, they'd be french toast (if we're eating at home), pancakes (if we're at IHOP), and bacon (because seriously, who can resist really good bacon?).  While prepping for tomorrow, I whipped up some incredible looking cupcakes that combine some of the best parts of breakfast.  So, without further ado...

Pancake Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Buttercream Frosting!   Yeah, that's right...  That's me using my high-rent "slap chop" to mince the bacon for my frosting...

And, as if bacon inside the frosting wasn't enough, I garnished with some even finer dices on top!

Well, I have to finish prepping th French Toast Strata, so happy drooling!