Baked Cinnamon French Toast

This is my adaptation of a "Taste of Home" recipe for Rasberry-Cinnamon French Toast (find the original recipe here). It's absolutely delightful for breakfast, brunch, or even dinner. As I've mentioned before, I'm a huge fan of the whole "breakfast for dinner" concept. It's quite simple to have ready for breakfast or brunch, as you prepare it the night before and refrigerate it until morning. I like to serve this with sausage links and fresh fruit.

Baked Cinnamon French Toast

• 1 lb. (approx.) French bread, cut into cubes
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1-3/4 to 2 cups milk (I substitute almond milk or soy milk, with good results)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Place bread cubes in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, 3/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; pour evenly over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Combine melted butter and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar; drizzle over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30-35 minutes, until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Allow it to cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 8 servings

How to Succeed in Bread-Making Without Really Trying

Okay, okay, so this title is a bit deceptive: if ya wanna succeed in bread-making, you do have to put forth a little effort. Otherwise you might end up eating either a big pile of goo or gnawing on a piece of bread that's hard enough to crack a tooth. (And kuddos to anyone who caught my little play on words in the title...I'm too cheap to award a prize, but you will certainly be crowned king/queen for the day if you can tell me what inspired my title!)

Anyway, all this to say that a few weeks ago something very monumental happened. Something that hasn't occured since I was preggo with our son. Something that isn't the easiest thing to accomplish when you have a wee one crying/crawling/running amuck under foot. So what was this grandious, larger-than-life achievement? I baked bread...from scratch! Now perhaps your reaction to this is something along the lines of, "What's the big deal, foodie?" Well if you've ever baked bread from scratch before, you'd know that homemade bread requires a lot of love and attention. It needs to be nurtured and tended to in a particular way. And when placed in just the right environment, it will grown and flourish. Hmmm...this all sounds very much like a child, doesn't it?! So as you can tell, the reason for the long break from bread-making is that I simply didn't have it in me to tend to my actual child and yet another "child" sitting in my kitchen.

So I was finally ready to give bread-making another go. What inspired me was a recipe in Cooking Light for a "Garlic-Thyme Fococcia" bread. It sounded yummy and the recipe wasn't too complicated, as far as bread recipes go. But I as I went along, my memory was continually jogged with all those tidbits of information that are absolutely essential to know when baking bread, things that are not usually clear when simply looking at a bread recipe. So if you've never baked bread before and are ready to dive in head-first, here are some basic tips to help get you started:

Always prepare yeast dough in a glass or ceramic bowl, never metal

Here's what I use, a lovely ceramic bowl that was on my wedding gift registry. It's so pretty that it practically begged me to prepare some dough in it!

The water used to activate the yeast must be at the correct temperature
The recommended temperature should be between 110-120 degrees fahrenheit. If the water's too cool, the yeast will not become activated and your bread dough will not rise properly. Too hot and the water temperature will kill the yeast. If you're just starting out, the best advice is to use an quick-read thermometer to test the temp, and once you've done it a couple of times, you'll be able to tell with your finger if the water's at the right temp.

You'll know you're done kneading the dough when it's smooth, resilient and elastic, and looks something like this:

Allow your dough to rise in warm place, free from drafts
I like to turn my oven on the its lowest temperature setting for about 2-4 minutes, then turn off the oven. This creates the perfect warm environment for dough to rise, especially if you have a drafty kitchen, like I do. After it rises, it will look something like this:

These are just a few tips. For a complete list of basic bread-making techniques, click here. Onto the recipe at last!!

Herbed Focaccia Bread

• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 pkg. dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (see my tip above about temperature)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 1/3 cups + 2 T. all-purpose flour, divided
• cooking spray
• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. Italian herb seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. (If yeast activates properly, you'll know b/c the water will become all bubbly and foamy.) Stir in sea salt. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and spoons; level with knife. Add 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, stirring to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining 1/3 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at at time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place free from drafts, for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)

Place dough on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat into a 12x8-inch rectangle. (I used a 9x13 pan instead of a baking sheet and it worked just fine, too.) Brush olive oil over dough; sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make indentations in top of dough using the handle of a round, wooden spoon or your fingertips. (I used the end of a rubber spatula b/c my wooden spoons have square handles!) Here's how:

Sprinkle dough evenly with sea salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack. And this is what it will (hopefully) look like: Then cut into squares and proceed to devour! Yield: 10 servings

Signs of Autumn

It's about this time of year that I start anxiously awaiting the arrival of fresh cranberries at the grocery store. And as soon as they pop up, I start buying--usually a couple packages at a time--so that I'll have plenty on hand to bake my popular "Apple Cranberry Bread." Bursting with fresh apples and tart cranberries, this bread is as delightful as it looks in the pictures above. Originally found in a copy of "Quick Cooking" magazine (now called "Simple and Delicious") around 5 or 6 years ago, I immediately knew this recipe would be a keeper. Every time I bake it, I always make at least 2 loaves, and sometimes if I'm feeling especially adventurous, 3 or 4 loaves. A loaf of this bread makes a great, inexpensive Christmas gift, and here's the icing on the cake: it's healthy!! As tasty as quick bread is, one of my pet peeves is bread recipes that are maxed out with vegetable oil, eggs and sugar. This one has minimal amounts of those ingredients, and yet still turns out moist and delicious.

Apple Cranberry Bread

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 T. canola or vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups chopped, peeled tart apples
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and oil. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture just until combined. **Note-Batter will be very thick! Stir in the apples, cranberries and walnuts.

Transfer to an 8-in. x 4-in. x 2 in. loaf pan coated with non-stick spray. Bake at 35o degrees for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf

**Note--Fresh cranberries can be frozen if you don't plan on using them shortly after purchasing. I do believe they'll stay good in the freezer for up to 1 or 2 months. Also, this bread freezes very well. Place them in heavy-duty freezer bags, or double wrap in plastic, before freezing. Allow them to thaw completely in the bag (I don't recommend attempting to thaw in the microwave) before serving.

Cajun Night

Two summers ago, I was perusing through the announcements bulletin during church and I came across something that caught my attention. The women's ministry was going to be taking over the wednesday night dinner program, and in particular, their focus was going to be on making home-cooked meals. Of course, my heart raced at the thought of participating in such a culinary adventure and, in a momentary lapse of consciousness, I somehow volunteered to help head up the whole project. When I came to and realized what I had just committed myself to, I was a tad overwhelmed. But in midst of being overwhelmed, I was working with a fantastic bunch of women who were committed to preparing quality meals and having a great time of fellowship in the process. We made it through the year with flying colors. This year, I've pulled back quite a bit and am only involved twice a semester to plan a meal and then work with a team of women to prepare and serve it. My most recent meal was our Cajun Night and I'm excited that this will be the first menu I'll be sharing on my newborn blog. Sorry to say, though, that if you're looking to cut calories and fat, this probably won't be the meal for you. When I multiplied the jambalaya to serve 150 people, it used like 9 sticks of butter...mmm, cholesterol! (But be on the lookout...healthier menus and recipes will be posted soon!)

Jambalaya

Whenever I say the name, it always makes me think of Newman from Seinfeld, on the "Soup Nazi" episode. He ordered some and ran down the street saying, "Mmm, Jambalaya!" Although it's technically not soup, but don't get me started.

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 lb. fully cooked andouille sausage, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups instant rice, uncooked
• 1 cups diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 1/2 cup green onions, diced
• 2 T. fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 T. worcersteshire
• 1 T. hot pepper sauce
• 1 T. browning sauce
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

In a large skillet, saute the onions, green peppers, and garlic in butter until crisp-tender. Place in a large bowl; stir in the remaining ingredients. Transfer to a greased, shallow 3-qt. baking dishes. Cover and bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring twice.

Yield: 8 servings

Homesteader Cornbread

I've never had much success in finding a cornbread recipe that resulted much better than mediocre. In pursuit of a better cornbread, I stumbled across this one on allrecipes.com. It's described as "a moist, sweet cornbread with a crisp crust is the goal, fully realized with this recipe." After making it myself last year, I gotta say, that is the honest truth!

• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yield: 15 servings

**Note: This cornbread freezes well. With a family of three, we have little use for 15 pieces of cornbread, so I'll freeze the extras, putting 3 or 4 pieces in each bag. That way, when I need some for a meal, I can just grab one bag, with enough for one meal. Voila!

Caramel Praline Cheesecake Squares

• 1 16 oz. package Pecan Sandie cookies, crushed
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
• 1 - 12 oz. jar caramel topping, divided
• 1 1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 - 5.1 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Combine cookie crumbs and butter; press into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.

Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup caramel topping until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk milk and pudding for 2 minutes. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Spread filling over cooled crust. Sprinkle with pecans. Cover and refridgerate for at least 6 hours. Before serving, drizzle with remaining caramel topping and cut into servings.

Yield: 12 - 15 servings