I’ve always been a breakfast person. It’s the first thing I learned to cook on my own as a child. It’s my first love when it comes to meal time.
French toast is no exception. It’s top on the list of things I would consider for an ultimate breakfast menu! It’s also something that I am usually skeptical about on the menu of a new restaurant. One thing I do know is if the French Toast is prepared the way I like it, I’m ready to try everything else they’ve got.
I like French Toast to have a light and airy inside with some crispness on the outside. It makes a great brunch and there are plenty of ways to enjoy, I’ve even tried a savory version that took a piece of my heart!
Over the years I’ve learned a few tricks and tips that have helped me prepare praise worthy French Toast and know I’m passing on the knowledge!
I’ve prepared for you my top TEN tips for the best French Toast right at home. Oh and did I mention I included a French Toast recipe I made with fresh peach puree that will get you dancing! It got me dancing, I mean literally… I did the happy dance with a mouth full of maple syrup saturated peach flavored french toast! I’m having an urge to dance just thinking about it!
Of course you need to start with a good recipe. Play around a bit with ingredients to find the perfect mix for you. I enjoy my french toast creamy, light, and airy on the inside with a crisp and buttery exterior. Alton Brown has a good mix that is not too eggy and made with heavy cream which is a lot like the way I prepare mines. I also have an easy recipe which is perfect if you’re making french toast for the first time. No fancy ingredients just the basics. Get the Alton Brown recipe here. Or check out my easy and basic recipe here.
One mistake I would make with french toast early on was quickly dipping in batter and immediately putting it on the skillet. I ended up with bland piece of toast that was nothing like the tender, custard’ piece of bread I was looking for. Make sure to submerge bread in batter and allow it to sit for a few minutes to make sure the custard get’s evenly distributed throughout the bread.
Make sure the skillet is not too hot, or you’ll end up with a scorched on the outside but soft and gooey inside piece of bread. Although you don’t want the skillet too high you also need to make sure it is hot enough to instantly sizzle when you put the toast on the surface. I adjust my skillet temperature throughout the cooking process. I start it off on 375° and move it down to 300º during the first 30 seconds of the cooking process.
After each batch I always wipe down the skillet to prevent burning the next batch. Start with a fresh coat of non-stick spray, and butter for a new piece of toast. I promise this step will save you some frustration and smoke later.
Make a puddle of melted butter in the spot you’ll cook the piece of toast. It allows for a good sizzle which leaves a nice crust. Plus the butter gives it another layer of protection from burning and/or sticking. It also helps to assure there will be plenty of butter on you toast
I add a little flour to my mix, it gives it the extra crunch I like and assures a nice texture.
Instead of flipping with the spatula which can cause some damage if not careful, opt for tongs. You can look at the bottom to check if it’s done without damaging the crust and if it’s not finished simply put it back down and let it sizzle a little longer.
It can be tempting to treat these bad boys like pancakes and try to flip and flap them around but be careful. Carefully place, flip, and remove this custard filled bread. Your final product will result in a more visually appealing plate.
I use an electric hand blender to make sure everything is fully incorporated. It’s worth the extra trouble to get a fluffy and consistent piece of French Toast.
Serve straight off the skillet. French Toast will lose their airiness and fluff after sitting too long. Get em’ while it’s hot!
As of late I’ve been juicing my butt off, and I mean that literally!
Juicing is the best way for me to start a new and intense exercise regimen without starving my body. With juicing I can be sure I’m getting all the vitamins and nutrients my body needs to prevent it from going into starvation mode. If you’ve ever been on a strict diet and rigorous exercise routine and suddenly you just stop loosing weight or maybe even start gaining it, your body most likely went into starvation mode.
Well it’s happened to me and it can be frustrating. Putting in all the work and discipline with stagnant results can feel defeating!
When you have an unusual drop in calories with an increase in activity, your body tries to hold on for dear life, it feels starved. Your metabolism drops and you’re stuck at a plateau.
If this has never happened to you good, but before it does you should consider juicing. You get all the vitamins and nutrients from a bunch of veggies that you would not be able to ingest otherwise.
Juicing leaves your body wanting for nothing!
This is especially important for those of us with weak stomachs! When I first started juicing greens I would immediately fell nauseated. When I started adding ginger however, no matter how disgusting the drink was the nausea would be warded off. Not only does ginger counteract nausea it’s great for indigestion, heartburn, gas, and bloating. Just be careful and don’t use too much I made that mistake and ended up with an inedible too hot to trot juice. You only need a half an inch of the fresh ginger root to 1 cup of fresh juice.
It can be VERY tempting as a beginner to want to hurry and gulp down the fresh juice! I would do this often to avoid tasting all those concentrated raw and non seasoned veggies. :/That also lead to instant heartburn and a not so comfortable feeling belly. When you eat a piece of fruit or carrot you chew it up, as you chew your glands release saliva. If you remember anything that happened in Anatomy class besides sexual functioning, than you should remember the importance of saliva for proper digestion and absorption. Just swish it around a bit or move your jaw up and down to get those mouth juices flowing!
If you’ve ever really looked through greens and fresh herbs before you wash them you’ll clearly see bunches of dirt! Be very thorough with your produce cleaning. Take some time to carefully sort through and clean your fruits and veggies. I use a natural produce soap and scrub them bad boys GOOD. For my fresh herbs and greens, I cover in water, let them sit a while and wait for all the dirt to float off. Remove the greens from the bowl and rinse off any missed dirt.
Juicing has tremendous benefits but if you are as busy and time crunched as me, the time and effort needed to juice can sometimes be a bit discouraging. You have to wash your produce, peel (i.e lemon), and cut. Then after you finish juicing them you are left with some big machine with pulp and misplaced juice hiding in nooks and crannies you can’t possibly reach!
To save some hassle make sure you tend to the cleaning immediately. I let mine soak in a sink bath of warm water and dish soap. That way I’m not rushing through the cleaning process and missing pieces of leftover fruit that will turn into mold. Fill the water so the juicer can be fully emerged into the bath and let it sit for a few minutes. If you have to leave, that’s fine just make sure to clean it when you get back. I promise this step will save you a lot of time and frustration later.
I was raised on a no waste diet. Meaning you eat everything on your plate and we don’t throw away food. It’s kind of stuck with me which makes it hard to see all that good pulp go to waste. So I use it!
Juice the veggies or fruits you want to use, remove it from the juicer and continue juicing.
I use leftover pulp to make vegetable broths, muffins, cakes, or sauces. This Five Spice Carrot Muffin recipe goes perfect with my morning tea and utilizes leftover and essential pulp. Fiber! Fiber! Fiber!
Raw veggies can be hard to stomach if you are not used to it. In the beginning I would just add a bunch of pears and carrots to help add some sweetness to an often bitter juice.
You need to pay attention to the amount of sweet produce you use, it will spike your sugar (insulin spike)!
Let me give you an example coming from a girl who has no major blood sugar issues. When I was new at juicing I loved carrots, and would juice those bad boys to death! Well quickly I started having headaches, dizziness and just overall discomfort. I knew it had something to do with the juice. I was spiking my blood glucose levels exponentially. Needless to say I fell back on the carrots and fruits.
I still use something sweet. As a general rule of thumb no more than 1/5 of my fresh juice will contain a sweet produce.
Pot Stickers oh how I love thee! I call them Chinese dumplings, but I see many call them pot stickers, and I kind of like that name too.
When I first made Pot stickers they took all day…literally. I made everything including the Wonton wrappers from scratch.
We were instantly hooked.
As much as I love my favorite Chinese Spots Pot Stickers, the fact that my recipe and technique came so close to the original thing had me hooked.
I was making these things left, right, side, and up.
I mean we were having Chinese dumplings at least twice a week for months.
I would make the wrappers all at one time so that when I was ready for a new batch they would be ready for me.
Well to say that got old is not saying enough. I quickly learned the best and most time efficient way to turn out these delicious morsels were to buy the wonton wrappers already made, and that’s just how I do it.
The fun thing about pot stickers are you can mix-match ingredients, and use exactly what you like and none of what you don’t like! I love using Napa Cabbage, ground pork, fennel, and carrots. The recipe below uses Bok Choy which is also a favorite of mines. I like a bunch of veggies in my pot stickers, but it gives them a green color which can initially turn off a picky eater. My little one in particular. Seriously though the color doesn’t affect her, she loves Pot Stickers and eats them as if her plate is running away from her. They are totally worth the effort!
Honestly speaking my chicken frying skills have not always been up to par, luckily I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks over the years which has helped me perfect the art of frying chicken.
Because we love our Arteries at my home, fried chicken is not something I cook on a regular basis, but when we do I like to make it memorable for all participating parties.
I have some basic tips and trick I use to get that tasty crunchy golden on the outside with a juicy and tender inside.
Compiling my knowledge, experience and professional tips I put together this list of five important factors when frying the perfect piece of chicken.
Some of these you may already use, but when all tips are executed together, you will be delighted by the crunch, tenderness and moisture of this chicken.
To get that perfect fried chicken you must have the right cooking equipment.
If you already have a deep fryer that’s fine to use.
I use my dutch oven to deep fry most things including my chicken.
With the dutch oven your chicken will be submerged in the oil which allows for an even frying.
No flipping necessary. Using my 5 qt dutch oven I fill up the pot a little over half which is about 2.5 qt of frying oil .
A huge an important step in deep-frying is the temperature of your oil. Oil needs to be hot!
The temperature of your frying oil needs to be anywhere from 350°to 375°
When you oil is not hot you’ll have breaded chicken sitting in an oil and collecting all that unnecessary fat back into the crust resulting in a soggy and greasy hot mess, instead of a crunchy and crisp delightful crust!
You can use a thermometer to check the temperature of your oil, or you can get all primitive like me and use the flour sprinkle method or my favorite, the wooden stick method.
For the flour method you take a pinch o flour and sprinkle on top of the oil, if it starts to sizzle and cook as soon as it hits the oil than you’re ready to fry it up!
For the wooden spoon method you take the handle of the spoon, and push it to the bottom of the pot if bubble of cooking oil start to pop, you are ready, if not give it some more time and check back in a minute.
After I brine the chicken, I dry it off, this help the batter stick to its skin.
I season it a bit more before I put it in the flour mixture.
After shaking it in the batter you should let it sit for a few more minutes untouched.
This allows for the flour to get stuck to the chicken skin and it also produced little crusts and chunks and crunch.
With the brine the drying and the extra sitting, and seasoning it can seem a bit much and time-consuming, but it’s all worth the wait to have the best fried chicken EVER!
Occupy your time by washing dishes, or preparing sides to go with the chicken, use the time wisely, your tasters will thank you later.
We’ve all tasted a piece of chicken where the seasoning was not good, whether it was not enough or too much the seasoning of the chicken can make it or break it!
When I started frying chicken, I would always under season.. Chicken is a bland and mostly flavorless meat. It needs a good mixture of seasoning and spices to bring it back to life.
Season the batter but if you do happen to under season, add some salt to the chicken as soon as it finishes frying.
The brine is also a huge part of seasoning the brine will infuse the flavor inside and throughout the chicken… so let me tell you more about this.
Last but probably the most important steps.
If you were subjected to some high school chemistry then you know of a little process called osmosis, when water moves through the membrane or in this case the chicken.
I hate to bore you with all this science stuff but it’s kind of pertinent to the conversation just bear with me for a minute.
Then you have diffusion wear particles move through an area with a higher concentration of the particle to areas with lower concentration. The water and salt together end up work their way through the chicken, creating a flavorful moist and tender chicken.
Brining also prevent the chicken from drying out during frying.
You can add all sorts of goodness to your brine, I stick to cloves of garlic, onions, salt and granulated sugar, once in a while I may through in some soy sauce depending on the final flavors I want to reach.
Get creative and add all your flavors before you even start cooking, which will lend to a tastier final result.
Brining infuses flavor throughout the chicken, and that’s exactly what you want!
Which tip works best for you?
Do you have any more tips or tricks you would like to share?
Please let me know in the comment section I would love to hear from you
So a few weeks ago I wrote about the best pancake recipe ever, and since finding that recipe it’s all I’ve been making for breakfast!
As much as I love pancakes, we needed a little switch up and although I have a tried and true waffle recipe already, my home-girl gave me a little tip, and that tip was…drum roll please…
Half and half! Yes, just half and half
The half and half gave it a creamy and more soft texture, I still use buttermilk but the half and half was the X factor!
Now are you telling me I can have hotel continental breakfast waffle perfection at my own house?!?! NOPE ! You can have BETTER than hotel continental breakfast waffles!
Fun fact* I stayed in a hotel for over a month and enjoyed every damn day of it, including waking up extra early only to abuse the endless waffles and fresh fruit :/
These waffles are light and crispy on the outside and then perfectly complimented with a soft and buttery yet so airy inside.
This thing is beautiful inside out and I almost kept the recipe all to myself but because I love you peeps so much I’m giving y’all the hookup!
Let me know what you think!
A simple and easy pie crust made with a blend of all-purpose flour and cake flour. Pie crust maybe something you’re comfortable with buying from the store, but once you try this homemade pie you may rethink that, plus it’s easier than you could imagine!
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 cold Tablespoons Butter
3 cold Tablespoons Shortening
3-5 teaspoons ice cold water
The trick to the perfect flaky pie crust is to make sure all your ingredients are cold.
You don’t want to over mix, and leave some chunks of butter and shortening which produces the flaky layers.
Sift all purpose and cake flour together, add salt and sugar, cut in cold butter and cold shortening.
When reaches a crumbly consistency add 3-5 teaspoons of ice cold water.
When everything comes make a ball wrap it up with plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator for at lest 20 minutes.
Roll dough out and place in prepared pie pan.
You can freeze this crust but i’m not sure for how long :/ the longest I’ve ever froze one was 2-3 weeks, but I’m sure it can go a little longer.
Flax seeds are a super-duper food, they contain a ton of Omega 3 fatty acid, are packed with fiber and have been shown to reduce a plethora of diseases to include, heart attacks, diabetes, and certain cancers.
The first time I used flax-seed was in my hair….
I would go to the local health food store, buy whole flax seeds and cook them on the stove to make an all natural hair gel.
One day, busy mixing my “hair potion”, I tried tasting them and they weren’t too bad so then I ate a handful, lets not get into details but they are helpful.
I had to get my family in on this healthy seed mainly my hubby due to his lifelong G.I issues, so I started “hiding” flax seed in their food. They add a nice nutty flavor so they’re perfect for your baked breakfast bites.
They come in different colors gold and brown, I’ve heard gold is healthier, but don’t hold me to that, I’m no nutritionist. They come in ground and whole, but best grounded when using as a substitute.
This is perfect for egg allergic or vegan bakers.
If you’ve ever eaten flax seeds or ground flax-seed by itself you know it has a real slimy texture when it gets wet, just like an egg. Well the slime lends for a perfect egg replacement in your baked treats. The flaxseed ends up mimicking an egg and helps to bind the baked goods together.
Mix 1 Tablespoon of ground Flax Seed and 2 Tablespoons of Hot water. Mix it up and let it cool to room temperature before adding to batter.
Did you know you can replace oil called for in everything from muffins to my favorite red velvet cake recipe with flax seeds?
Well ½ cup of cooking oil is equal to about 1 ½ cups of ground flax-seed. When mixed with your wet ingredients it acts as oil, and with all the health benefits makes you feel a little less guilty about enjoying one too many!
If you didn’t know there is an increase in corn allergies going around. Many experts suggest this is due to corn being in almost everything we eat!
I know a lot of us use corn starch when needing added body to our recipes, well flax seeds can handle those jobs too!
All you do is mix water and ground flaxseed to your desired thickness and add to sauce, casseroles, etc.
The consistency will have a softer and less structure building consistency but you have to figure the right mix for the texture you are trying to reach.
Flax seeds are such a powerful and healthy seed you can simply add it in your normal recipes for its health benefits, to the get full advantage use ground flax seeds. If using whole flax-seed simply add it at the end of mixing batter or, sprinkle the flax-seed onto treats when you’re ready to eat!
I’m not saying it’s just as tasty as an egg but when you consider all of the health benefits of the flax-seed you can certainly make room for some on your shelves and tummy.
If you have your own tips, techniques or questions about cooking with flax seeds please leave them in the comment section, maybe there’s a treat you want to make egg free. I’d love to hear from you!
Here’s a recipe I love using which comes with another super healthy food, the sweet potato.
The flax seeds give bake goods a soft and gooey texture!
Considering my jeans gave me some fastening challenges this morning and I could barely sit in this seat to type this recipe, I probably shouldn’t be typing this recipe.
But since it’s the holiday season and I want you all to enjoy some good and satisfying food never mind the calories, I’m going to be bad and post it anyways…and start my new campaign…..”No More Box Mac and Cheese in 2014!”
*I’m going on a juicing diet when the holiday season is over*
A bit dramatic I know but I haven’t had box Mac and Cheese in eons, but what I can remember of it is not very impressive, so why eat a box of processed cheese and pasta when you can just make the real thing at home. We’re all grown-ups (I at least pretend to be)….let us rejoice in it!
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese is so much better and worth the extra work! You really can’t go back to the box once you start making your own mac and cheese at home.
Well at least my little family couldn’t, but my kids are a bunch of cheese snobs, they love all the good stuff ( i.e Percorino, Aged Cheddar, Gruyère, even Bleu D’ Auvergne) and none of the processed stuff you know American cheese…..no Kraft singles for them.
Now if you prefer american cheese or Velveeta over cheddar than this recipe is not for you, now what you could do is substitute the blocks of cheddar for some blocks of Velveeta, you may need to play with the other measurement a bit.
However if you enjoy food induced comas, a Pre-hypertension reading on the blood pressure monitor, an intense creamy flavor, and the occasional giggly thighs then jump on this homemade mac and cheese wagon…*disclaimer* Once you’re on there’s no getting off!
You’ll need
1 16 oz box elbow
20 oz about 16 cups shredded
3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
8 oz sour cream
2 eggs
Season salt or Seasonings of choice
Shred your cheese if it’s not already done.
Pre-Heat oven to 400°
Bring a pot of stock water to a boil.
Cook your pasta just to Al-Dente, you want a firm pasta not overcooked not under cooked I boiled mine for about 7 minutes.
Just make sure you don’t over cook.
It will cook again in the oven.
When pasta is cooked just to Al-Dente pour in colander and wash with cook water.
Set pasta aside.
Now lets make that cheese sauce.
In your pot, melt you butter, on medium high heat!
Mix in flour with whisk whisking and getting away all the clumps.
Slowly pour in half the milk.
Keep stirring….. Mix a bit more until sauce starts to thicken.
Put about 5 cups of cheese in the pot and whisk it into sauce until a melted. Keep stirring….
Turn stove top off.
Taste sauce and season accordingly…i use season salt, but you can use garlic powder, sea salt, pepper whatever you like, just make sure you season it if needed.
Now add the sour cream.
Be careful with this part or you’ll have a hot clumpy mess!
While whisking rapidly, pour you beaten eggs into sauce.
Just keep stirring…….
Pour cooked pasta into the cheese sauce.
Your almost there keep stirring…
Now pour your mac and cheese into a large baking dish.
Top with leftover shredded cheese…
Bake in oven for 12 minutes and Wala!
Your friends and family should thank me later… Let me know how it turns out in the comment section and if you have any questions feel free to ask away! Please don’t forget…practice makes perfect you may not get it right the first time just tweak-it next time, you will eventually master it I promise!
UPDATE* Using these same instructions, try this Grain Free version for a much healthier but still delicious alternative! I’m currently Gluten Free/Grain Free/80-20 Paleo. Removing Grains from my diet has transformed my health and body for the good.
I am a huge fan of garlic and add it to most dishes in my home.
Garlic has some great anti-inflammatory properties and adds a bunch of flavor. When garlic is used correctly you won’t need to add as much salt but still maintain a flavorful and delightful dish.
They add great notes and flavor to almost any dish, but when garlic is roasted it gets even more delightful!
Roasting garlic is easy to do, and it makes a great addition to potatoes, soups, and marinades. This is the way i’ve always done it, simple quick and easy!
So here’s all you need……
Whole Garlic
Olive oil
Pre-heat oven to 325°
Peel back garlic until you reach individual bulbs, cut the tops off.
Rinse a bit of water over top of the cut garlic. This helps keep some moisture when in the oven.
Drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven for about 40 minutes.
Times may vary with different ovens, but I know it’s ready when the top starts to get a little bubbly brown.
It should look something like this!
I love it brown with a bit of bubble it gives it an intense flavor!
Let cool and just turn upside down and press out the cloves or remove with small spoon or fork.
]]>