Overnight French Toast

A great way to use up a day or two old baguette! You can easily add different spices, mini chocolate chips or berries.

For the custard:
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar - white or brown
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp rum or vanilla extract

1 loaf day old baguette or ciabatta cut into 1/2" slices
2 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces, plus additional for the pan

Whisk the custard ingredients together thoroughly.  Butter a glass pan that will fit all the bread slices.  Arrange the slices slightly overlapping on an angle.  Pour the custard over the slices, pressing the bread down so it can absorb the custard.  If the bread absorbs all the custard before you get it to the fridge, or your pan is so large that the bread isn't mostly covered by the custard, mix up another half batch of custard and pour over the top.  Arrange the small pieces of butter on the top, nestling between the slices.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

In the morning, remove the plastic wrap, place the dish in the oven and turn on to 350.  Let the glass heat up with the oven so you don't go from the cold of the fridge to the hot oven and stress the pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until custard is set.  Remove and let sit for a few minutes before serving with hot syrup, berry sauce and fresh whipped cream.

Options:
-spread the slices of bread with a thin layer of Nutella or peanut butter
-sprinkle chocolate chips in between the bread slices
-cook chopped bananas in butter and brown sugar to make a caramel sauce and serve over the french toast
-sprinkle chopped pecans or almonds over the top
-sprinkle fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries between the bread slices
-mix cream cheese with sugar and lemon zest; spread a thin layer on the bread slices
-zest an orange into the custard and whisk to combine

Haricot Verts with Tomatoes and Almonds

Quick and easy, haricot verts (french green beans) have a slightly nutty taste and cook more quickly than green beans.  Paired with tomatoes and almonds, these veggies go well with grilled meats.

1# haricot verts
1 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 pt cherry tomatoes
1/4c chopped almonds
1/4c water
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large skillet, put the olive oil, water and haricot verts.  Cover with a lid or foil and cook over high heat, allowing the beans to steam, for about 5 minutes, or until beans are crisp-tender.  If water cooks out before beans are done, add a little more.   Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until slightly wilted and beans are tender.  The water should be about cooked out at this point.  Add the almonds, cook another minute and season with salt and pepper.

Tandoori Chicken Thighs

Spiced chicken thighs are quick to cook on the grill

or baked in the oven. Serve with Steamed Haricot Verts with Tomatoes and Almonds.  

This marinade will easily cover 4-6 thighs; you can double the recipe for 8-12 thighs:

1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

1/2 onion, grated

1 Tbsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp turmeric

3-5 garlic cloves, minced or microplaned

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients.  Add the boneless, skinless chicken thighs and stir and turn to make sure that the chicken is well coated on both sides.  Let sit for 30 - 45 min on the counter, or refrigerate for 2 hours.  Heat the grill and spray with non-stick spray OR place foil on the grill OR heat an oven to 350.  Scrape off the excess marinade and sprinkle chicken with salt.  Grill on each side about 6 minutes, or bake for 10-12 minutes, until cooked through.  

Lime and Cilantro Coleslaw

A perfect side for any spicy Mexican dish because of the cooling effect of the lime, as well as a great side for seafood.  We had it with crab cakes tonight, and plan on eating it with black bean soup tomorrow for lunch.

For the dressing:

1/2 c mayonnaise

1/2 c sour cream

2-4 cloves garlic, micro-planed

lime zest from 2 limes

fresh lime juice from 3 - 4 limes

4 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

1 serrano chile, finely minced

1/2 large bunch cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper

1 small head green cabbage, thinly sliced

In a very large bowl, mix all of the dressing ingredients.  The mixture should be thin enough that it will coat the cabbage, but not so thin that it doesn't stick to the cabbage.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Add the cabbage and use tongs to thoroughly mix.  It tastes great right away, but gets better if you let the flavors meld for an hour in the fridge.  

** if you like it spicy, use 2 serranos, or to lower the heat, use a jalapeno instead.

Scallops with Spicy Orange Sauce

These huge plump scallops were brought home by the hubby for Valentine's Day.  I love Asian food, so I did a spicy orange sauce over the top - yum!

2 jumbo scallops per person
1-2 swirls olive oil
1 tsp Sambal Oelek (garlic chili paste) per person
A squeeze of fresh orange juice per person
salt and pepper

Clean the muscle off the side of each scallop.  Get a non-stick skillet with a swirl or two of EVOO screaming hot.  Season the scallops with salt and pepper and place in the hot pan.  Cook 30 seconds to a minute or until there is a nice browned edge (the right scallops has a good example of this).  The scallop will go from translucent to a milky white.  Flip over and brown the other side.  I personally would rather have a slightly under-cooked scallop than over cooked - they can turn rubbery.   Remove scallops to a plate that is sitting on the stove top (this will keep them warmer).  Reduce the heat. Add the sambal oelek to the pan and squeeze the orange juice into the pan.  Stir to combine.  Place 2 scallops on each plate and top with a spoonful of sauce.  You can garnish with orange zest and a sprinkle of kosher salt.

This would also be great to do with shrimp!

Red Coconut Curry Sauce with Vegetables

This sauce is great with the Asian Meatballs, but without is a delicious vegetarian option. You can substitute your favorite veggies.

1 red bell pepper
2 stalks celery
1 onion
2 swirls olive oil
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 Tbsp. red curry paste
1 can coconut milk - NOT light
1-2 pkgs udon noodles
salt, soy sauce or fish sauce to taste
1 large handful cilantro, chopped
Asian meatballs, if using

Cut the red pepper into small, bite size pieces. Slice the celery thinly on the bias.  Dice the onion.  In a large skillet, heat the 2 swirls of olive oil.  Add the cut veggies and saute until crisp-tender.  Add the curry paste and stir to coat the veggies.  Cook for 1-2 minutes until very fragrant.  Add the water chestnuts and coconut milk.  If using two packages of udon noodles, add half a can of water to the pan.  Cook until hot, bubbly and thickened.  Stir in the udon noodles and stir gently to separate.  Check the seasoning and add either salt, soy sauce or fish sauce. I  prefer the fish sauce - not only does it add a little saltiness, but layers of flavor.  At the last minute, stir in the chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

If using the meatballs hot out of the oven, place them in the bowls and ladle the noodles and sauce over the top. If using them frozen, add the meatballs to the sauce BEFORE the udon noodles.  Add a little extra water, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer until heated through.  Then gently add the noodles, stirring around the meatballs. Season with fish sauce to taste.  Place into bowls and sprinkle the cilantro on top.

Lemon Basil Vinagriette

I was trying to copy Uno's lemon dressing when I made this.  It is close and was very satisfying. Pictured is a salad of mache mix, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with the dressing.

For the dressing:
1 large handful basil leaves
1 garlic clove
Kosher salt
1 lemon
Olive oil

Chop the basil and put in a mixing bowl.  Smash the garlic with the flat side of your knife, mince it, then sprinkle with a little kosher salt.  Use the flat of your knife blade to rub the salt into the garlic so that it makes a paste. I go back and forth between mincing and pasting with the blade.  Doing this ensures that no one gets a chunk of garlic while eating and mellows the garlic flavor.  Scrape the garlic off the board and add to the basil.  Zest the lemon with a microplane over the basil. Juice the lemon and add to the bowl.  Sprinkle in some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil and whisk.  If you want a thicker dressing, whisk in more oil.  Check the seasoning and serve.

Super Crispy Fried Chicken

So, before tonight, I had not actually made fried chicken.  However, I've seen it done many times, so I went for it!  This was so crispy and delicious, I don't think I can ever do KFC again...well, maybe the biscuits ;)

6 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
3 eggs
1/2 c or so flour
1 cup or so Panko bread crumbs
Rotisserie chicken seasoning - or something similar
salt and pepper
Vegetable oil or Peanut oil

To prepare the thighs, trim the excess fat from the thighs, but leave the main covering on.  Season both sides with salt and pepper.  On one plate, put the flour with a tablespoon or so of the chicken seasoning and mix.  One a second plate, crack the eggs and whip with a fork.  On a third plate, pour the Panko.

In a large deep skillet, pour half an inch (or enough to go halfway up the chicken) of oil and get it going over high heat.  Use a thermometer to check that the oil is around 375.  The temperature will drop when you add the chicken.  If the oil gets too hot while you are preparing the chicken, turn the heat off.  Just make sure that it is back up to temp when you add the chicken in.  This allows a crust to form, which will prevent grease from soaking into the chicken and give you a super crunchy crust.

Dredge the chicken in the flour, then egg, then flour, then egg, then Panko.  The flour helps the egg stick, which then helps the Panko stick.  I do a double dip to get a thick crunchy crust.  Gently place the thighs into the hot oil.  Don't crowd the pan - I cooked mine in two batches. Cook until a deep golden color on one side - about 8 min - and then carefully flip.  Continue cooking until a thermometer inserted in the thick part away from the bone reads 140.  Remove the thighs to paper towels to drain.  They will continue cooking while they rest - I let the first batch rest while I cooked the second, and they were perfect - clear juices, hot inside and crispy on the outside.

I served this with a simple salad of mache mix, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with lemon basil vinaigrette.  Delicious!