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Dad’s French Toast

Dad’s French Toast

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Yield: 2 Servings
Scott Nowell

This combination started many a weekend morning.

  • 4slices bread
  • 2eggs
  • 2TBS milk
  • ½tsp sugar
  • pinch cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • extra sugar
  • 1TBS butter

Heat large frying pan over medium high heat.

Beat eggs in flat bowl. Add milk, ½ tsp sugar, cinnamon, salt and beat some more.

Add butter to pan. Spread around as it melts.

Dip slice of bread in mixture, turn to coat well on both sides. When butter stops sizzling, add coated bread to pan. Dip additional slices to fill pan.

Cook on first side until nicely browned. 3-6 minutes. Turn toast over. Sprinkle with sugar. When second side is brown, turn and sprinkle this side with sugar. Cook for 1 minute, turn and cook for additional minute. This caramelizes the sugar.

Remove to warm plate, butter and syrup to suit. If making a doubled (or more) batch for a bunch of people, I prefer to put a little butter on each piece as it comes off the stove. Stack on warm plate and serve with sausages.

Baked Sausages

  • 1lb Breakfast sausage links (fresh, not that frozen junk)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment. Separate sausage links and place on baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Turn sausages over. Bake for additional 8-10 minutes.

Bacon (Baked)

  • 1lb bacon

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment and place bacon strips side by side. Some overlap is ok, there is a fair amount of shrinkage.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes to desired crispness.

Remove from oven and set pan on a safe surface and place a small heatproof dish under one side to tilt the pan. This will help the fat drain to the other edge.

If serving right away, remove to paper towel lined plate and blot fat from top of slices.

To freeze, cool completely and store in freezer bag with parchment or wax paper between layers.

Yorkshire Puddings

Yorkshire Puddings

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Yield: 6 to 12 individual puddings
Recipe – Food & Wine Magazine, February 1984

This is another great recipe from the Feb ’84 Food & Wine.  Most of my family just call these pop-overs.  By either name they are great.   I use these often to go with roast beef.  The recipe here is for 6 or 12 individual puddings or 1 large one.

  • Single – Makes 6
  • ¾cup all purpose flour
  • ½tsp salt
  • 2eggs
  • ¾cup plus 2 TBS milk
  • ¼cup melted beef fat, reserved from roast (melted butter or oil can substitute).
  • Double – Makes 12
  • 2cup all purpose flour
  • 1¼tsp salt
  • 5eggs
  • 2¼cup milk
  • ½cup melted beef fat, reserved from roast.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the eggs and pour in half of the milk. Beat well with a wooden spoon until fairly smooth, about 1 minute.

Add the remaining milk and beat for 2 minutes. The batter need not be perfectly smooth. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes to 1 hour or refrigerate overnight (up to 3 days).

Spoon 1 teaspoon of the melted fat into each of six (or twelve) popover or 3-inch muffin tins.

Place the popover pan in the hot oven and heat until the fat is sizzling and slightly smoking, about 3 minutes.

Stir the batter, then ladle about ¼ cup (3 oz for popover pan) into each muffin cup to fill halfway. Promptly return to the top third of the 400º oven and bake until the puddings are puffed, golden brown and crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Large Yorkshire Pudding

Yield: 6 to 8 Servings

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

If you would rather have a single, large Yorkshire pudding, simply make the Mini-Yorkshire recipe using an 8 or 9-inch baking dish or pan. Use the Double (12) ingredient quantities. The melted fat should be about ⅛ of an inch deep in the bottom of the pan.

Increase the cooking time to 40 minutes. Again DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN. It will look about like this when it is done:

Cauliflower au gratin

Cauliflower au gratin

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Yield: 6 to 8 Servings
Peter Karp, from http://www.food.com/recipe/cauliflower-au-gratin-43159?oc=linkback
  • 1head cauliflower, broken into florets
  • 1½tsp salt, divided
  • 1knob of butter, room temperature
  • 1cup heavy cream
  • ½cup shredded cheese (cheddar or swiss)
  • ½cup breadcrumbs
  • ¼cup melted butter


Put cauliflower in pan with 1 inch of water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to boil; cover and reduce heat. Cook for about 6 minutes until crisp tender; drain.

Butter 2-quart baking dish and add cauliflower.

Pour cream over top and sprinkle salt and cheese over all. Mix lightly with spoon.

Combine 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and sprinkle over top.

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes

Connie’s Baked Haddock

Connie’s Baked Haddock

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Yield: 4 servings
Constance Ann Lafayette Nowell

My Mom and Aunt Joan made this.  It was my child-hood favorite.

Use other white fish if you have to, but there’s really no substitute for haddock. I use cod now, haddock isn’t often available in San Diego or Colorado.  Use two hands for dipping and breading fish, a dry hand and a wet hand. This will keep the mess down a little. Use regular or Panko breadcrumbs as desired.

  • 1½lb boneless haddock fillets
  • salt & freshly ground pepper
  • 1egg
  • 1TBS milk
  • ¼cup flour
  • 1cup bread crumbs
  • butter
  • paprika (optional)


Prep:

Preheat oven to 500 – 525°F. While hotter is better, you can reduce the temperature to as little as 425°F, but it will take longer. We do this to bake fries in the same pan.

Cut fish into serving portions.

To prepare pan in the original way, put it in the oven for 5 minutes to get it hot. Remove and drop a small chunk of butter on the pan and swirl it around to coat pan. You can use a little cooking spray if you’d prefer, but you sacrifice some flavor.

Set up a standard breading station or use plastic bags for the dry ingredients.

Place flour in another shallow bowl or bag. Season with ¼ tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix.

In a shallow bowl, beat egg and milk lightly. Season with pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper.

Place breadcrumbs in another bowl or bag and mix with ½ tsp salt and pepper to taste.

Dip or shake fish in flour on both sides. Shake off excess.

Place floured fish in egg mixture with dry hand. Turn to coat with the wet hand. Lift and drain excess.

Place or shake fish in breadcrumb mixture and coat well on both sides with dry hand. Put coated fish on prepared sheet pan. Thin tail pieces may be folded to make them the same thickness as other pieces.

When all fish is on pan, dot fish with small pieces of butter (optional: sprinkle with paprika for color).

Bake on the top rack of oven for 10 to 15 minutes depending on thickness of fish and how well you want it cooked.

Serve with:
Two schools of thought on this.  I prefer mashed potatoes and green beans.  Gayle prefers fries and coleslaw, so we usually have fries and coleslaw.  Either works, but the mash and beans is better, IMHO 🙂

Grilled Marinated London Broil

Grilled Marinated London Broil

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Yield: 2 to 4 Servings
Adapted from various others

Now you’ve done it.  You bought a London Broil and see that it also says “top round”.  Well, that’s not a traditional London Broil.  The real London Broil is usually flank steak.  Here’s a recipe that will make it taste good, but don’t expect it to be tender.  You can give it a real work-over with a meat needler if you have one, that should help a lot.

  • 5large garlic cloves
  • 1tsp salt
  • ¼cup dry red wine
  • ¼cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1TBS soy sauce
  • 1tsp honey
  • 2-2½lb top-round London broil


Peel garlic and add to blender jar. Add remaining marinade ingredients. Blend to liquefy.

Place London broil in a 1 gallon freezer bag. Pour marinade into bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. Knead steak to cover completely with marinade and place in the refrigerator in a shallow dish. Refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, turning and kneading occasionally.

Heat grill. Remove from marinade and let marinade drip off. Grill for 6 to 7 minutes per side for medium-rare, 125°F internal temperature.

Rest, covered loosely for 10 minutes then slice across the grain with the knife held to 45 degrees from vertical.

French Green Beans and Shallots

French Green Beans and Shallots

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Yield: 4 Servings
Jacques Pepin

September 2016: This is an excellent green bean preparation: simple flavors combined into an elegant dish that goes with almost anything.

  • 4cups water
  • 1lb very small, firm green beans, cleaned
  • 3TBS butter
  • 3TBS peeled and chopped shallots
  • ¼tsp salt, or to taste
  • ¼tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
  • 1tsp lemon juice


Bring the water to a boil. Add the beans and cover the pot. Continue cooking the beans, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes until tender but firm. Drain and plunge into ice water.

At serving time, heat the butter in a skillet, add the shallots and sauté for about 1 minute, until the shallots start to brown.

Add the beans, salt and pepper, and sauté briefly. Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve.

Broccolini

Broccolini

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Summer 2017 These are a pair of simple preparations of broccolini.

Steamed Broccolini

Yield: 3 to 4 Servings
  • 2bunches broccolini, rinsed
  • 1TBS olive oil
  • ⅓cup water


Cut the bottom 2-inches off of stalks and split any thick stems lengthwise.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccolini; sprinkle with coarse salt. Add 1/3 cup water. Cover and boil until crisp-tender and still bright green, about 4 minutes.

Roasted Broccolini

Yield: 3 to 4 Servings
Adapted from Ina Garten
  • 2bunches broccolini, rinsed
  • 1TBS olive oil
  • Kosher salt and pepper


Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Trim 2 inches off the ends of the broccolini stems and cut any thick stalks in half lengthwise. Place the broccolini in a single layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 TBS olive oil, sprinkle with ½ tsp salt and a generous amount of pepper, toss well. Roast for 15 minutes, until the broccolini is crisp-tender. Serve hot

Sliced Tomato & Blue Cheese Salad

Sliced Tomato & Blue Cheese Salad

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Yield: 4 Servings
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse, (Delmonico Steakhouse)

2015: A nice steak house style starter salad. Goes great before a good steak.

  • 3large vine-ripened tomatoes, each cut into 4 thick slices
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2TBS plus 1/2 cup Herb Vinaigrette, recipe follows
  • 12(1/8-inch thick) slices red onion, or sweet onions
  • 1/2cup crumbled blue cheese, recommended: Maytag

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and season on both sides with the salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of the herb vinaigrette and toss lightly to coat.

Place 1 tomato slice on each of 4 salad plates and top with 1 onion slice. Repeat layering for 3 layers each of tomatoes and onions, ending with onions on top. Crumble 2 tablespoons of the cheese on top of each stack, drizzle with the vinaigrette, and serve immediately.

Herb Vinaigrette

Yield: 1¼ cups
  • 1TBS Champagne vinegar
  • 1½tsp fresh orange juice
  • ¾tsp fresh lemon juice
  • ¾tsp fresh lime juice
  • ¾tsp fresh grapefruit juice
  • ½cup vegetable oil
  • ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½cup chopped assorted herbs, including thyme, parsley, chives and basil
  • ¼tsp salt
  • ¼tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine the vinegar, and orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit juices in a medium bowl and whisk together. Add the vegetable and olive oils in a slow stream, whisking constantly to form an emulsion. Add the herbs, salt, and pepper, and whisk well to incorporate

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Vegetable Pot-au-Feu

Vegetable Pot-au-Feu

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Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from Bon Appétit

2014: This is basically a New England Boiled Dinner without the corned beef. It is suitable as a main course of a meatless meal. Pair with a nice crusty bread for sopping.

  • 2large carrots, peeled, cut on a diagonal into 2” pieces
  • 2large leeks, white and light-green parts only, cut on a diagonal into 2” pieces
  • 2large or 3 medium parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise if large (remove woody center, if needed), cut on a diagonal into 2” pieces
  • ½medium head of savoy cabbage, cut into 4 wedges, each with some core attached
  • 2flat-leaf parsley sprigs plus 1 tablespoon chopped for garnish
  • 5cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place carrots, leeks, parsnips, cabbage, parsley sprigs, and stock in large heavy pot.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Red Onion, Endive and Asparagus

Red Onion, Endive and Asparagus

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Yield: 4 servings
Jacques Pépin

Circa 2000: A simple but sophisticated dish to accompany chicken or chops.

  • 2medium red onions
  • 2Belgian endives
  • 8-12asparagus spears
  • olive oil

Julienne the onions and endive. Keep the endive in lemon water while waiting for cooking. Cut 2 inches from bottom of asparagus and lightly peal the next 2 inches. Blanch the asparagus for a couple of minutes in boiling water. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add red onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add drained endive and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add asparagus and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve.