Holiday breakfast hit, 2009

Well, the last major holiday of 2009 is upon us - tomorrow, to be exact, or obvious. I'm watching the year end countdown on VH-1 and various people are outlining Britney lyrics as metaphors and such...SO, I'm writing down a recent hit at my family's house this year: Baked Apple French Toast/Bread Pudding. This recipe definitely deserves a 'slash' as it is super dense and moist a la Bread Pudding, but it is light and hits the spot for all French toast lovers...like my mom.

Here's the recipe - subtly revised from Gale Gand's original note here - make ahead for a wonderful New Year's Day brunch:

Baked Cinnamon-Apple French Toast/Bread Pudding
2 tbsp unsalted butter
6 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4" slices (I used Gala, they're my favorite)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground or fresh grated nutmeg
8 slices Challah bread, toasted
8 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla

Heat the butter in a medium sized skillet over medium heat until it foams; add the apples and cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Off the heat, stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg.

While the apples are cooking, slice 1 inch pieces of Challah bread and toast in the toaster or oven (350' for 6-8 minutes, turning once). Arrange bread overlapping in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch buttered baking dish.

Beat eggs in a separate bowl, gradually whisk in sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour over toasted bread, covering all pieces. Add the apples to the top; cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, heat oven to 350'; bake uncovered until custard is set (might be slightly jiggly, but the custard is mostly firm). It will puff up and brown slightly. We baked ours for 55 minutes (50-60) and then let it sit for 10 minutes - if you can stand it. Serve with maple syrup and/or powdered sugar if you like!

Enjoy - Happy New Year!

Toast-y Brunch

Well, we survived Mother's Day brunch this past Sunday. We wanted to get something to eat and since I'm a "new mom" of a puppy, I got to choose. I picked Toast since we've lived in LP for 8 months and have never been...it's a super popular nabe spot with 1-2 hour waits as the norm. Not happening for a girl like me who needs to eat once she starts thinking about it - especially on Sundays!

C obliged and put our name in an hour before we thought we'd be hungry, which really worked out for us and we were seated on schedule at a cozy banquette table near the kitchen. The menu is awesome, a great selection of super sweet breakfast items, savory sandwiches, eggs and omelets run the gamut from crazy to Denver...the most outlandish, yet ultimately satisfying menu item was the French Toast Orgy. I can't even tell you how strange it sounds on the menu - but it was SO good. It's 3 rectangular pieces of stuffed, soaked French toast (mascarpone and strawberry, for us) topped with vanilla yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit. It's an enormous mess of goodness.

The other item we tried was the Lump Crab Benedict - the eggs were cooked perfectly and the truffle hollandaise was amazing. The crab vs crabCAKE is up for debate, though this is a healthier option, likely. Toast makes great homefries and the potatoes are caramelized and crispy - the onions are hard to resist/share (sorry).

Julies Meinl coffee was a great addition to the meal and helped perk us up after a late Saturday night. Both effective and tasty, I plan on many future Sundays at Toast...as long as C is up to the task of putting our name in early :)