French Toast

French Toast is beginning to be a Sunday morning ritual around these parts, and I think I've nearly perfected the technique...

Ingredients:

6 large slices bread (sourdough or challah preferably)

1 cup milk (whole milk is best)

1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk

1 generous tablespoon light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, + 2 tablespoons for cooking

pinch of table salt

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of flour

Maple syrup (or whatever you like on French Toast)

Instructions: 

1. Dry out bread over night or Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the bread on wire rack set on a baking sheet. Bake bread until it's almost dry throughout - about 7 minutes per side. Let cool 5 minutes. Return baking sheet (with wire rack) to oven and reduce temperature to 200 degrees.
   
   
   
   
2. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, 1 tablespoons melted butter, salt, flour and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Pour mixture to 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Soak bread in milk mixture until saturated, but not falling apart - about 30+ seconds per side. Use a slotted spatula, pick up each bread slice and allow excess to drip off, then set aside until ready to cook. 

 4. Heat about ½ tablespoon butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, cook 2 slices at a time for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to the wire rack/baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and add ½ tablespoon of butter for each batch. 

 Note: The first photo is swiped from the blog: Sounds Like Deja Vu

Top Notch Macaroni and Cheese

This one's for my co-worker who has been in search of a good recipe for Mac 'n' Cheese. I've tried a lot of different recipes and this one's a winner.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

For bread crumbs:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs

For macaroni:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 pound macaroni
1 pound extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
1 pound American (Velveeta), grated/cubed
1/4 tsp seasoned salt (Lawry's)
fresh ground pepper

Make bread crumbs:
Heat butter and oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook garlic and bread crumbs, stirring, until crumbs are golden. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt.

Make macaroni:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cook macaroni until just tender.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, then add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for about a minute. Gradually whisk in milk, cream, and mustard and simmer, whisking until smooth and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Drain macaroni in a colander and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in white sauce, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
Fill a 3-quart shallow casserole with the macaroni mixture and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

Over the Weekend - Domesticated

I made this over the weekend and it was waaay good. Like banana bread only, well - strawberries.

Strawberry Bread
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
2 pkgs (10 oz. each) frozen strawberries, thawed OR a pint of fresh, hulled and sliced
1 1/4 cup oil
4 eggs, well beaten

Mix together the dry ingredients. Make a hole in the center of the mexture and pour strawberries oil, eggs into the hole. Mix by hand iuntil well mixed. Pour into greased and gloured pan and bake at 350º for one hour. Cool and remove from pan. Makes one large loaf or 3 miniature loaves.
From Texas Favorites, an H.E.B. cookbook from 1985

I also spent a lot of time in the yard.

I planted squash, jalapenos and tomatoes, turned the compost, built a raised bed and transplanted two agave from pots to the ground.

John helped.

Oh, and look at this caterpillar I almost touched. Eeeew. I know they're harmless, but I don't find them cute, I think they're creepy.

And, garage sale finds: