When I started writing all this food stuff, I never thought that I would write so much about sausages or mac and cheese or, as I will today, french toast for dinner. My aspirations for dinner are usually somewhat higher. But I have to say, I dial my culinary efforts way back when I am home with my kids alone. We all have a better time. This week’s menu plan has been working so well for us – I think I am going to have to have a Parenting Alone category.
Everyone knows that a kid behaves a lot better if they are well fed than if they’re starving or have been fed a bunch of something nasty. So when Martin is out of town, I work hard to plan fun meals that have very familiar and nourishing components. I suppose a lot of people might resort to prepared foods and take-out. I resist prepared foods of any stripe. I can’t bring myself to be fed by an entity whose main culinary goal revolves around the bottom line. Who knows what they really put in their concoctions to keep the price down? I bet that sounds really paranoid. Also I find those mysterious cans and jars completely unsatisfying. When I’m tired I need something that’s really delicious.
So tonight, the LAST night of single parenting (yay!), we will end with french toast with berry compote and bacon (with tea of course) and then we can all finally go back to eating “normal” food – whatever that is.
Here is the recipe, for what it’s worth. You can make french toast in any old way – some people only use eggs! I have seen a recipe in Joy that soaks the bread simply in maple syrup – how reductive! – (it sounds weird to me – I must try it some day!) Tonight, I’ll do what my parents did, although I like to use challah or brioche instead of sliced Roman Meal – the floppy, spineless, whole wheat, plastic bag bread of my childhood. For me, that would be taking the familiar too far.
- Start the bacon in a cold non-stick pan and turn the heat to medium-low. Unlike cooking other meats, you want to start the bacon in a cold pan to prevent it from curling up. Cooking it over relatively low heat saves you from a greasy mess all over the stove. Also, if you are multi-tasking with cooking the french toast, making tea, etc. you’ll increase your chances of having everything come out perfectly instead of smoking and singed. You can flip the bacon as you mix the milk and egg mixture and cook the french toast.
Challah french toast with berry compote – The 1997 Joy of Cooking
- 2/3 cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tbsp sugar, or maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 slices challah
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- maple syrup
- Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. I use a shallow pan, wide enough to soak 2 slices of bread at once – like a gratin dish.
- Heat up a non stick griddle or large non-stick frying pan, medium – medium high heat.
- Dip the bread slices, one or two at a time into the egg mixture until saturated but not falling apart.
- Melt the butter and add as many slices of bread as will fit into the pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottom then flip. Cook until second side is golden.
- If you are doubling the recipe or you want to serve them all at once, keep them warm on a plate in a 200 F oven.
- Serve with maple syrup and berry compote.
Berry Compote
Take 1 1/2 cups frozen berries and a squirt of maple syrup, honey, sugar OR agave and put them in a Pyrex or other microwave safe bowl. Heat up in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
and the potatoes, well, I thought those might get roasted with the chicken with a bunch of Indian spices and garlic. I figured I would be able to wing it but I steamed the potatoes, just in case, so they would be ready for anything.
, even with all the made-up adverbs which, in subsequent books, quickly spun out of control into some kind of crazed Nigella-ese. I haven’t made cod this way in several years. Don’t be put off by Mushy Peas. They’re bright green, suave and garlic-y. We might have been living in San Francisco the last time I made Mushy Peas. The kids hated them. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens today.
by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Ms Kasper uses chicken thigh in her recipe and I have tried it. Too greasy and gamey for me, and I like chicken thighs. Breast worked better; it tasted fresher. Ms. Kasper also uses a spice blend with coriander, cumin and pepper. I tried it and it was fine but I found it easier and closer to what I was looking for when I used Murchi Curry Powder from the Whole Foods line of spices. The turmeric adds the right warm notes and color.
, Julie Sahni says you have to rinse the basmati until the water is clear and then soak for 1/2 an hour before draining very carefully because the grains are so delicate from soaking. Well, I have done that and it is lovely; but honestly, who has the time on a week night? When I am set on getting dinner on the table AND having Indian food in a short period of time, this is what I do: I take 2 cups of water and set it on the stove on high, with a big pinch of kosher salt added when it boils. While the water is heating up, I put a cup of basmati rice in a sieve ( I have a little one) and I rinse it for a couple of minutes under running water. When the water boils, I dump the rice into the pot and stir. Then I wait until the water reaches the boil again. Quickly, I clamp the lid onto the pot and turn the heat down low. I set the timer for 18 minutes. Then I turn off the heat. I NEVER PEEK. The rice can sit like this for 20-30 minutes. It’s usually quite good this way.
) told me to. It will be painfully cold. So I stand next to the sink and nudge on the hot water when I can’t take it anymore. You may be less of a wimp than I. When the ingredients are well combined, form them into 12 small patties. (about 2″ in diameter and a scant 1/2″ thick) If you happen to be doing this in the middle of the day, it is fine to stack them on a plate (with plastic wrap separating the layers) and pop them in the fridge until ready to cook.