Foodgasm

French toast crostini with honey creme fraiche

(Source: foodnetwork.co.uk)

Blueberry and Ricotta Stuffed French Toast Breakfast Sandwiches

Blueberry and Ricotta Stuffed French Toast Breakfast Sandwiches
Makes 4 sandwiches

French Toast:
8 slices Texas toast (thickly sliced challah bread works well too)
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole or low-fast milk
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 large orange (about 3-4 teaspoons)
butter for griddle
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Filling:
3/4 cup whole or part-skim milk ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 teaspoons Cointreau or Grand Marnier (orange liqueur)
4 teaspoons sugar
1 cup fresh blueberries

1. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, lightly whisk eggs; add milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and orange zest and whisk until well combined.

2. Place griddle over medium-low heat. (Note: If the heat is too high, the butter will burn.) Melt about 2 teaspoons butter until the griddle is just coated.

3. Dip one slice of bread in the egg mixture until well coated on both sides, allowing excess to drip into the bowl. Place on the griddle. Cook 1 minute per side, or until golden brown and the egg has set. Transfer to a warm plate and cover until ready to serve. Repeat with remaining slices, buttering the griddle as necessary.

4. In a small bowl whisk ricotta cheese, orange zest, Cointreau, and sugar. To assemble sandwiches, spread 1/4 of the ricotta filling on a slice of French toast. Top with 1/4 blueberries. Close the sandwich with another slice of French toast. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

(Source: foodblogga.blogspot.com)

Avocado, Cream Cheese, and Salsa-Stuffed Puff Pastries

Ingredients 

(with a vegan option)

Makes approximately 9 puffs, depending on size of squares and how thin dough is rolled

1 large sheet puffed pastry, thawed (I used Trader Joe’s brand, look in your grocer’s freezer case)

1 ripe avocado, halved and mashed (approximately 1 tablespoon of avocado per pastry square)

1/3 cup cream cheese (approximately 1 teaspoon of cream cheese per pastry square)

1/3 cup salsa (approximately 1 teaspoon of salsa per pastry square. I used a combination of Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde and Trader Joe’s Mango Red Pepper Chutney)

salt and pepper, sprinkled to taste

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400F and prepare two baking sheets with either parchment paper, Silpat liners, or spray them well with cooking spray.

Thaw one large square of puffed pastry for about 10 minutes. Flour your countertop or working surface and roll out the pastry square as thinly as possible.  With a pizza cutter or knife, slice the puffed pastry into approximately 2-inch by 2-inch squares.  From the one thinly rolled large sheet of frozen puffed pastry, I created 18 squares.

On half the squares (9 squares for me), place a dollop of avocado, then cream cheese, then salsa, season with salt and pepper.  Use the remaining squares as the lids and place one lid over the filling mounds. Seal the pastry packages by pressing the edges with a fork, taking care to seal the edges well, pressing the fork in repeatedly, so no filling escapes during baking.

In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork, and apply an eggwash to each of the pastry packages. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until desired browning and puffing has occurred. Watch them closely after 10 minutes in case your oven is hotter or your brand of puffed pastry cooks faster.

Remove from the oven and serve.  Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and if desired, reheat leftovers in the microwave for approximately 45 seconds before serving.  Or, store extras in an airtight container on the countertop for a day or so, using common sense because of the cream cheese filling, and reheating in the microwave if desired.

To keep this vegan, use vegan cream cheese such as Tofutti and there are many recipes on the internet for ‘vegan puffed pastry’ that you can make at home.  Omit the eggwash and if desired, lightly wash with almond milk or soy milk.

(Source: loveveggiesandyoga.com)

Chinese Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:
2 1/2lbs boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” cubes)
Marinade-
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
Batter-
2 large eggs
¼ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch white pepper
oil (for frying)
Sauce-
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup chicken broth
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ teaspoon salt
3 slices of lemon (peeled)
2 tablespoons oil
yellow food coloring (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Place cut chicken breast pieces into a bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

 To make the batter – beat 2 large eggs with ¼ cup of cornstarch, a pinch of white pepper and baking powder.  Coat the chicken with the batter.

Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees and deep-fry in batches until chicken is fully cooked. Drain on paper towels and set aside. You can also cook the chicken using a wok if you don’t have a deep fryer.

Now, to make the lemon sauce – combine 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and ¾ teaspoon salt (if using food coloring you can add it now). Mix until well combined and add 3 slices of lemon to the sauce mixture.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in your wok and stir in the lemon sauce mixture and heat until well mixed and sauce becomes clear. Remove lemon slices and pour the sauce over the chicken and mix. Best served with rice and broccoli.

(Source: blogchef.net)

It’s Fried Food Friday!!

Time to gorge! Fridays are extra bad for me!! It’s take-out day and also of course, the start of the weekend. :-) I think you need at least on day a week where you can eat whatever the hell you want. Tonight I think I might be feasting at my current favorite take-out, Gourmet Griil. They offer what most chippers do, but better! They have a whole range of pittas that come stuffed with the chicken of your voice (mine is cajun) lettuce, mayo, and a few chips - I also add cheese because I am a fiend! Anyhoo, a few fried recipes to make your mouth water in a while.

Coconut Raspberry Muffins

These look divine, and they have their own topping and everything. The use of coconut milk in the recipe is interesting, as usually coconut would be introduced as one of the dry ingredients.

Almond Raspberry Bites

These are beautiful, You almost wouldn’t want to eat them……but you would! I have been intending to make a version of these for a while, but am afraid of the outcome! I may just have to bite the bullet and try it. Click here for the recipe.

Raspberry Jam

Ingredients

• 1kg raspberries
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1kg bag jam sugar (the one with pectin added

Method

1. Before you start, sterilise your jars (see tip below) and put a plate in the freezer to chill. Tip half the raspberries into a preserving pan and add the lemon juice. Mash the berries to a pulp over the heat with a potato masher, then leave to cook for 5 mins. Tip the cooked berries into a sieve over a bowl, then once all of the juice has drained off, firmly work the pulp through the sieve with a wooden spoon until you are left with just the seeds.
2. Tip the juice and pulp back into the preserving pan and stir in the sugar. Heat gently, then add the remaining whole raspberries. Bring to the boil, then boil rapidly for 5 mins. Remove from the heat and drop a little jam onto the chilled plate. Now push your finger through it - it should wrinkle and look like jam. If it doesn’t, boil for 2 mins, then test again.
3. The top of the jam may look like it has sediment on it, but I find that if you stir it well as it cools, a little of this disappears. Pour into the jars and seal. It will keep unopened for a year, although the lovely bright colour will darken a little. Once open, keep in the fridge.

Ricotta & Spinach crepes in tomato sauce

Serves 3

Vegetarian

bacon and corn griddle cakes

recipe-file:

(Source: recipegirl.com)