French toast that will knock your socks off

French toast has always been one of my favorite breakfast meals. I haven’t experimented much with different recipes since I love the plain old regular French toast, but my son told me about a new recipe he tried and liked. He made his French toast with French bread, but I tried it with the thick sliced French toast bread and it was really good. I used some homemade apricot preserves, but you can probably use any flavor preserves in the cream cheese filling and syrup for variety.

APRICOT CREAM CHEESE STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

SYRUP
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup orange juice

STUFFING
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp. apricot jam or preserves
½ cup walnuts, chopped

BATTER
5 eggs
½ cup half and half
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp. rum (optional)

8 slices thick sliced French toast bread
Butter for grilling
Powdered sugar

Make syrup by combining apricot preserves, corn syrup, and orange juice together. Set aside.

Mix cream cheese and jam together. Stir in chopped nuts. Spread 2 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture between 2 pieces of bread (sandwich style). Repeat for remaining pieces of bread.

Beat together eggs, ½ and ½ , vanilla, sugar and rum. Pour into a pie plate for easy dipping. Dip cream cheese sandwiches, one at a time in egg mixture for 30 seconds on each side. Cook on lightly buttered medium temperature griddle until both sides are golden brown. Remove from heat and slice diagonally.

Serve hot French toast with apricot syrup drizzled on top and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

MAKES 4 STUFFED SLICES.

I'm going to try this recipe with boysenberry, strawberry or peach preserves the next time I make it, just for fun.

All for rum and rum for all...

My all-time favorite thing to prepare, and eat for that matter, is dessert. It could be the sugar-addict in me, but there is nothing like the aroma of chocolate chip cookies or cinnamon rolls wafting through the house to pique my appetite. My love of sweets could explain why I’ve never been successful with the Atkins diet.

Today’s recipe comes from The Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook, by Anne Byrn. It’s a wonderful book that uses cake mixes but adds a twist to the recipe. Bacardi Rum Cake was created in 1976 by a neighbor of William Walker, the president of Bacardi. The neighbor brought this cake to a party Mr. Walker was having… and the rest is history.

BACARDI RUM CAKE

CAKE:
Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 cup finely chipped pecans or walnuts
1 package plain yellow cake mix (not with pudding-in-the-mix) **
1 package vanilla instant pudding (3.4 oz.)
½ cup Bacardi dark rum
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water
4 large eggs

GLAZE:
6 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. water
¾ cup sugar
1/3 cup Bacardi dark rum


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly mist with vegetable oil spray and flour bundt or tube pan. Sprinkle nuts in the bottom of the pan. Set pan aside.

Place cake mix, pudding mix, rum, oil, water, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 3 minutes, scraping down sides bowl with spatula as needed. Pour batter evenly over nuts into prepared pan.

Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Run sharp knife around edge of the cake and invert it on a serving platter. Poke holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick.

Prepare the glaze. Place butter in a small saucepan and melt it over low heat. Stir in water and sugar. Increase heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and let the glaze simmer until thickened, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat and add rum. Spoon the glaze over warm cake, allowing it to seep into the holes and drizzle down the sides and into the center of the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing.

SERVES 16

**If you are using a cake mix with pudding-in-the-mix, use 3 eggs, reduce the oil to 1/3 cup, and don’t add the instant pudding mix. Bacardi rum cakes made with pudding-in-the-mix tend to be heavier and very moist, but still tasty.

I’m wondering if the neighbor of the Bacardi president that developed this recipe was ever rewarded for her efforts.

Bunches of broccoli, bunches of yum.

One of my beautiful nieces asked me to put this recipe on my blog since it’s one of her favorite salads. It’s so filling that sometimes it’s all I have for dinner.

My niece jokingly said,”Maybe you could name it after me Auntie.” Good idea, so here it is!



HEATHER’S FAVORITE BROCCOLI SALAD

SALAD
1 large bunch broccoli, cut into flowerets
½ lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped (or sunflower seeds)
½ cup raisins
½ cups halved cherry tomatoes

DRESSING
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
¼ cup sugar

Toss all salad ingredients in large bowl to mix. Combine dressing ingredients in small bowl and pour over salad. Toss gently. Can be served immediately or refrigerated and served later.

Serves 6-8

This is one of those recipes that can be altered a hundred ways and still taste great. Most frequently this salad is made with sunflower seeds, but I like the crunchiness of cashews better. The tomatoes give it color and a little moisture. I’ve also seen chunks of cheddar cheese or a chopped red bell pepper added.

Room for 'shrooms

Today’s recipe is for all my vegetarian friends out there. It’s low in fat and packed full of nutrients, fiber and flavor.

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM SANDWICHES

4- (4 inch diameter) Portobello mushrooms
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. dried basil leaves
Salt and pepper,
4 slices provolone cheese
1 large tomato sliced
1 avocado, sliced
alfalfa sprouts
4 kaiser rolls or 8 pieces whole wheat bread
Dijon mustard and mayonnaise

Remove stems from mushroom. Rinse and dry caps. Whisk together vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, and basil and brush on the top of the caps. Heat grill and place caps on grill, bottom side up. Brush inside of each cap with remaining oil mixture.

Grill about 3-4 minutes on each side until mushrooms are soft. Place cheese over each cap to melt. Remove from grill. Spread bread with condiments. Place each cap on bun or bread and top with avocado, tomato, and sprouts. Serve hot.

Serves 4

Some sweet potato fries would go great with this sandwich.

A word to live by...

While driving down Highway 1 along California’s Central Coast a few weeks ago, we came across a little town just south of Cambria, named Harmony. Now, when I say little, I mean "population 18" little. This 140-year-old town has quite a history, but seeing the town sign got me thinking about the word "harmony," and how it applies to life.

The Webster’s Dictionary definition of harmony is "a state of agreement or completeness in the relations of things or of parts of a whole to each other." This definition holds the secret to success in families, love, music, and food.

In life, we want harmony with the people and things around us, and the more harmony we can experience, the more fulfilling and content our lives will be. In cooking, we want harmony in the flavors, colors, and textures because it adds to the overall eating experience.

Harmony in food nourishes our bodies, while harmony in life nourishes our souls.

The more harmony we have in life the more sated we will be in the end... same goes for a good meal.

It's too hot to cook

When the temperatures are above 100 degrees for over a week, the last thing I want to do is eat something hot. That's when this recipe comes out of my bag of tricks. Chinese chicken salad is refreshing, filling, and nutritious.


CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

SALAD
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cooked, cooled, and shredded
1 head shredded iceberg lettuce
1 cup green onions, chopped
3/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
3/4 cup toasted sliced or slivered almonds
1 package maifun (rice sticks or bean threads)**
Vegetable oil for frying

DRESSING
1/4 cup salad oil
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar


Combine chicken, lettuce, onions, and cilantro in a large bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Fry 1/4 package maifun in vegetable oil as package directs. Set noodles aside after fryng. Place all dressing ingredients in jar and shake to mix. Immediately before serving add dressing and maifun to salad and toss. Top with almonds. and sprig of cilantro.

Serves 4

It's really quite fun to watch these noodles puff up as they hit the hot oil. But, be sure all noodles get submerged in oil. Otherwise, you will have some very hard uncooked pieces of maifun. I usually cut the maifun into 1 inch pieces with a sissors to make it easier to get full coverage in the oil.


Complete this meal with a loaf of french bread and butter. A bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio or Reisling would go nicely with this salad.

Let me tell you about this wonderful butterscotch torte

This is a recipe that's been around. I have seen it several times in the Valley Children’s Hospital All Guild Cookbook, Cooking is a Lark Cookbook, and my mother’s recipe box. But I give you a twist on this torte recipe.

My twist is in the presentation. All of the recipes I've seen call for a 9x13 rectangle pan. But, I like to make it in a springform pan to show off the layers.

BUTTERSCOTCH TORTE

LAYER #1: CRUST:
1 cup flour
½ cup cold butter (I stick)
1 cup nuts, finely chopped (walnuts, pecans, or almonds)
½ cup powdered sugar (optional)

Mix flour and butter in food processor until crumbly. Stir in chopped nuts and press into bottom of 9 or 10 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until slightly brown. Cool.

LAYER #2: CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cool whip (buy 8 oz size)
½ tsp vanilla

Whisk all ingredients together and spread over cooled crust.


LAYER #3: PUDDING LAYER:
2 small packages instant pudding, any flavor
3 cups milk

Mix pudding and milk together and spread over cream cheese layer.

LAYER #4: WHIPPED TOPPING LAYER
Cool Whip
Chopped nuts (optional)

Spread remainder of 8 oz. Cool Whip over pudding layer. Sprinkle nuts over the top. Chill several hours.

Serves 10-12

The beauty of this dessert is that it looks great, is easy, and can be made with any flavor pudding you choose. The torte in the photo above was made with butterscotch pudding with sliced toasted almonds sprinkled on top of the Cool Whip. Butterscotch flavored pudding makes this dessert very unique, but it is equally good with chocolate (with nuts or chocolate shavings on top), lemon (with lemon zest on top), or coconut (with toasted coconut on top). Use whatever flavor pudding suits your taste. Although the recipe calls for instant pudding I prefer the taste of cook and serve pudding. Either way, it's yummy.