Overnight French toast

Unbelievably simple, and unbelievably good.

1 loaf going-stale-French-bread
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
fresh fruit (peaches and blackberries, if you want my recommendation)
maple syrup



Slice half the bread into rounds. Tear the other half into bite-sized pieces. Place in glass or other heavy baking dish. Bread should almost fill it, but not overflow.



Beat eggs, then add milk, cinnamon and and sugar. Pour over the bread and stir to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Stir every few hours, then let sit overnight.

In the morning, bake at 350° for 35 to 45 minutes or until browned on top and feels spongy (not gooey or crispy) to touch in the center. Serve immediately (as if you could wait!) with fruit and just a little maple syrup..

Pizza à l'hawaïenne

1 recipe favorite pizza crust
marinara sauce
mozzarella
ham
last night's leftover grill mix: red peppers, onions, pineapple, mushrooms

Honestly, I don't think it requires any more direction than that. With those ingredients, it would be hard to go wrong.

Apricot cobbler

6 ripe apricots, rinsed and halved
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 recipe Southern Girl's biscuits



Toss fruit with cinnamon and sugar then pour into baking dish. Dot with butter. Drop biscuit mix onto fruit by spoonfuls. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees until gold and bubbly.

Pasta alfredo

Tonight we decided to make alfredo sauce. (Good thinking on our part.) I didn't want the meal to be heavy, so we made small servings of pasta and added broccoli and red pepper as part of the base for the sauce. We made it with chicken, but you could easily do it without and still have a complete meal.

1-2 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups vermicelli pasta (uncooked)
3/4 cup light cream (15%)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cup broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1-2 tsp olive oil

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cut chicken into small pieces and cook in skillet, stirring often. When chicken is almost done (white all over) add red pepper, broccoli florets and garlic. Keep stirring often and cook until peppers are soft and broccoli is bright green. Once done, remove from heat and cover to keep warm.



Start boiling water for pasta.

Stir the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy pan to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Cook the pasta in boiling water until tender, then drain. Pour the alfredo sauce over the pasta and toss. Stir in the chicken and vegetables. Warm over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, then serve immediately.

Coconut cookies with chocolate

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
dark chocolate, cut into pieces

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut.

Gently roll the dough into balls, each about the size of quarter. Gently push a piece of chocolate in the top of each.

Place cookies on a baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven at 350 degrees, or until lightly toasted.

Grilled pineapple chicken kebabs

1 small can pineapple chunks
14/ cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 onions
1 red pepper

Cut the chicken into small pieces about 1 inch each. In a bowl mix together 1/2 the juice from pineapple, soy sauce and honey. Stir to mix, then add the chicken. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes - the longer the better.

Peel the onion and cut in half then in quarters. Separate the quarters to be abour 2-3 layers thick. Rinse the red pepper and remove stem and seeds. Cut into 1 onch pieces.

Once the chicken has marinaded, thread it onto skewers, mixing with the pineapple, red pepper and onion. Grill for about 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

**Don't overcook it! The marinade makes it very juicy, but overcooking will give you chicken jerky.

Red pepper sloppy joes

1/2 pound ground beef
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 to one cup tomato purée
salt and pepper to taste
2 toasted buns

Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium high heat. Drain off fat. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for five minutes. Add tomato purée and stir. Reduce heat to simmer and cook five minutes longer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over toasted buns.

Apricot muffins

What to do when you have an abundance of ripe apricots?

Make muffins!



1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup peach or apricot yogurt
12 large ripe apricots- peeled, pitted and diced

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and spices. Add vegetable oil, egg and yogurt; mix well. Fold in diced apricots.

Pour batter into paper-lined muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven at 350° until golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes.

Grilled peaches

Rinse peaches. Slice in half and remove pit. Grill until soft, juicy and perfect. Serve as a side or dessert.

Wild blueberry muffins

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup yogurt
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
3/4 cup wild blueberries (myrtilles sauvages at Picard)
1 tsp lemon zest
pinch cinnamon

In a large bowl mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and cinnamon ingredients. I a second bowl, beat the egg then mix in the yogurt, sugar and oil. add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until the flour blends in, but not any more. (It can make the muffins tough.) Gently fold in the blueberries and lemon zest.

Pour batter into paper-lined muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven at 350° until golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes.

The best lazy eggs

Now why are these eggs (not only easier but) better than scrambled eggs? Allowing the whites and yolks to cook a bit separately first means that each bite has a different yolk:white:milk:pepper ratio, and therefore a different taste. Nothing dramatic, but enough to make you appreciate a bite rich with yolks or creamy with milk.

4 eggs
about 1/4 cup milk
pepper
1/2 tsp butter...or bacon grease if you've got it!

Heat butter or bacon grease in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet and let them cook until the bottom are solid white. Poke the yolks to break them (if not already broken). Pour milk over top. Using a spatula, gently stir the eggs to lift the cook whites off the bottom. Stir lazily until done - or maybe just a shade before. Add pepper and serve.

Grilled shish kebabs with Merguez

4 Merquez sausages* cut into inch long pieces
2 onions, halved then quartered
1 red pepper, rinsed and seeded, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 slender zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
4 skewers

Start the grill and get some coals going.

Skewer the veggies and sausage, alternating to get a nice mixture on each. Don't pack them too tightly. - just touching is good.

Grill the kebabs, rotating to cook evenly, until the veggies start to soften a little and the edges are nicely done.

*Merguez is a sausage originating from North Africa that is made from lamb or beef, paprika, cayenne, or harissa, a hot chili paste that gives it a red color.

Britt's red potato salad

A recipe from Jonathan's sister

10-12 small red potatoes, rinsed well and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup Italian dressing
2 cloves crushed garlic
2-3 long green onions, snipped into pieces

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil 10-15 minutes or until just barely fork tender - firm, not mushy. Drain off hot water and gently put potatoes in a bowl. Pour dressing over the potatoes and add onions and garlic. Stir gently to coat, but not mash the edges of the potatoes. Let cool, stirring every 15 minutes. Once cool, refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving. (It gets even better on the second day.)

Attaya, Senegalese tea

Attaya is the Senegalese tea ceremony. It’s served in three rounds, using two or three small glasses. The first round is strong and bitter, the second more sweet with a little mint, and the third is very sweet with more mint. It symbolizes friendship: The longer we’re together the sweeter it grows.


Brada on a fuurno

Round one (called Lewel)
In a small tea pot (brada) put one cup water, 1 small glass (kas) of sugar, and 1 small glass (kas) of tea leaves (warga). Set the pot on the fuurnu (small grill or gas burner) and bring the mix to a boil. Remove from heat and pour some of the content into each of the small glasses. Begin pouring the liquid back and forth between the glasses until each glass has foam on it. Keeping the foam in the glasses, pour the liquid back into the brada and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and pour into the glasses. Mix again until foam is even bigger then serve round one.



Round two (called Naarel)
Add water to the barada (warga should still be in the pot). Add mint leaves (nana) and/or pastilles (a mint candy similar to gum drops) to the pot. Bring to a boil. Add two generous kas of sugar, bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and pour some of the content into each of the the small glasses. Begin pouring the liquid back and forth between the glasses until each glass has foam on it. Keeping the foam in the glasses, pour the liquid back into the brada and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and pour into the glasses. Mix again until foam is even bigger then serve round two.

Round three (called Nettel
Add water and a little more warga to the pot. Add mint leaves (nana) and/or pastilles to the pot (be generous, this is the yummy round!). Bring to a boil. Add three generous kas of sugar and bring again to a boil. Remove from heat and pour some of the content into each of the small glasses. Begin pouring the liquid back and forth between the glasses until each glass has foam on it. Keeping the foam in the glasses, pour the liquid back into the brada and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and pour into the glasses. Mix again until foam is even bigger then serve round three.

Grilled mushrooms

2 large white mushrooms (the ones we used were almost the size of my fist)
Italian dressing

Rinse mushrooms carefully then slice in half. Rub lightly with Itsalian dressing to coat. Grill over coals until light brown. Serve immediately.