Buttermilk French Toast

It seems like the decision to make French toast usually stems from the realization that a loaf of homemade bread is on the verge of becoming a doorstop. That said, there are few better ways to use up an otherwise good loaf of bread before your options are limited to making croutons or breadcrumbs! A few weeks ago, we made a recipe of homemade white bread and we used the leftovers for this recipe.

I like to use unsliced bread for French toast. This gives us the option to cut the slices as thick as we like. Generally, the slices are at least one-half inch in thickness. This provides enough room for the bread to soak up the yummy custard mix before it hits the griddle. This insures a nice, moist piece of bread that not only deliver flavor, but stand up to the butter, syrup, preserves or whatever else might go on top.

Using buttermilk is optional, but it adds such a wonderful richness to the French toast that it’s worth picking some up. This recipe calls for two cups (16 ounces) and yielded eight hearty slices. You could also use whole milk, evaporated milk or coconut milk. For our last batch, I added some shredded coconut to the mix. This adds a great flavor and makes the dish extra special.

Buttermilk French Toast

Hearty bread (I like a white bread, but you could also use brioche, raisin bread or a wheat bread)

6 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

½ cup shredded coconut (optional)

Cut eight slices of bread – at least one half inch thick. Set aside. If the bread is a little dry, it will absorb the egg/milk mixture better. Crack six eggs into a large bowl and beat well with whisk. Add buttermilk and spices (and coconut, if using) and beat well.

Heat a griddle or large skillet on stove to medium/medium-high heat. Using a pair of tongs, dunk each slice of bread into bowl. Let bread soak up mixture for ten seconds or so. Bread will become heavy and delicate, so carefully take bread from bowl and place directly onto hot griddle or skillet. Depending on the size of your griddle/skillet, you should be able to do three or four at a time.

Check bottom of bread after a couple of minutes. When it is medium to dark brown, flip bread over and cook the other side. When second size is done, transfer to plate (keep in a warm oven if you are doing additional batches). Serve with butter, your favorite syrup, dusted with powdered sugar or spread on some preserves. It goes great with salty breakfast meat like bacon, sausage or country ham. Enjoy!

Hungry for Hungarian - Making Chicken Paprikash

Like so much ethnic food of central and eastern Europe, this is a hearty, filling, warm-your-belly, make-you-feel-loved kind of dish. I know there are many ways to prepare chicken paprikash, and as with recipes like this methods of cooking can vary greatly from family to family. Being Polish instead of Hungarian, I didn’t grow up eating this at home very often, but there was a little neighborhood in Detroit that had a few Hungarian restaurants. 

The paprikash I remember eating back then featured whole pieces of chicken, usually legs and thighs, that was very tender and fell off the bone. It was served over little boiled dumplings called “spaetzle” that melted in your mouth. I’ve made this dish in this same way – it’s wonderful – but it takes a lot of time to prepare. So, as I got older and wanted to scratch that paprikash itch, I found a couple of ways to satisfy the craving without spending hours in the kitchen.

This recipe calls for boneless and skinless chicken thighs. You could use breasts if you prefer the white meat of the chicken, but I think the thighs have a wonderful flavor. This is also an occasion when I break out my electric skillet – probably my most favorite small kitchen appliance! This dish lends itself perfectly to the convenience and versatility of an electric skillet, but if you don’t have one you can use a large skillet on the stove top. Just make sure you have a lid that will work with the skillet (and then go out and get yourself an electric skillet – they are well worth the small investment!).

Not surprising, this dish features paprika in rather large quantities. You can find different kinds of paprika in the stores. Regular paprika is fairly mild and doesn’t add much heat or sweetness. It’s great for adding color and is often used as a garnish. Hungarian paprika comes in a number of varieties, but it generally has a much richer, sweeter and deeper flavor profile than regular paprika and is well suited for this dish. There is also smoked paprika, which has become popular in the last couple of years. To me, smoked paprika smells and tastes like the coating of BBQ potato chips! It has a lot of good uses, and if you like a strong smoky flavor, you could use it here. There is also the Spanish variety of paprika. Use what you like best.

You can make your own dumplings, or serve this over egg noodles, pasta or even rice. The sauce is rich and delicious, so you want something to catch all that goodness. Generally, I make egg noodles but I didn’t have any on-hand so I used pasta. It worked just fine.  Either way, here is a dish that is easy to make, feeds four (or a couple really hungry guys!) and delivers big flavor. Enjoy!

Chicken Paprikash

3 TBSP Butter

2 TBSP Olive oil

2-3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs

3 TBSP Hungarian paprika

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 medium onions, diced

1 28oz can whole tomatoes (I like to use plum tomatoes)

½ tsp chili pepper flakes

½ tsp sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 TBSP heavy cream (optional)

1 12oz bag egg noodles

Place chicken thighs in a bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons paprika, salt and pepper over chicken and toss until all pieces are well coated. Set your electric skillet to 350/360 degree range (or medium high on a stove top skillet) and add butter and olive oil. When hot, place chicken in skillet.  You want the chicken to brown (all the paprika will insure that it does) but you also want it thoroughly cooked. Turn chicken once during the process. When chicken is cooked (no pink on the insides and juices are clear), remove from skillet and put on a plate – cover with foil. 

Using the remaining butter/oil/chicken fat in the skillet, add the diced onions. Stir to get any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet and cook onions until tender – around five minutes. Add can of whole tomatoes, another tablespoon of paprika and the chili pepper flakes (these are optional – I like the little kick they give to the sauce). Reduce heat to simmer and cover skillet. Let cook for about 25 minutes until the tomatoes become very tender. Using the back of a large spoon, smash the tomatoes down and stir the sauce. 

Add sugar, sour cream and heavy cream (if using). Reduce heat to lowest setting and add chicken back into sauce, making sure to cover each piece of chicken gets covered with sauce. Cover skillet and let chicken and sauce hang out while you cook the noodles.

Cook egg noodles as directed on package. Drain. Serve chicken paprikash over noodles, garnish with fresh parsley or dill. Enjoy!

Time for Homemade Bread!

With bread so plentiful in the markets and bakeries, one might not ever consider making it a home. Sure, many people made their own bread (and a lot of other foods) a hundred years ago.  Why would anyone want to go through the time and trouble to bake homemade bread now? Because it tastes so good and you know exactly what you are eating!
 

We have heard from a number of people (we love hearing from the Cavalcade of Foodies, by the way!) who suggested we bake some bread. Since there seems to be an endless list of types of bread, we thought we would start with the most basic: the classic American staple white bread. This is the bread that has been made over and over again in city and country kitchens alike. Even within the world of white bread, there are so many different recipes! The one we chose was very simple – flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water, honey and oil. You can leave the honey out if you like, but it gives the bread a subtle sweetness.

Making bread at home engages you with the food you are eating. While you can use equipment to make the job easier, like a mixer or food processor, you can also work the dough with your hands. There is something very connecting about the feel of the dough in your fingers. And as the bread bakes, it fills the house with one of life’s greatest aromas! When the bread is done baking and has cooled off for a few minutes, there are few pleasures greater than putting a big spread of creamy butter on a hunk of warm bread…it makes you glad to be alive!

So while there are a lot of wonderful breads available in the markets, every once in a while it’s good to make your own. The experience will remind you that sometimes we do things not because they are fast or easy, but because they are right.

Basic White Bread

7 cups flour (use bread flour or all purpose)

2 packages yeast (I use fast acting)

2 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP salt

2 TBSP vegetable oil

1 TBSP honey

2 ¼ cups very warm water (between 120-130 degrees)

Butter for greasing bowl

Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Once it reaches temperature, shut it off. I find that this is a good place to place the dough after it is mixed and kneaded so that it can proof.

In a large bowl, place 3 ½ cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, oil and honey. Add warm water and mix together with large spoon. This mixture will be very loose. Once it is mixed, add in another three cups of flours – ONE CUP AT A TIME – and mix well after each addition. You may find by the time you add in the third cup of flour that it becomes difficult to mix with a spoon. I usually use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and then start using my hands to continue mixing. You want to make sure all the flour is incorporated. Once dough has been mixed, remove from bowl and place on a board or clean counter that has been dusted with flour. You will use your last ½ cup of flour during the kneading process.

Keep the last ½ cup of flour handy as you begin to knead the dough. The kneading process will probably take 8 to 10 minutes. As the dough picks up the flour that is on the board, add a little more flour to the board.  Kneading involves pressing the dough with the ball of your hand, pulling the dough back with your fingers, folding it over and then turning the dough ball. You do this over and over (see the video). Gradually, the dough will become less sticky and more satiny and elastic.

Once you are finished kneading, shape the dough into a ball and set aside. Prepare a large bowl by coating it with butter or margarine (you could also spray with non-stick spray) and place the dough ball in the bowl upside down, so as to get some of the butter on the top of the dough – and then flip it right side up. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and place in oven (it should still be warm) for 50 minutes to an hour (it should at least double in size).

After the dough has risen, remove from oven. Gently push down with fist and it will deflate. Remove from bowl and divide dough in half. Spray two standard size loaf pans with non-stick spray. Shape dough into loaf and place in pans. Cover with plastic wrap or towel and return to oven for a second rise – about 45 minutes to an hour. 

After the dough has risen a second time (it should have risen over the edge of the loaf pan), remove from oven. Set oven to 400 degrees and when it reaches temperature, place loaf pans on center rack and bake for 25-30 minutes. Bread should be dark golden brown on top and sound hollow when you thump it with your thumb.  Remove bread from oven and turn out loaves immediately from pans on to cooling racks. Allow bread to cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Corn Pancakes with Bacon - It's Breakfast for Dinner!

Pancakes in and of themselves are pretty good things. Most people think of them as a breakfast food, but there’s no rule that says you can’t enjoy them any time of day. As a matter of fact, I’m a big proponent of “breakfast for dinner,” especially in these cold winter months. While a stack of good old fashioned pancakes served up with lots of butter and syrup would certainly be a welcome sight on the dinner table, here is a variation that injects some savory ingredients. These corn pancakes with bacon are not only great for dinner, they are ideal to serve at brunch.

These wonderful little hotcakes combine the savory of onion, the sweetness of corn and maple syrup and the saltiness of bacon. And besides, how can anything with bacon be bad? They come together easily with little preparation and cook in just a few minutes on a hot griddle or skillet. Even though there is bacon in the batter, topping them with a little more bacon not only makes for a nice presentation, but adds an extra salty crunch. We topped these with warm maple syrup, but you could also add a little strawberry preserves or maybe sour cream.

Corn Pancakes with Bacon

8 slices of bacon, cut crosswise into strips

¼ onion, finely diced

1 cup flour

2 TBSP chopped scallions (green onions) – green part only

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2/3 cup whole milk

1 egg, beaten

1 TBSP oil

1 cup corn (either thawed frozen corn or canned is fine)

½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Maple syrup – warmed

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until brown and crisp. As bacon is starting to crisp, add diced onion and allow onion to brown in bacon fat. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and onions from pan and transfer on to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess grease.

In a large bowl, combine flour, scallions, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir in milk, egg and oil until moistened. Reserve a couple spoonfuls of bacon/onion mixture and add the rest to the batter along with the corn and cheese. Batter will be thick – you can add more milk if you like a thinner batter and pancake, but not more than a couple tablespoons.

Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. When griddle is hot, spoon batter on in about the size of a coaster. Pancakes will brown in just a couple of minutes, so keep an eye on them. When golden brown on bottom, flip and cook other side until golden.

Transfer to plate, top with reserved bacon/onion mixture and warm maple syrup. Serve immediately and enjoy!

A Frequent Request: City Chicken!

I can't remember how many times people have asked me, "What is city chicken?" If you didn't grow up in the Midwest or eastern part of the country - especially in or near an industrial city, you may have never heard of this dish. First of all - it doesn't contain any chicken. Here in the Detroit area, it was made using a combination of veal and pork, or with all pork. These are cubes of meat that are put on short wooden skewers and then breaded, browned and baked.

My understanding is that back during the Great Depression or even before, fresh chickens were not easy to come by in big cities. So someone came up with the idea of taking scraps of meat and putting it on a skewer - it looks a little like a chicken leg from a distance. However this dish started, it's become a tradition and standard on most of the Polish restaurant menus in Detroit.

Mom made city chicken on a regular basis, and it was a meal everyone looked forward to. She would have the butcher make up the city chicken for her by putting cubes of stewing pork on a skewer. If you could find the right skewers,  you could do this yourself. Many meat markets here regularly have city chicken all made up in the meat case. Generally, there are four or five cubes of meat on a skewer.

It also calls for using cream of mushroom soup to make the gravy. While a lot of people are turned off by using canned soups in recipes, this really works well here. I tried making my own gravy and it was a lot of extra work and didn't impart the same flavor in the dish, so I break out the soup every time I make city chicken.

Whether it's an old favorite or something you've never had before, city chicken is a great dish no matter where you are!





City Chicken

12 city chicken or 3 lbs. stewing pork, cubed
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. water
1 cup flour seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika - or you can use a ready-made seasoned flour like "Fryin' Magic"
vegetable oil
2 10-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can water
1 mushroom or chicken bouillon cubes

If you don't have the city chicken already made up, put 4 or 5 pieces of pork on wooden skewers. Make an egg wash with eggs and water. Dip skewers in egg wash. Dredge in seasoned flour mixture. In a large skillet, add 1/4" of oil and heat to frying temperature. Brown "City Chicken" on both sides and set aside.

Make gravy by combining Mushroom Soup with 1/2 can of water. Put 1 ladle full of gravy into the bottom of a roaster. Put City Chicken on top of gravy [OK to stack if 2nd layer is needed]. Pour on remaining gravy. Crumble bouillon cube and sprinkle over top. Cover entire roaster with foil and place lid over foil. Bake at 325ºF. 2 hours or until meat is fork-tender.

Serves 6.

Autumn Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

One could very easily argue that autumn presents Michigan at its most beautiful and bountiful. The crisp weather, the trees aflame with colors that no human can replicate, farmers markets overflowing with harvest, and a wonderful smell created by the falling leaves and cooling damp soil. It puts one in mind of all we enjoyed, endured and accomplished in the now dwindling year.

And while each season has its own flavors, those of autumn have now seemed to reach critical mass. As soon as Labor Day passed, I couldn’t help but notice an explosion of pumpkin-flavored offerings at the stores. Pumpkin marshmallows, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin beer, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin soup, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin air fresheners…it was a pumpkin –palooza!

When I was a kid, pumpkins were for pies and not much else. I’m glad that we have come to embrace this wonderful squash for more than just pies and Halloween carvings. In talking to a few farmers, this was a good year for pumpkins in Michigan. While some crops were hurt by the crazy weather, pumpkins seemed to like it just fine. This means there should be plenty of pumpkins on the shelf – in the form of canned puree – in the year ahead. We decided to see what happens when we introduced pumpkin to pasta sauce. It was a great match!

 

 

Autumn Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

2 TBSP   Olive Oil

1 lb ground beef (I use chuck but you could also  use ground turkey)

2 small onions, diced

Salt and pepper

1 clove garlic, put through garlic press or finely diced

1 28oz can San Marzano tomatoes

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 15oz can pumpkin (do not use pumpkin pie mix/filling – just the plain pumpkin)

2 bay leaves

½ tsp basil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and then add ground meat, diced onion and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium high heat until meat is browned and onions are soft. Add garlic, San Marzano tomatoes (if you don’t have San Marzano you can use regular whole canned tomatoes) and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Using a potato masher or the back of a large spoon, crush the whole tomatoes and stir them into the sauce. Add can of pumpkin and stir well until it is incorporated into the sauce.

Add seasonings: bay leaves, basil, salt, sugar, pepper, oregano, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes. In the meantime, cook up a pound of your favorite pasta. Top pasta with sauce and add grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!