French Toast Casserole

Sunday was a lovely day - it was a church potluck day. This one was a bit different as it was a breakfast potluck, giving everyone the chance to show off a different set of skills from the normal lunch or dinner on the grounds. I happened to be at my in-laws house when I was making my shopping list and told my mother-in-law that I was planning to make fab friend Lisa's French toast casserole recipe - a delicious custardy bread pudding with praline topping.

Sunday morning is not my forte. Perhaps it is rebellion against my upbringing as a church planter's daughter - being hauled hither and yon across Southern Africa every Sunday of my childhood -  that makes me sluggish and disorganized on the first day of the week. Whatever the cause, I have difficulty being on time for church. Now that I have two children, difficultly has become impossibility. Thus, As a result of being 25 minutes late to the potluck, there was quite a bit of French toast casserole left over. (You would think the promise of food would get me to church faster, but you would think wrong.)

Not wanting to spend all Sunday compromising my diet by stealing bites of pecan encrusted leftovers, I asked my husband to sneak the remains of the casserole into my mil's kitchen while the in-laws were still at church. It was greatly enjoyed, I understand, and my mil asked for the recipe. So, here it is....

French Toast Casserole

1 loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch slices
8 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups half and half

dash of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom

Place bread slices, overlapping, in a buttered 9x13" pan. Mix remaining ingredients just until blended and pour over bread. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.

For topping, mix with a hand mixer:

2 sticks softened butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp dark agave nectar
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Spread topping over casserole. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Let it stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.

My fil advises that it is even better the second day:)

Chocolate and Pecan Filled Cinnamon Waffles

I gave up baked goods for Lent this year. If you are not familiar with Lent, it is a 40 day fast celebrated by Liturgical Christians (Catholics, Methodists, etc). In addition to restrictions on certain days - like no meat on Friday - you are asked to choose something to give up, or fast from, throughout Lent. This year, I gave up baked goods. Each Sunday is a feast day, so on Sundays I am allowed to break my fast and indulge in some baked good. I had seen the idea of making cinnamon rolls in the waffle maker and thought it would be a lovely Sunday feast. However, since this is my one baked good of the week, I wanted to make it ridiculously good. Thus, I kicked it up a notch by adding chocolate and nuts.

Chocolate and Pecan Filled Cinnamon Waffles
1 can (8 count) cinnamon rolls with icing
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped pecans

1. Use the bottom of a cup to flatten out the middle of each cinnamon roll. The result should be a flat disk with a slightly raised edge.
2. Place one cinnamon roll onto your heated waffle maker. Into the center of the roll, sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts to taste. Top this with another cinnamon roll. Close the waffle maker, pressing down the lid to seal the "waffle".
3. Allow the "waffle" to cook according to directions for a normal waffle. Remove the "waffle" to a warm oven (200F) and repeat this process with the remaining cinnamon rolls.
4. Before serving, top waffles with any leftover chips, pecans, and the icing from the cinnamon roll can.

Results = ridiculously good

Best Sorghum Cookies: Foods Made for Family and Friends

So...I am finally back on my feet, but two things conspired against my blog. A: I had to go back to work and have been doing a couple of hours overtime every day. B: We had a crazy electrical storm that knocked out the internet two days ago. For no apparent reason, it is back on for the moment (I am not cancelling the service call tomorrow because it will definitely go out again if I do.  Thank you so much for your good thoughts during my recovery. I can't wait to get back to your blogs!

I have mainly been sharing recipes with you that were made for people who had a medical event (childbirth, catastrophic accident) or some personal troubles. These were made for a bit of a different reason - they are "I'm sorry" cookies. I have no idea where my head was and am so embarrassed to admit it, but I completely stood someone up for an appointment. In addition to apologizing profusely and losing sleep worrying about my mistake, I also made her cookies.

These delicious little gems were made using the recipe from the bottle of Muddy Pond sorghum molasses that I purchased at the farmer's market.

Best Sorghum Cookies
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup sorghum
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in sorghum and eggs.
2. In another large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Blend thoroughly.
3. Gradually mix flour mixture into creamed ingredients until smooth.
4. Roll dough into 1 inch balls; dip tops in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking stone or greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 11 minutes.

Banana Cookies: Foods Made for Family and Friends

If things are going as they are supposed to, I should be back to visiting your blogs today. Surgery Monday; in bed Tuesday; able to sit for a while Wednesday. That is my plan. If you are still not hearing from me, assume that I am fine but not quite ready to sit up yet. (Since it is Saturday, you will surmise that things did not go quite as I planned - today is my first day sitting up. I will spare you the blood and guts of it, but it was not a pretty week. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.)

These cookies were made for a friend who was just out of the hospital. I love to make these because they have the same flavor of a good banana bread without the v e r y l o n g cooking time, and they come in nice, portioned servings.

Banana Cookies
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mashed bananas
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add egg and vanilla, blend well.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir into sugar mixture. Add mashed bananas, nuts, and oats. Stir just until blended.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto stone or greased cookie sheet and bake at 400F for about 12 minutes. Cook on rack.

Random Recipe Challenge - Oil Pie Crust and Japanese Fruit Pie

I was excited about Dom's challenge (you know Dom, of Belleau Kitchen) to find a random recipe from my favorite cookbook.  I happen to think that my favorite cookbook, In the Kitchen with AWA kicks culinary butt. It is a collection of recipes put together by American ex-pats in Malawi during the late 90's. Those women knew how to cook.

Imagine my complete and utter lack of enthusiasm when my husband (the random recipe flipper) opened the book to a pie crust recipe. Pie crust. Not even a pie. Just the crust. I really, really wished at that moment that Dom was not so strict on the "no bloody cheating" or that I was not a ridiculous goody-two-shoes who would feel bad about bloody cheating.

So, I made the stupid crust. I have tried dozens of recipes from this book. They have all been good. Except this one. Here is my attempt at rolling out the crust.

Ugh...it also tasted ridiculously salty. (That might be because the salt in Malawi is not always salty; the recipe may have been adjusted for that.)

Oil Pie Crust from In the Kitchen with AWA
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup milk

1. Sift together flour and salt.
2. Pour oil and milk into a measuring cup but do not stir. Pour into flour mixture all at once and stir with a fork until blended.
3. Divide into 2 balls and roll out on a well-floured board.
4. Bake at 475F until browned.
5. Makes two crusts

What was I supposed to do with this mess? It wouldn't roll out into a crust no matter how I tried. I decided to just press it into the bottom of an 11x9 cake pan and pour filling over it. Thus ends the challenge portion of the recipe. Epic fail. Never make again. Don't know why I bothered typing it up because you shouldn't try it. Seriously, save yourself.

I did go ahead and make a filling, which is not part of the challenge. (What was I supposed to do, bake the crust and eat it plain? Not this crust, for sure.) The pie filling I chose to use was sure to be a success because the contributor was one of my mom's friends - I knew she would not let me down. As I suspected, it was brilliant.

Japanese Fruit Pie from In the Kitchen with AWA
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, well beaten
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup chopped dried fruit
2 tbsp vinegar

1. Melt margarine and add sugar and eggs, blended well. Add coconut, nuts, raisins, and vinegar.
2. Pour mixture into 2 unbaked pie shells. Bake at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes.

This is the finished "bar", since I couldn't exactly use my trust traditionally.

Are you ready for your mouth to water? Here is a slice.

It was so good. The texture was that of a traditional pecan or Derby pie, but the fruit and coconut added a richness that reminded me of old fashioned Southern ambrosia. I can imagine that it would be completely sinful if you added a crushed chocolate cookie crust.

My failure, then, was not so bitter since I had pie filling to make me feel better. However, I am hopeful that the next challenge will see me victorious.

I cannot post without adding a word about what is happening in the Horn of Africa. Those of us participating in this challenge are outrageously lucky. We are among the few people in the world who can open a cookbook and find in our cabinets or buy in our stores whatever ingredients we want. There are ten million people in the Horn of Africa who cannot even imagine that. All they want is enough food to keep their children alive another day. If you have even five dollars to donate to the cause, I urge you to do so. There is no good reason for anyone is this world to have to die for lack of something to eat. If you are concerned about where your money is going I can tell you that I lived for years within driving distance of one of the largest refugee camps in the world and, based on that experience, I trust UNHCR, UNICEF, SOS Children's Villages, World Vision International, and The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, among a few others, with my money.

Thank you for your time and better luck for me with the next challenge:)