A Little Hangover Brunch

There are some Sunday mornings you wake up so unmercifully hung over you temporarily consider rehab. It's on these days you wish you had brought your sunglasses out with you so that your walk of shame could be a little less obvious the next morning. Have no fear, the Starbucks barista has probably seen worse stumble in on a weekend morning. You'll really thank yourself for this make-ahead French toast as it's almost the perfect cure for your throbbing head and gurgling belly, especially when served with salty breakfast meats. 

Summer Cherry French Toast

I think we can all agree that making pancakes and French toast in a skillet is pretty annoying, especially when you have company. You have to eat in shifts which is inconvenient. I pieced this baked French toast recipe together from a few different blogs I read. It's a keeper. It's way better than the yucky French toast my mom used to make, sorry mom. I really hate cheapy sandwich bread so I used French bread instead. 

You will need the following: 

2 demi baguettes 

1 c whole milk

3 eggs

1/3 c maple syrup

pinch of salt

cinnamon & sugar

butter pats

2 c pitted cherries

1/4 c orange juice

3 tbsp sugar

dash of pie spice

1 vanilla yogurt

confectioner's sugar

Step 1: Slice bread in 1/4" slices. In a bowl, whisk milk, eggs, syrup and salt. Lightly butter each slice of bread and dip in egg mixture. Place in a single layer in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Cover and allow to sit overnight. 

Step 2: Steep pitted cherries in sugar, spice and orange juice overnight. 

Step 3: The next morning (in your still-kinda-drunk haze), put toast slices in a single layer on a buttered baking sheet and bake 15-17 minutes at 400 degrees. Turn toasts over half-way into bake time. While toasts are baking boil cherry compote in a sauce pan until thickened. 

Step 4: Arrange toasts and top with cherry compote, vanilla yogurt and confectioner's sugar. Serve immediately. 

A Little Bastille Day Brunch

We had our blow-em-up day, now the French will have theirs. True, our independence wasn't based on cutting the heads off nobles, but it should have been. I usually forget Bastille Day and I think, merde, I forgot Bastille Day again. This year, I remembered it and baked a beautiful quiche pour un. If the apron doesn't say Francophile or spinster, I don't know what does. It comes courtesy of a friend of mine who visited Paris last fall. I remember really wanting it when I was in Paris, but too ashamed to buy it for myself. 

"Aidez-Moi, Je suis Pauvre"...Quiche Lorraine

I had the best quiche lorraine in Paris shortly after my traveling companion puked into the Seine. It's a lovely memory. Some recipes will try to tell you that you need a special quiche pan. I'm not even trying to hear that. I've never seen this so-called "quiche pan." Quiches are great because you can basically clean out your fridge, bake it with some eggs and voila! Quiche. I actually used a traditional recipe here because it's France day! Quiche is also tres cheap especially when you use Swiss instead of gruyere, and French people were poor during the revolution...

You will need the following

For the crust..

1-1/4 c flour 

1 stick butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic salt

pepper & dry thyme 

for the filling..

5 eggs

2 c whole milk

3 strips cooked bacon

1 c shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 sliced sweet onion

2 tsp dried thyme

Salt & pepper

dash of paprika 

Step 1: Make a savory pie crust by combining dry ingredients and cold butter cut into coarse crumbs. Add 3-4 tablespoons ice water and roll out. Chill dough while making filling. *Add some shredded cheese to the crust if you want. 

Step 3: Preheat oven to 425. Grate cheese, slice onions, cook and crumble bacon, set aside. Whisk together milk, eggs and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Press pastry into dish and bake ten minutes. 

Step 4: Reduce oven to 325. Layer lightly browned pastry with bacon, onion, cheese and thyme. Pour egg mix over and bake one hour or until solid. Allow to cool completely before serving.

*I used a pie bird to keep the filling from bubbling over.

Vive la France!

A Little Brown Bag Lunch

One of the novelties of going to public school or working a day job is the ever familiar brown bag lunch. Something about eating a packed lunch always seemed so cool since my parents just gave me a few dollars and subjected me to cafeteria food. As an adult, I always pack my lunch because Jimmy Johns (however delicious) is pretty much waistline sabotage. I love sandwiches, but I find my incredibly neurotic lunch of oatmeal, yogurt, a granola bar and a banana (at very specific times of day) to be the best eating disorder ever. When I do make sandwiches I go for the chicken salad because who doesn't love chicken salad?! I really hate mayo so my go-to replacement is usually ranch dressing or sour cream, both very tasty, but neither a good way to cut calories. I recently discovered that greek yogurt is just as great and actually adds more protein to your lunch, which I've heard is a good thing. 

(The Lady Hates) Chicken Salad

you will need the following

2-3 chicken breasts

1 bell pepper (diced)

1/2 white onion (diced) 

1 low-fat plain greek yogurt

2 tbsp yellow mustard

3 tsp dried herbs 

salt & pepper

Step 1: Boil chicken breasts in water for 30 minutes. Drain and shred. Salt and pepper chicken and allow to cool on a cutting board. 

Step 2: Combine veggies, chicken, yogurt, mustard, herbs, and salt & pepper in a mixing bowl until thoroughly mixed. Chill 30 minutes. Serve on whole wheat buns with tomato and pickle, or eat on its own, fatty. 

A Little Cookie Recipe

Movie Snack Cookies

Popcorn and M&Ms in a cookie might sound like the creation of a stoner with a wicked case of the munchies, but it's actually pretty good. I mostly stole this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook, which has been my bible for the past few months. After making these cookies a few times I decided they needed chocolate, so I added M&Ms. These babies are a great take-along for Movies-in-the-Park, plus it's always nice to take credit for how surprisingly delicious they are. My biggest suggestion is not to use microwave popcorn, because it's gross. 

You will need the following 

4 c popped popcorn (drizzled with butter)

1-1/4 c flour

1 stick butter

1/2 c brown sugar

1/3 c white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 packs M&Ms

Step 1: Pop popcorn accordingly. Drizzle with butter and salt. Try to remove all the leftover kernels so nobody breaks a tooth. 

Step 2: Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients. Cream butter with sugars, vanilla and egg. Mix dry with wet. Add popcorn in small handfuls and finally M&Ms. 

Step 3: Scoop chilled dough with a tablespoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on baking sheet.