Jalapeno Cheddar Pain Perdu with Salsa Fresca

What the heck is Pain Perdu ? It's just a fancy way to say French toast. But, if I was going to make something that was totally out there, why not call it by it's crazy French name?

I had this loaf of jalapeno cheddar bread from an artisan bakery, which means it has no preservatives, so you have to eat it fast, or it will spoil. And I knew we would never eat it all in sandwiches, so I had to think of another way to use it. I have made savory bread pudding before, so why not savory French toast?

I also had some fresh vegetables I needed to use up in the refrigerator, so this was the result. Totally unexpected flavor combination, but I would definitely make this again.

Jalapeno Cheddar Pain Perdu with Salsa Fresca
Start the salsa fresca:

3 small tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, diced finely
1 large jalapeno, diced finely
1 large handful cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, diced
Juice of 1 fresh lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together and set aside




For the Pain Perdu:
6 slices jalapeno cheddar bread
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons of butter

Spread one of the bread slices generously with cream cheese, and top with another piece of bread. Repeat with the remaining bread slices. In a shallow bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.

Heat butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat until bubbly. Dip the "sandwiches" in the egg mixture and place in pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Serve topped with the salsa fresca.

Sweet Potato Brunch Bake

My parents came up to visit for Easter, and part of the visit always involves cooking Easter brunch. Since we were trying to eat healthy, and my dad uses the egg substitutes, I had to really scratch my head for a way to incorporate them into my meal. Let's be honest, I really don't like to use these kinds of things, but they could substitute for real eggs in a recipe. 

The challenge of a bake was to make something that didn't have a lot of calories, carbs or salt. That left out most of the brunch items I have ever made. I searched, and imagined all kinds of different things, and finally landed on this. It is a little different, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about putting sweet potatoes in an egg bake, but the sweetness was a nice offset to the sausage. I served this with some freshly baked Irish soda bread, and melon, and it was a lovely brunch!

Sweet Potato Brunch Bake

1 carton (16 ounces) egg substitute, or 7 whole eggs 

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled, diced and cooked

1 pound mild turkey Italian sausage, browned

1/2 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup maple syrup 

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1 cup low fat cottage cheese 

1/2 cup low fat cheddar cheese 

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 by 8 pan with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg substitute, milk, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Add all the other ingredients except 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Gently pour the mixture into the pan, and place in the oven. Bake 70-75 minutes until set in the middle. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese and bake 5 minutes longer. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

Red Quinoa Salad with Green Vegetables

I owe a debt of gratitude to one of my fellow food bloggers, Abby from figandfork.com, for introducing me to the idea for this salad. I was looking for something healthy, and interesting to serve my parents when they came up for Easter weekend. My dad recently had heart surgery, so he is trying to cut back on his sodium and fat intake, but he is a huge lover of salt. I have been trying to convince him that he can make some really flavorful foods, if he knows how to use some other seasonings. Lemon is always a good substitute, and this salad has a nice, lemony kick. I served it with some marinated, grilled chicken breasts. 

 I improvised with some of the veggies, because I found some cool things at the Linden Hills Co-op when I stopped the other day. The sunflower sprouts gave it a little bit of a "Dr. Seuss" feel, which made eating it fun!

Red Quinoa Salad With Grilled Asparagus and Green Vegetables

1 cup red quinoa 
1/2 pound fresh asaparagus
1 small cucumber, diced
1 cup baby watercress
1 handful sprouts (I used sunflower sprouts)
1 handful cilantro, chopped 
1 avocado, diced 
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled 
1/2 cup pepitos
1/2 teaspoon salt 


For the dressing 
Juice and zest of 2 fresh lemons
3 tablespoons olive oil 
3 cloves garlic, minced


Olive oil, salt and pepper for grilling asparagus

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Let cool. Meanwhile, trim asparagus, and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill for just a few minutes, just until charred. Cut into bite sized pieces. Toss together with quinoa and remaining ingredients, except for pepitos. Pour dressing over the salad and refrigerate. Stir in pepitos just before serving. 

Apple Butter Garam Masala Glaze for Chops

We have a LOT of pork in our freezer. I am always looking for creative ways to grill the chops, and often invent marinades or glazes on the fly.

We have a ton of apple butter after experimenting with a recipe for crock-pot apple butter (see September 2011 recipes), and I was thinking it might make an interesting glaze for pork. Applesauce and pork chops is a pretty classic combination (everyone remembers that famous Brady Bunch episode, right?),but the apple butter was fairly sweet, so I needed bring that down a notch, as well as add some spice. My palate wandered over to garam masala. This is a very interesting combination, definitely one we will use again.

Apple Butter Garam Masala Glaze for Chops

1/2 cup apple butter
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garam masala

Mix ingredients together, and brush on chops (or chicken would work as well) near the end of grilling.

Fresh Strawberry Crisp

I am getting so excited for strawberry season, I have to admit I jumped the gun a bit. I saw some really beautiful strawberries at the store, and they weren't very expensive, so I bought a pile of them. We ate quite a few plain, they were so delicious. But then, we needed to use some up before they spoiled. So, we start making things, strawberry ice cream, strawberry pie, you know how this goes.

And strawberry crisp. Crisp (or crumble) is one recipe every home cook should have in their back pocket, to pull out whenever you have fresh fruit. It is simple, always good, and can be used with almost any fruit you have on hand. I baked this one in individual casseroles, and served with homemade vanilla ice cream. One of my dinner guests nearly had a food-gasm! Yummy !

Fresh Strawberry Crisp

1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour

For the topping:
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Ice cream or whipped cream, for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Grease individual casseroles. Place strawberries in a large bowl, and gently toss with sugar, vanilla and flour. Distribute evenly between the casseroles. In the same bowl, combine the topping ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Top the strawberries with the crumble mixture. Bake for 40 minutes until bubbly and golden on top. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Steak and Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

One of my favorite memories of childhood was a salad my grandmother made with hot bacon dressing. It was a fairly simple salad, with fresh spinach from the garden, hard boiled eggs, onions, bacon, and this dressing! Oh my, it was hot when it hit the salad, so it made the spinach wilt a bit when you poured it on. I asked for it all year long, but we only had it when the spinach was fresh.

We had some left over steak from a dinner party we hosted, and some spinach in the refrigerator, so I wanted to make a salad for lunch, and the bacon was speaking to me! So, in honor of grandma, this is the creation. The salad could really be anything you want it to be, but the warm bacon vinaigrette is the star. I took some liberties with the original recipe, but I think grandma would approve.

Steak and Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

For the Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons warm bacon drippings
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey

Mix together until emulsified, set aside.

For your salad:
2 cups fresh spinach, stems removed
1/4 cup yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 strips bacon, fried crisply, and crumbled
3 tablespoons bleu cheese crumbles
6 ounces grilled steak, sliced
2 hardboiled eggs, cut in half
Freshly ground salt and pepper

Arrange spinach on a platter. Top with onion, bacon, bleu cheese, steak and eggs. Drizzle with warm vinaigrette. Salt and pepper as desired.

How to Rescue the Hummus

One thing I have written about in my blog several times are "happy accidents" that come from rescuing a failed dish. This was one of those accidents.

I have made hummus several times, because we really like it. And we like it a certain way, with lots of garlic. It stands to reason that one day, I was going to pass the limit of what a human being can endure, garlic-wise.

That day finally arrived. Even my garlic loving Italian husband admitted he couldn't eat it. I was heartbroken, and I didn't want to sacrifice all of my hard work and just toss it out. So, what to do, so I would still have an appetizer to serve for my guests when they arrived. Hmmm...cream cheese to the rescue ! So easy, and it gave my hummus a lovely, creamy texture that we really enjoyed. One word of caution, however; it needs to be served room temperature, because the cream cheese will set up like a ROCK!

Creamy Hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas
10 cloves garlic
1/2 cup (roughly) olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 8 ounces package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

Cook chickpeas according to package directions. Drain, and rinse in cold water. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to make this in 2 batches. Process the chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt in food processor until smooth. Adjust salt if needed, and add more olive oil if needed as well. Remove to a large bowl, and stir in cream cheese. Serve with pita chips or crackers.