Savory French Toast with Sheep Feta and Fried Alliums

This is a savory version of "french toast." I used duck eggs for the egg mixture because I happened to have them, which resulted in a very rich, yolky custard, but chicken eggs should be quite adequate for this recipe.

Serves 2-4. 

8 slices of slightly stale rustic or french bread (I used week-old Grand Central rye)

5 large eggs

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/4 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp salt

Black pepper to taste

2 tbsp (or more) butter

1 bunch green onions, scallions, or about 4 shallots, finely chopped

2 tbsp coarsely minced garlic cloves

6 oz. sheep feta (cow feta can be substituted)

Whisk eggs, milk, paprika, salt, and pepper until combined.

Dip each slice of bread in egg mixture, turning to coat completely, and lay the slices out on a rimmed baking pan. Drizzle any remaining egg mixture over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate if not using immediately.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat until just melted. Add green onions and garlic and saute until crispy and browned on the edges. Transfer to small bowl. 

Scrape skillet clean or heat a griddle. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add egg-coated bread, and fry until lightly browned on each side, flipping once, about 3-5 minutes per side. Bread should be supple, but not gooey in the center. Sprinkle each piece with feta and fried onion/garlic mixture to serve. 

Honey-Chevre Tarts

Makes 8

Ingredients

All butter pie crust

16 oz. chevre

1/4 cup honey

Thyme

Flaked salt (regular salt will also work)

Divide pastry dough into 8 equal pieces. Flatten each into a round disk, and roll out to about 1/16th of an inch. Sprinkle 2 oz. of chevre over the pastry, leaving 1/2 inch border around the edge of the pastry. Warm honey until it is thin and easy to drizzle. Drizzle 1/2 tablespoon of honey over the chevre on each pastry. Sprinkle thyme and salt over the pastries. Fold edges in, and crimp. Bake in 350˚F oven for about 15 minutes, or until pastry is beginning to brown and cheese is bubbling and browning.

Almond-Currant Challah

Dissolve in 1 cup warm (110-115˚F) water:
1 tbsp yeast
Beat in:
1/2 cup vegetable, canola, or grapeseed oil
1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 eggs
*1/4 tsp cinnamon 
*1/4 tsp almond extract
Whisk until thoroughly combined. Then stir in:
6 cups flour
1 cup currants
1 1/2 cups whole almonds, soaked for at least 12 hours
Stir in:
2-3 cups flour
Stir and knead until desired consistency is reached, adding more flour if necessary.
Knead for 10 minutes.
Place Challah dough in greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let sit at room temperature for 2-5 hours, or until dough has doubled in size.
When risen, break apart into three sections, and stretch each until it is about 24 inches in length. Braid dough, and place on baking sheet. Cover with damp towel and let rise again for about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Bake Challah for about 40 minutes, checking every 10 minutes to make sure browning is even. (If not, foil can be used to cover the top, or rack adjustments can be made in the oven).

Serve Challah with butter and honey, or a soft cheese, such as brie.

* = Optional

Garlic Chevre

What you will need:

1 heavy, non-aluminum pot or saucepan
2 quarts pasteurized or raw (not ultra-pasteurized) goat milk
1 tsp salt
1 clove finely minced garlic
1/8 tsp M4001 culture, a fairly common "farmhouse" or "chevre" culture
1/8 tsp. liquid vegetarian rennet or 1/8 rennet tablet, mixed or dissolved into 1 tablespoon water

If using pasteurized milk, you will also need 1/8 tsp calcium chloride

Cheesecloth, fine mesh sieve, or cheese mold*

Optional: Extra salt, fresh herbs, or other condiments for rolling (thyme, oregano, marjoram, mint, rosemary, lemon zest, chopped olives, sundried tomatoes, etc.)


Procedure: 

1. Add the milk to the pot and stir in salt and garlic. Heat to 86-90°F (this goes very quickly, be alert!)
2. Remove from the heat to stir in the culture, using 20 gentle strokes. Wait three minutes.
3. If necessary, add calcium chloride water. Stir.
4. Add rennet water, stir and cover. Let stand at room temperature (68-72˚F -ish) at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.
5. Ladle the creamy curd (which looks like yogurt) into molds* on a draining rack, or a fine mesh sieve, or a cheesecloth-lined colander. Drain about 12 hours at room temperature. Remove whey and, if necessary, continue draining 12 hours. Depending on how creamy or hard you want your cheese, draining time will vary greatly. In the past, I have drained it for only a total of 24 hours and ended up with a very creamy, spreadable cheese. If drained for a total of 72 hours, the texture will be much more crumbly, like feta.
6. Unmold and place on draining rack and (optional) sprinkle with salt on all sides. If desired, dry cheeses on a bamboo mat or wire rack on a cookie sheet for 24 hours.
7. Roll in desired herbs or condiments. Wrap in cheese papers (waxed paper side in, shiny side out), or parchment paper, or simply tupperware or ziplock bags. Refrigerate and enjoy any time. Use any leftover whey to make fresh bread, preserve produce with lactic fermentation, or to boil pasta, veggies, etc.


MMMMMmmmmmm

* No need to buy a cheese mold. You can make a homemade cheese mold out of any number of household items. Old yogurt containers work well, as can an old plastic food-storage container. Avoid using reactive metals that may leach into the cheese. You'll need to punch or drill holes into your container if it doesn't already have some, so that liquid can drain from the cheese.  Crudely shaped holes cut with scissors can work if you are using an old yogurt container or similarly thin plastic. Holes should be placed at the bottom and sides of the container.

Chocolate Cherry Walnut Scones

Ingredients:

3/4 cup oat or rye flour

3/4 cups whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped or coarsely ground

1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate

3/4 cup chilled buttermilk plus more for glaze

1 large egg

Coarse sugar crystals

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Grease a large baking sheet.
Combine dry ingredients (first 9 ingredients) in large bowl.
Cut in butter until it is thoroughly worked in-no large bits should remain.
Stir in the chocolate, cherries, and walnuts.
Tossing ingredients lightly with a fork, add the buttermilk, mixing until just combined. Knead dough 1 or 2 times, just to form it into two balls.
Pat each ball into a disk, and roll them out on a floured surface, until dough is about 3/4 inch thick. Slice dough as you would a pizza, into 6-8 wedges per disk. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Brush with milk or egg white, and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for about 22 minutes, or until scones are firm and just turning brown around the edges.

Generic Cold Blended Coffee Drink

Make 2 cups of very strong coffee, or 1 cup of espresso plus 1 cup water.
Combine 2 cups milk, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 tbsp of any flavor of syrup (chocolate, hazelnut, etc...or even honey!).
Add coffee to milk mixture.
Freeze for at least 3 hours, or up to 5. If frozen for less time, drink will be cold, but not icy. If frozen for more time, some thawing may be required before blending.
Remove from freezer, and place half of the mixture in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately to avoid separation.

Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls

Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls taken -almost- directly from Bon Appetit Magazine.



These are the best cinnamon rolls you will ever make, and they have a secret ingredient!

Makes 12

Recipe by Greg Atkinson

Photograph by Levi Brown

Ingredients:

Dough
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
4 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
3 1/4-ounce envelopes active dry yeast (scant 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean seeds
1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Preparation:

Dough
Combine potatoes, 2 cups water, and 1 tablespoon coarse salt in large saucepan. Boil until potatoes are very tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Mash potatoes with water in pan (do not drain water). Add butter and mash until butter is melted. Whisk in eggs, then 1 cup flour; mash until very smooth. Let potatoes stand until barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup warm water into large bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; stir in yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add potato mixture to yeast mixture; mix on low speed until well blended, 2 minutes. Mix in 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well. Beat until sticky dough forms.

Spread 1/2 cup flour on work surface. Scrape dough out onto floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 8 minutes.

Coat large bowl with butter. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make filling.
Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in medium bowl. Using fork, mix in butter.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Sprinkle the pecans and about 1/4 of the filling mixture over the bottom of the pan.

Turn dough out onto well-floured work surface. Roll out dough to 24x16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle filling evenly over dough. Starting at 1 long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style, enclosing filling. Using thick sewing thread, cut roll crosswise into 12 pieces, by sliding the thread under the bottom, then pulling both ends together to cinch the thread through the dough. Transfer rolls to baking sheet, spacing rolls about 3/4 inch apart. Cover baking sheet loosely with damp towel or plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes (rolls will be very puffy).
Bake cinnamon rolls until golden, about 20 minutes. Check on them part way through baking to be sure the tops are not getting too brown. If they are, cover the rolls with aluminum foil.
Cool rolls 10 minutes on baking sheet.

Meanwhile, make glaze.
Beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla bean, and salt, and beat until smooth. If glaze is too thick to spread, add milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls as needed. Spread glaze over warm rolls.