Mother's Day Frangipane French Toast

OK, so this morning I didn't actually cook this for breakfast because my girls made me breakfast-in-bed! But this would be a great treat for Mother's Day (or any day)! I love stuffed french toast. Usually we use cream cheese mixed with a bit of orange marmalade or chopped apricots, cranberries, or something along those lines, but I also love frangipane--that luscious rich mixture of almond meal, butter, sugar and cream (although it can be made from other nuts as well). It suited the sweet Challah bread we used for the french toast amazingly well.

Frangipane:

• 1/2 cup finely ground almonds or almond meal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup softened butter (please do not use margarine!)
• 2 Tbs. half and half or cream*

Note: you can substitute 6 oz. of sweetened almond paste for the almonds and sugar if desired. You can also use this recipe, plus one egg, for a filling for tarts, sweet rolls and other BAKED goods. I have left the egg out here due to the fact that the filling does not get cooked, only warmed through; plus it would be too runny for this purpose if it had the egg.

*If you don't have or don't want to open a whole container of cream for 2 Tbs. worth, you can substitute rum, brandy, cointreau, Gran Marnier, or other liquer of choice. You could probably even use a spoonful of yogurt or apple juice if liquer for breakfast isn't your thing...

For the French Toast Batter:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Slice sweet Challah or Brioche bread into thick slices (1-inch PLUS). Slice each piece again as if making two thin slices from one thick one, but do not go all the way through the bread--leave about 1/2-inch from the bottom unsliced--you are essentially making a little pocket to fill with the frangipane (see below).

In a wide bowl, beat egg, milk and flavoring until uniform in color. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Butter or oil skillet/griddle if necessary. Dip stuffed french toast slices into egg mixture, coating both sides. Cook until browned on both sides, 3-4 minutes each (longer cooking time than regular french toast is needed so as to warm the filling). Remove to low oven to keep warm (if you can resist eating them out of hand!). Serve topped with desired fruit topping or syrup (our favorites: apple, pear, or blueberry) or simply dusted with powdered sugar.

Noodle Kugel

I find it hard to believe that I've made it this far in life and never had Kugel before. I first happened across a recipe for Kugel in Mollie Katzen's Pretend Soup cookbook for kids. Her version is a cold and egg-less one, simple for kids to throw together. Though intriguing, the baked version I found at Smitten Kitchen sounded much more my style, and the story she tells about it was enough to make me want to try it. I followed the recipe fairly closely, not ever having made the dish before, and it was YUMMY. The taste reminded me of blintzes, which I adore. The kids liked it somewhat, but I don't think they cared for the chewiness of the cottage cheese or the crunchiness of the noodles on top, so I had another idea...

I started with a pureed mixture of cottage cheese plus a bit of milk (about 1/4 cup to 1 cup of cottage cheese). I combined the remaining mixture ingredients and poured it over the UNCOOKED noodles in the baking dish. I let this sit overnight so the noodles would soften and soak up the extra liquid. I dotted the top with frozen sweet black cherries before baking. The result was quite similar in taste, but the texture was much softer, though the noodles held their definition. I will probably play around with it indefinitely when I make it again, as that's what I normally do, but the result was definitely satisfying!

Chai-Spiced Pear Butter

After staring at several baggies of dried pears I bought too long ago (that obviously nobody has been eating because they would possibly dislocate your jawbone), I decided that they would be perfect candidates for pear butter. I threw them into a pot of water and boiled them until they were soft enough to puree. The flavoring came from a bottle of chai-flavored syrup that I found way too sweet to use to make drinks. You could substitute the typical chai-style flavorings of vanilla, cardamom, clove, and honey, or even make your own syrup by reducing some of that boxed concentrate or sweetened tea. Again, quantities are estimates; cook by "feel."

• 8 oz unsweetened dried pears (or you can use a couple pounds of fresh pears, too)
• 1/4 cup chai-flavored syrup (or strong-brewed chai tea + 2-3 Tbs. honey)
• 2-3 cups water
  

Bring water and pears to a boil; reduce to simmer and cook 20-30 minutes until pears are well softened (if using fresh pears, the will break down significantly). Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor (or food mill if you have one) and process until smooth. Return to pan, add flavoring, and heat over medium heat (so that pockets of air occasionally break the surface) and cook until desired consistency is reached. Preferrably, the mixture will not collapse on itself when stirred--remember you will (probably) be spreading this onto toast or biscuits.

Spoon mixture into jar(s)--if you will not be eating this right away, you can process in a boiling water bath in sterilized jars for 10-15 minutes.

Creamy Grits/Polenta with Green Chiles and Poached Eggs

While some brands of Polenta/Grits will have you believe that they are one and the same, the grits I grew up on are definitely not polenta. They are made from hominy corn, which is corn treated with lye to remove the hull from the kernel. They have a slightly different taste than the Polenta/Grits, though the texture is relatively the same. What you see pictured here are Polenta/Grits (also called "yellow grits") but I'm sure both will yield ideal results.

Cook grits according to package directions for one serving (I usually use about 1 1/2 cups water to 1/2 cup grits, but you can adjust the amount of either for thicker or thinner grits). Add 1 Tbs diced green chiles (of course I had red ones, too, so I used both), 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1 Tbs. butter or a fingerful of grated cheese to the cooked grits. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve topped with poached egg, fresh ground pepper and an additional spoonful of green chiles. With fall quickly settling in, I had a craving for something warming and soothing. This definitely hit the spot!

For perfect poached eggs, I used Smitten Kitchen's advice. Note: this was only my second attempt at poached eggs without one of those little cookers; after the first time I tried it, I swore I'd never cook them in this way again; thanks to Smitten Kitchen I will probably never use the cooker again!