Crème Brûlée French Toast

I hate to say it, because I love myoriginal French toast recipe, but I found the best and absolute easiest French toast you will ever make in your life.

This is a recipe that I made and then immediately wanted to tell every single person about it: my dad, Z’s mom, my neighbor with the cute adorable toddler, the barista who never smiles when I order my cappuccino.

You see, this is no ordinary French toast. This is crème brûlée French toast. It’s a custardy, nutmeg-flavored custardy piece of challah where one side has a crispy sugar coating reminiscent of the shell on top of crème brûlée.

Oh, and did I mention that you can make this even if you don’t know the first thing about anything? You soak challah in a nutmeg-infused mixture of eggs, cream, and whole milk overnight (no wonder it’s good), and then you cook it in the oven on a sheet of melted butter and brown sugar.

It’s a perfect brunch meal—prep the night before, pop it into the oven the day of. By the time you cook up some sausage and make a pot of coffee, your French toast is ready.  I was overly ambitious and served it with an eggs poached in tomato sauce dish that I overcooked (see, no one is perfect!), but it didn’t even matter because this crème brûlée French toast is JUST THAT GOOD.

Crème Brûlée French Toast

From The New York Times

5 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks

2 1/4 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons dark rum or orange juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 loaf challah bread, sliced 1 inch thick, preferably stale

1 cup packed light brown sugar

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, rum, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Spread bread out in 1 layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Pour custard over bread, cover with plastic wrap, and let soak in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Flip bread slices over once while they soak (either halfway through soaking or an hour before baking). 

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and melted butter. Pour mixture onto another large rimmed baking sheet, using a spatula if necessary to spread into an even layer. 

Transfer soaked bread to sugared baking sheet, placing slices on top of the brown sugar mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and sugar is bubbling. 

Serve immediately while still hot, with the crunchy brown sugar side up, spooning more of pan syrup on top. 

Enjoy!

Z's Birthday Brunch Menu

Z and I like hosting friends for parties, and birthdays are no exception. A few weeks ago, Z and I sat down to brainstorm menu ideas for his 26th birthday party, and Z decided on toast.

$4 toast is a trend here in San Francisco--bakeries are serving thick slices of their best bread, toasted and topped with toppings like cinnamon sugar, avocado, or Nutella. Z, like most normal human beings, likes all of those things, so he thought it would be a silly but delicious brunch idea.

We served five different types of toast, and then we had a mix-and-match station for our guests to make their own creations! We wanted a balance between savory and sweet toasts as well as dairy and dairy-free toppings. We served the following toppings: hummus and roasted tomato, avocado and flaky sea salt, Nutella and flaky sea salt, peanut butter with bananas and honey, and brie with honey butter.

A toast brunch menu is great because it is easy to put together, even easier to clean up, and really filling. I made the roasted tomatoes two days before, which means on the day of Z's birthday brunch, all I had to do was slice bread and apply the toppings. No real cooking required!

The secret is to make sure the bread is slicked thick. It ensures people have a substantial meal even if they grab only two pieces of toast, and it also gives a more luxurious feel. The same goes for small touches, like honey butter and flaky sea salt. They add just a touch of sophistication that elevates the entire meal.

We also served mimosas and iced coffee mint mojitos since we're in the middle of Indian Summer here in San Francisco.

I hope this inspires you to serve toast as part of your next brunch menu!

Tailgating Favorites: Caramelized Onion Dip

Fall is finally here, which means football and tailgating are in full swing! I didn't grow up as a football fan, and I'm not partial to any NFL team, but college football is a horse of a different color. Z and I are still loyal to our alma mater, and we spend fall Saturdays tailgating with friends down at Stanford.

With football and tailgating comes all the guilty pleasure food that I rarely allow myself to eat during the year, like this caramelized onion dip. This dip is inspired by the Lipton's Onion dip, but this one has way more flavor and no artificial ingredients. 

It's essentially a ton of caramelized onions, stirred into a combination of sour cream and mayo. It's creamy, not overwhelming salty, has a ton of onion flavor, and has a bright punch thanks to a slight addition of balsamic vinegar.

I love it to eat this at game days with potato chips and veggies, but it's also great as a spread on sandwiches. Put a bowl of this out at your next tailgate, and it's sure to disappear quickly. 

Caramelized Onion Dip

From Cook's Country

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 pounds yellow onions, diced fine

Salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup water

2 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heath. Add onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. Reduce heat to medium low, and continue cooking until onions are golden brown (about 10 more minutes).

Add 2 tablespoons water to skillet and stir, scraping up browned bits on bottom of skillet, until water evaporates, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of water, and cook until onions caramelize and water evaporates, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar.

Let onions cool. Combine mayo and sour cream in bowl, then stir in cooled onions. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. 

Brie and Honey Butter Sandwiches with Homemade No-Knead Bread

There’s no other way to say it: you got to make this sandwich, and you better do it with homemade bread. The sandwich is so simple that every ingredient counts, and this is no place to skimp on quality or calories! 

The sandwich is just bread, brie, honey, and butter, but it’s a heavenly combination that you can use on repeat. At tea parties, picnics, or just as a Sunday afternoon snack, there’s no place this sandwich doesn’t fit it (unless you are maybe going to a picnic with a friend who is both dairy AND gluten-free, which in this case, why are you eating a meal with this person?!?!). 

Z and I had this sandwich at Shed, and it was so delicious that we wanted to recreate it at home. I’m glad we did! It forced me to try the speedy no-knead bread recipe from The Times. I like the speedy recipe compared to the original because it allows for more flexibility; no waiting a full 24 hours here. It’s one of the simplest recipes around, and one of the greatest dinner party tricks. “Hi friends, you made a salad, that’s cool, well I made BREAD”. No need for your friends to know that the salad was probably harder to make than this loaf of bread. 

Is it the most perfect bread loaf around? No. But it’s pretty delicious and goes great with cheese, so make sure to stock your fridge with Brie!

Brie and Honey Butter Sandwiches with Speedy No-Knead Bread

From The New York Times

For Bread:

3 cups bread flour

1 packet instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Oil as needed

For Sandwiches:

Serves 2, adjust as necessary

2 tablespoons softened butter

1 1/2 teaspoons honey, plus more for drizzling

6 thin slices of brie (3 for each sandwich)

2 slices of bread (use 4 if you want it to be a closed sandwich, but I prefer open-face here)

Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water, stir until blended. The dough will be shaggy. Cover dough with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. 

Lightly oil a work surface, and place dough on it. Fold the dough onto itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. 

Immediately start heating up the oven, setting it to 450 degrees. Put a heavy 6-8 quart heavy pot in the oven. When the dough is done resting, carefully remove the pot from the oven. Put the dough into the oven, seam side up. Shake the pan once or twice. 

Cover the pan with a lid, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid, and back for another 15-30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool pot on a rack, then take out bread and slice.

Combine honey and softened butter together in a small bowl. Spread the butter equally over the two slices of bread. Top with 3 slices of brie on each piece of bread, and drizzle more honey over if desired. Enjoy! 

Cheese & Fruit for Dinner

Continuing with the theme of easy dinners, today I am sharing my favorite lazy, no-cook meal--bread, fruit, and cheese!

When I don't feel like cooking, I often head to the local co-op for some great cheese, ripe summer fruit, and fresh bread. It's a really filling meal, and thanks to the fruit, I can kind of convince myself that it is healthy.

In terms of cheese, Z and I are suckers for blue cheese and peaches. I prefer a creamier blue, while Z prefers a more crumbly blue. We typically end up settling on Point Reyes Original Blue, which is amazing!

Then, I add in two more types of cheese. In the fall, I'll do a sharp cheddar with apples. This spring, I've been eating a lot of brie and goat cheese though.

For fruit, anything ripe and in season should work well. Peaches, nectarines, cherries, and strawberries are constantly in our fruit/cheese/bread rotation.

Lastly, there's no point in eating great cheese if it doesn't have a great vehicle. We splurged for this shoot on Tartine bread, but any fresh baked bread will do.

This is the one "meatless" meal Z loves. While Z will never become a vegetarian, maybe I can convince him that every Monday should be our cheese/bread/fruit night.

What are your go-to easy meals? Share them in the comments below!

My Favorite Take-Out Meal

I'm all about cooking here on the blog. I love to cook, and I relish in sharing easy and delicious recipes with you all.

Even I have those days though where you make it home from work, and the last thing you want to do is make dinner. The thought of putting together a meal, or even creating a meal out of leftovers, sounds completely unappetizing.

It's essential to have a few take-out options in the back of your pocket, for when you just. can't. even.

My favorite take out meals are relatively healthy, fresh tasting, and cheap! In particular, I love love love Mediterranean food.

I always grab a vegetarian sampler plate from Truly Mediterranean. It costs under $10 and it includes: dolmades, falafel, hummus, baba ghanoush, Israeli salad, tabouleh, sumac onions, feta, and pita bread. It's so much food that I often get two meals out of it!

What are your favorite take out meals?

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispies

Back in college, my best friend Vivian was the sweetheart for SigEp. Like a good fraternity sweetheart, she decided to bring rice krispy treats to one of their chapter meetings. Like a good friend, I helped her make them.

Vivian and I started making the treats, when I noticed one essential ingredient was missing: butter. Vivian figured that since she rarely used the full 1/2 stick called for in the traditional recipe, it wasn't a necessary ingredient.

She was wrong. It was a complete mess. Without the essential fat in the recipe, the marshmallows didn't adhere properly to the rice krispy cereal. We ended up with a giant ball of melted marshallow, with rice krispies stuck to the side.

Yes, the boys still ate them; we learned an important lesson though, butter is important!

Today's recipe not only has butter, but it has DOUBLE the butter of a traditional rice krispy treat. These are the most amazing rice krispies I've ever had. They have a nutty, caramely, salty flavor thanks the flaky sea salt and browned butter.

Five extra minutes totally elevates this dish into one that is worthy enough to bring to parties, serve at the end of dinner parties, and bring into work for a colleague's birthday.

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispies

From Smitten Kitchen

1 stick butter
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1 10oz bag of marshmallows
6 cups puffed rice cereal

Butter an 8-inch square pan so the rice krispies don't stick!

Melt the stick of butter over medium heat. The butter should melt, start to foam, and then become a golden brown color with a nutty smell. Once it reaches this golden brown point, remove the pan from the heat!

Stir in the flaky sea salt, then add the marshmallows. The residual heat from the butter should melt the marshmallows.

Add the 6 cups of cereal, and stir until well-coated and mixed. Pour rice krispy treat mixture into 8-inch buttered pan.

Let sit until cool, slice, then eat!

Sweet Potato and Apple Hash

Cooking dinner is often one of the highlights of my day, but even I come home exhausted some days after work. Those nights, I often try to piece together some form of a meal with the odds and ends I have at home. Typically, it's some form of grilled sandwich or quesadilla--but sometimes you need a change.  

Looking around my kitchen, I noticed some sweet potatoes that were about to go bad and eggs sitting on the top shelf of my fridge. With the addition of an apple and some shallots, I created a lovely sweet potato and apple hash that I topped with an over easy egg. 

While this recipe is great for dinner, it would also make a unique brunch dish! Just think how great this would be after an awesome Zumba or yoga class...

Sweet Potato and Apple Hash

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and then diced

1 tablespoon, butter

1 apple, diced into small pieces

1 shallot, chopped

3 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil a pot of water, and then add in the sweet potatoes once the water hits a rolling boil.  Cook the sweet potatoes for four to six minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender. Drain the sweet potatoes.

In a medium sized pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the sweet potatoes, apple, shallot, and thyme to the pan, and sauté until the hash begins to caramelize and turns brown and crispy around the outside.  Add a dash of salt and pepper to season the hash.

Serve with an over easy egg.

Roasted Asparagus

Grocery shopping in DC is stressful. Living in California, I used to love the peacefulness of grocery shopping, the trivial yet enjoyable nature of picking out food for the week. Here in DC, grocery shopping is quite the ordeal.

First, I walk about fifteen minutes to get to a grocery store. If I remember to go shopping before Sunday, there might be decent looking produce at Safeway, Harris Teeter, or Trader Joe's. At Trader Joe's, I have to prepare myself for the check-out line that wraps around to the entrance of the store and is at least twenty minutes long. And if I make the crucial mistake of shopping in the late afternoon on a Sunday, then I am definitely heading to Whole Paycheck Foods for produce. After filling my reusable bags with produce, dairy, and meat for the week, I begin to make my trek back home.

Back in California, grocery shopping was a chance for discovery--for uncovering new ingredients to add in to my repertoire. Here in DC, I just want to get into the grocery store and leave as soon as possible. I started following strict shopping lists so that I could get in and out as quickly as possible. Usually, I am pretty good about making a list and sticking to it. 

This past weekend though, I got distracted by some asparagus. It just looked so good, and I realized that I had not eaten asparagus in so long (probably because it's a spring vegetable, and it's currently only the beginning of March...). I decided to buy the asparagus, even though it wasn't on my list, and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to cook it. My family typically cooks asparagus out on the BBQ but due to the lack of warm weather (and a real BBQ grill) here in DC, I realized that wasn't going to be an option.  I decided to stick with a traditional roasted asparagus recipe--it was delicious, straightforward, and quick. 

Hope this inspires you to pick up some asparagus next time you are at the market--it's just the start of spring, so there will be lots of beautiful asparagus at the market over the next few months!

Roasted Asparagus

1 lb of asparagus

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Cut off the tough part of the asparagus (last two inches or so).

Place the asparagus on a sheet pan. Toss the asparagus with olive oil, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for 25 minutes. The asparagus should be tender yet still crisp.

Back to Basics: Roasted Salmon

Some days, I want nothing more than to come home and collapse. This whole week, I have felt one step behind on everything. My to-do list keeps managing to get longer instead of shorter, and there never seem to be enough hours in the day. There are some days where I do not get home until 7:30pm/8pm or so, and all I want is a chef to make me a homemade meal, and a cleaning staff to take care of the kitchen afterwards.

Instead, I am left either with a box of take-out or staring at a fridge with no idea what to make. Luckily, this salmon recipe is healthy, simple to make, and easy to clean up.  I pair it with leftovers in my fridge (salad, quinoa, roasted veggies, leftover pesto, etc) to make a full meal. This recipe is plain, but an essential recipe to have up your sleeve.

So while I cannot bring a chef to your door on the nights you work late, I can bring you a delicious recipe that is ready in under 15 minutes.

Roasted Salmon

Makes enough for one serving

1 3 oz fillet of salmon

Salt

Pepper

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Season salmon with salt and pepper. 
• Place fish, skin side down, on a non-stick cooking sheet. Cook in the oven for 6-8 minutes.  

• The salmon should flake well when done, and be very firm.

Thai Green Curry

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope your week has been off to a great start. In just three more days, it will be the weekend again, where you can go back to relaxing in pajamas all day, drinking coffee in bed, and exploring your wonderful city.

In the meantime, you need to survive three days of work.  And if you're anything like me, it's not just work, but also the gym, grocery shopping, learning French, reading for my book club, and volunteering. Tuesdays are typically the toughest in terms of trying to get everything done because I spend 2.5 hours in the early evening at BUILD, a national non-profit. I rush to get into work early so I can finish work by 4:30pm, spend 4:30pm-7pm at BUILD, and then often go to the gym afterwards. By the time I get home from BUILD, I am ready for bed.

And that's where this Thai Green Curry comes in. Ready in less than 20 minutes, this curry is flavorful, healthy, and best of all, great for lunch the next day.

Thai Green Curry

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 package green curry paste

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup canned coconut milk

1 sweet potato, diced

Juice from one lemon

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1.5 cans chickpeas, rinsed

1 bell pepper, diced

Prepared brown rice or white rice

• In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add in the chopped onions, and stir occasionally until they start to wilt.   

• Next, add in the curry paste, and let it heat up for about 30 seconds.
• Pour in the chicken broth and coconut milk.  Stir in the sweet potatoes, lime juice, and fish sauce.  Let the sauce simmer on medium heat until the sweet potatoes are tender. 

•  Then, add in the chickpeas and the chopped bell pepper.  Cook over medium heat until heated thoroughly. The bell peppers should still have a little bit of crunch to them!
• Serve with brown or white steamed rice.