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!

Back to Basics: Eggs over Easy

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day. I could eat eggs, french toast, pancakes, and any other early-morning food at really any point in the day.

For me, eggs are only perfect if they are have a wonderfully runny yolk to mop up with toast. My grandmother and sister were infamous for hating runny eggs. I never quite understood the appeal of an egg over hard. Though my grandmother, stubborn as she was, never outgrew her distaste for runny yolks, I am so glad my sister and I have similar egg preferences now...it makes it so much easier to share when we go out for brunch!

These eggs, eggs over easy, are fried eggs that have been cooked on both sides, but still retain the perfect bright yellow soft yolk. Not only are these eggs a great way to start the day, they work perfectly on top of brown rice, greens, or in a sandwich for dinner.

I know it's a Tuesday. You're probably going to rush out the door on your way to work with just a cup of coffee and a banana in hand. I challenge you though to sit down one day this week and eat a real breakfast. Eating a real breakfast during the week, even though it only takes about 10 minutes, feels so luxurious, and the extra protein will keep you powering through those Excel and PowerPoint slides until lunchtime. 

Hope these spruce up your typical breakfast routine!

Eggs over Easy

1 tablespoon butter

1 egg

Over low heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan.  

When the butter begins to foam, crack the egg into the pan.

Cook over low heat until the whites become opaque.

When the whites are opaque, jiggle the pan to loosen the egg.  

Using a spatula, gently flip the egg over.  Cook the egg for 10 seconds.

After 10 seconds, serve the egg with toast.

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.

Kitchen Essentials: Power Players

With approximately five inches of snow on the ground, and temperatures under 30 degrees all week, there is little chance that I will be heading to a grocery store anytime soon. I would much rather stay inside, under my covers, than face the brutal winds outside, the empty shelves at the grocery stores, and the cold walk home with my groceries. There are so many things I love about living in DC--the museums, restaurants, people--but shopping for groceries in the city is not one of them.  

On days like this, I rely on select ingredients that I always try to have on hand. These kitchen essentials keep (relatively) well and can be used in multiple ways to pull together quite a few dishes. These kitchen power players do not represent an exhaustive list of kitchen essentials. I need more vegetables and spices in my life!  Rather, when my pantry is empty, and I need to quickly buy groceries for the week, these are my go-to ingredients. With these power players on hand, I can easily put together a quick meal. And on snow days, it means I have plenty of food at home so I can stay curled up in bed a little bit longer and dream of California and warm sunshine.

Kitchen Essentials: Power Players

• Cupboard:
• Bread
• Canned tuna
• Dark chocolate (totally essential, right?)
• Dijon mustard
• Garbanzo beans
• Olive oil
• Pasta
• Peanut Butter
• Pepper mill with black peppercorns
• Red wine vinegar
• Salt
• Fridge:
• Butter
• Eggs
• Parmesan Cheese
• Produce:
• Apples
• Bananas
• Dark leafy greens
• Garlic
• Lemons
• Onions
• Freezer:
• Chicken sausage 

Sample meals

To give you a sense of how easy it is to use these ingredients, below are some sample meals derived from this shopping list.

Italian inspired salad--leafy greens, garbanzo beans, parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar, olive oil, black pepper

Protein packed salad--leafy greens, chicken sausage, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, black pepper

Cafe salad--leafy greens, apples, onions, parmesan cheese, black pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper

Garlic tuna salad--tuna, garlic, black pepper, dijon mustard, bread or leafy greens

Lemony tuna salad--tuna, lemon, black pepper, dijon mustard, bread or leafy greens

Tuna melt--tuna, lemon, black pepper, dijon mustard, onions, bread, butter

Chicken sausage sandwich--chicken sausage, onions, parmesan cheese, bread, butter

Egg scramble--eggs, parmesan cheese, butter, onions

Egg salad--eggs, dijon mustard, salt, black pepper, bread or leafy greens

Peanut butter toast--bananas, bread, peanut butter

Sautéed garbanzo beans--garbanzo beans, garlic, onions, olive oil, black pepper, salt

Marinated garbanzo beans--garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon, salt, black pepper, olive oil 

Grilled sausage--chicken sausage, onions

Lemon pasta--pasta, lemon, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garbanzo beans, garlic, salt, black pepper

Cacio e pepe--pasta, butter, parmesan cheese, black pepper, salt

Eggs in pasta--pasta, eggs, parmesan cheese, butter, black pepper, salt

Meaty pasta--pasta, chicken sausage, parmesan cheese, onion, butter

Afternoon snack--peanut butter, apples

Afternoon snack 2--apples, parmesan cheese

Hummus--garbanzo beans, olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper

Roasted chickpeas--garbanzo beans, olive oil, salt, black pepper

Enjoy the week cozying up with family and friends!  Stay tuned for more kitchen essentials this week.