Blueberry cream cheese baked French toast

 

Blueberries are like a superfood, right? Pretty sure even the superest of food can't make this dish good for you, but oh it was a heavenly way to start the day. I've still got a few vats of blueberries from the farmers market to go.

Blueberry French toast

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything, adapted in turn from Kraft. Kraft divides the ingredients among 10 ramekins, which I'm sure would up the presentation level.

Ingredients

4 large croissants

1¼ cups fresh blueberries

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

2/3  cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Zest of half an orange

¼ teaspoon nutmeg, or more

1 cup milk

½ cup half and half or light cream

Powdered sugar

Maple syrup? Maybe

Method

Grease an 8-by-12 pan. Tear up croissants into bite-size pieces and place them in the prepared pan. Sprinkle blueberries on top.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange zest, nutmeg until well blended. Add in milk and cream until incorporated. Pour over croissant in pan. Let stand 20 minutes or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes until set and golden brown.  Let stand for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar. You can serve with maple syrup if desired, but it’s plenty moist and tasty on its own.

 

Rating:  So, so tasty. The addition of orange zest was fantastic; I might try a touch more nutmeg next time. Fast to fix, and great to just pull it out of the refrigerator in the morning to have for breakfast. Sure, we had to go for a walk right after breakfast to avert cardiac arrest, but it's worth filing this away in the splurge pile. Realistically, it serves 6 for breakfast, unless you're putting it in ramekins that limit the portion size a bit.

Raspberry rhubarb clafouti

You know it's a bad sign when you don't even have the oomph to post about things you've made. Finally getting around to posting something I made back in late May when I could taste food, before a flu that's moved in for nearly six weeks.

Rhubarb-raspberry clafouti

From “Rhubarb Renaissance,” by Kim Ode

Ingredients

2 cups chopped rhubarb

1 cup fresh raspberries

½ cup powdered sugar, plus more for garnish

½ teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups milk

1 tablespoon rum or brandy

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup flour

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 10-inch pie plate or quiche pan with cooking dish; you can get by with a 9-inch, but only if it’s one of the deeper variety. You’re going to need a fair amount of pan space to hold all the batter and fruit. Spread rhubarb and raspberries in the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven.

Meanwhile, combine eggs, sugar, salt, milk, liquor and vanilla with a blender or a whisk until smooth. Add flour and combine until smooth.

Pour batter over fruit and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Let rest for several minutes. Sprinkle with more powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve. It calls for 6, but you can probably get by with 8 servings without seeming too skimpy, if you prefer.

 

Rating:  All right. Not a total wower or anything, but a tasty enough dessert when you're looking for a different take on rhubarb.

Grilled steaks with blue cheese walnut relish

This recipe calls for sirloin steaks, but we chose chuck eyes, our favorite cheater steak. It’s about the cheapest cut of meat that’s worth grilling, and it’s often much cheaper than sirloin or rib eye but still tender enough. Make sure you get chuck eyes rather than mock chuck or chuck tenders, which are different cuts that need long stewing time to not be tough. Where you buy it makes as much difference as anything. Chuck eyes from Target are just passable, but chuck eye from a good grower/butcher combo are worth it, and still cheaper than fancier steaks from the same source. Either the farmers market or if you’ve got an in at a local small town locker are your best bets.

Grilled steaks with blue cheese walnut relish

Adapted from “American Favorites” by Betty Rosbottom

Ingredients

3 ounces blue cheese

1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon chopped green onions

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Zest of half a lemon

Steaks to grill

Dried thyme, salt and pepper

Method

Combine cheese, walnuts, green onions, parsley and lemon zest. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.

Sprinkle steaks liberally with thyme, salt and pepper, rubbing into meat. Grill until desired degree of doneness. Top with a generous tablespoon of cheese relish.

Rating: Super simple, and perfectly fine. The leftovers worked on a salad of roasted beets and greens.

Risotto with roasted asparagus and preserved lemon

 I was finally feeling up to a bit of cooking after a week of vertigo. I was amply rewarded with this very tasty meal.

Risotto with roasted asparagus and preserved lemon

 Adapted from healthylivingmarket.com in Saratoga Springs,N.Y.

The original recipe didn't call for roasting the asparagus, but I think the combo pack of the deepened asparagus flavors with the lemon was wondrous. It also called for God's own supply of chives, which I certain have in spades in the alley, but I'm glad I greatly scaled that back.

 Ingredients

12 ounces fresh asparagus

Olive oil for drizzling

4 cups broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup risotto

½ cup white wine

½ a preserved lemon, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped chives

¼ cup grated Parmesan

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Snap ends off asparagus spears where they feel like they want to break, discarding ends. Place spears on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes until just tender. (Mine were pretty thick and took about 20 minutes for that stage, so check sooner if you’re using the pencil-thin size.) Remove from oven and set aside. When cool enough to handle, chop most of the asparagus into pieces of an inch or two.

Meanwhile, heat broth to a simmer. In a separate saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in risotto and cook, stirring for a few minutes until the kernels are well glistened and starting to dance. Add white wine and cook, stirring, until liquid is nearly absorbed. Add broth a ladle at a time, stirring and letting the liquid cook down until nearly absorbed each time. When broth is all absorbed (it will take a good half hour, so pull up a stool), add asparagus chunks, preserved lemon and most of the chives and Parmesan. Serve risotto topped with remaining asparagus spears and garnished with remaining chives and Parmesan.

Rhubarb mango scones

Dave maintains that our house was free. It just came with a really expensive rhubarb patch in the alley garden. Given the run-up in value of said rhubarb patch, I guess it behooves me to use it while it’s still in peak form.

Eastern Sky Scones

From “Rhubarb Renaissance,” by Kim Ode, part of the Northern Plate book series about flavors from the land of Bebop-a-Rebop rhubarb pie. The Eastern sky bit refers to the colors found at sunrise, courtesy of rosy rhubarb and bright yellow mango. If you ever have a chance to eat something Kim bakes, know that it falls into the category of treats for which it’s worth sinning.

Ingredients

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small chunks

1 cup rhubarb, cut into half-inch pieces

1 cup chopped mango

1 cup heavy cream

Decorative pearl or sanding sugar for garnish, optional

Method

Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter, blend butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in rhubarb and mango. Add cream and stir just until combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured board (a dough scraper helps) and knead a few times until it forms a workable dough. Pat out into a 9-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges (again, the dough scraper comes in handy). Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar if desired, and bake for 13 to 15 minutes until light golden brown. Let stand for a few minutes, but serve warm.

Rating: The first bite reminds you that, oh yeah, that’s what rhubarb tastes like. The mango helps keep it moist and adds sweetness. The texture, while not as light as classic scones given the heavy fruit inputs, is still pleasing. Like anything Kim bakes, it’s great. Even if you had to do it yourself.