Tag Archives: eggs

French Toast in a Cup

3AshevilleWe had the pleasure of staying at the Asia Spa and Bed in Asheville NC. It is a cozy little B&B just six bedrooms, but all beautifully decorated and very, very comfortable. We went there to visit the River Arts district, a very large collection of galleries and working studios in Asheville, most are open to visitors, only how they ever get any work done is a mystery to me with all the visitors. Asia serves a breakfast every day and on our first day we had French Toast in a ramekin! Imagine my surprise, I’ve written a book about ramekin cooking and here’s some one actually doing it. I haven’t thought of French Toast in a ramekin. It was great, so I asked the manager, Nicolette, if I could use the recipe, she said yes, so here is my version. Like French Toast it’s very simple and this one you make the night before. Double or triple the mixture and make four or six… and feed an army! They are all done at once so no waiting. We told her she should write an Asia Spa cook book.

Makes two

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
4 slices of bread, not Wonder bread
2 dashes of cinnamon
PAM spray
Two eight ounce ramekins (2 – 11oz. ones)
Confectioner’s sugar
2 pats of butter
Peach or Apple sliced thin (optional)

Directions

FT1In a small bowl beat the eggs well, then add the half and half and cinnamon. Cut the bread into quarter slices that will fit into the ramekin.  Spray the ramekins with PAM. Dip the cut bread into the egg mix four times or so  and put the slices in the ramekin with the bread standing up until it is full. Our friends like to put a thin slice of fruit between each slice of bread. Leave some of the crust showing as it will brown and create eye appeal. Place a small dab of butter and then a little cinnamon on top. Put them into the fridge and allow them to rest overnight.

Next day – Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

Put the ramekins into the oven and bake for 30 min. or until they brown a little on top. Cut around the sides of the cup with a butter knife and using a fork and the butter knife on either side, carefully lift the toast out of the cup. Dust them with a little XXX sugar. Serve with some maple or other syrups on the side and some fresh fruit. At Asia we had a berry mix; blueberries, strawberries and black berries. Very yummie! PS they do freeze well, just defrost for about an hour and pop them into the toaster oven.
FtoastSM

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Filed under Asheville, Asia Spa, breakfast, Cooking, cooking for two, Egg, food, Food Photography, French Toast, North Carolina

Mini Chocolate Soufflés

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Don’t fear the soufflé! It is not a guaranteed flop. The trick is to keep your mixing bowl and beaters grease and oil free. Even the smallest amount of oil can result in the egg whites not stiffening up.

In keeping with the portion control aspect of the book, we are offering small soufflés. The idea is to cook them in micro muffin pans, one or two of these is more than enough for a dessert. They might even make an interesting appetizer. They cook quickly, just 15 mins. or so, and they don’t deflate like a larger scale soufflé. We replace the sugar in the recipe with Splenda. We will be placing this recipe in the next version of my book, “Small Foods”.

You can also make larger ones in ramekins. Put them in the oven when you serve the dinner. They cook in about 30 mins. so by the time you are done they’ll be ready. They need to be served hot from the oven as they do begin to shrink very quickly as they cool.

Ingredients

¼ cup of Splenda (1/3rd cup if you desire a sweeter soufflé)
1 Tbs. Cornstarch
1/8 Tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 Tsp. salt
½ cup milk
½ Tsp. vanilla
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate (Baker’s Chocolate)
2 egg yolks (split the whole eggs into yolks and whites)
1 Tbs. melted butter
2 egg whites

Directions

Makes 12 minis or two 7 oz. ramekins

Heat oven to 350 degrees f.

Measure the chocolate carefully. Look at the weight of the bar on the package and figure out how many blocks will make an ounce or use a postal scale. Melt the chocolate in a microwave, double broiler or one small pot in a big pot of boiling water .

Mix the Splenda and cornstarch in a small pan. Gradually add the milk stirring to dissolve the dry ingredients, then stir in the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Boil and stir until all is dissolved. Set aside to cool a little.

Separate the egg yolk from the white into separate bowls. Beat the egg yolks in a small mixing bowl. I use a whisk for this and beat until the yolks are thickened. Beat the chocolate mix into the yolks. Beat for about a minute and let stand until it cools.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl on high, adding the crème of tartar and salt. You will need to beat these for a while as you want the whites to form stiff peaks approx. 5 min. Stir about half of this mix into the chocolate mix, then gently fold the remainder in.

Spray a mini muffin pan with PAM and then fill the cups to the brim. Cook for about 15 min. They will rise up and a toothpick inserted will come out clean when they are done. These can cool and be served as needed, they don’t deflate much.

If you are going to make ramekin sized soufflés, spray two ramekins with PAM and fill them about ¾ full. Cook for about 30 mins. (same note for being done as above). Serve immediately in the cup (warn your guests that the crockery is hot!) as they do deflate rapidly.

I like to add a dollop of whip cream to the top to dress them up.

P.S. I’ve placed these in the fridge for a couple of days and warmed them in the toaster oven. They come out just fine. I’ve frozen them too and that works as well.

Enjoy!

ThumbnailSmallFoodsCoverMy book “Small Foods” available on Amazon, has lots more recipes, sorry no desserts or sauces, just Entrees and all of them ramekin sized. We will add the desserts section in the next book.

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Filed under Cooking, food, Food Photography, low sugar

Vacation and Quiche Lorraine

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We took a couple of weeks off to go to Utah and see the canyons in Bryce and Zion National Parks with a couple of friends. They wanted to cook all of the meals or go out to eat, so I didn’t get a chance to try out any new recipes on them. So I’m including a recipe from the book. The canyons were beautiful, immense and impressive, if you haven’t been there you have to go. More on my photo site in a few days when I sort them all and get them up http://www.fishbourne.shutterfly.com

Quiche

QUICHE LORRAINE

Ingredients

1/4 cup each coarsely chopped; Green Pepper, broccoli, Mushrooms and Onions
1/2 cup coarsely chopped ham or ham lunch meat
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Bisquick, pancake mix or flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dash of ground Nutmeg
PAM

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
We put all of the vegetables in a bowl and cook them in the microwave for a few minutes. Let them cool before continuing. You can also saute everything in a little olive oil if you wish.
In a medium bowl, beat the two eggs. Add the cheddar cheese, ham, milk and Bisquick. Add the cooled vegetables, (if they are hot they will cook the eggs), the nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix throughly.
Spray two ramekins with PAM and fill them with the mixture. You may have enough for 3-4 ramekins.
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Start checking them after 20 mins.
Run around the edges of the ramekin with a butter knife and they should just pop out when you turn them over on the plate, Flip them back over so the brown top shows. Should they stick in the cup, spoon them out and place the top on top. They will still taste delicious!
There are many variations of this dish you can try, crab, lobster, smoked salmon, sausage, bacon, swiss, mozzarella, etc. Be creative!

This is also another dish that makes excellent mini versions for an appetizer. Make two or three batches in mini muffin cups. Be careful, they may cook very quickly, so check them often. Enjoy!

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