It's Monday morning of Week 8
It's Monday and up on the menu is my husband's favorite - French toast. Sweet, warm, toasty and cinnamony with a hint of vanilla - topped with butter and warm maple syrup. On the side I am going to serve spicy, tangy breakfast sausage which tastes so good dipped in they syrup.
For dinner I am trying a soup recipe that I've never made before - Chestnut Soup. It's a pureed soup and topped with homemade garlic croutons. The flavors of this soup sound intriguing - I think the kids will like it. (And it's healthy so all the better!)
On the side I am going to make one of my favorite salads - Cranberry Sugared Walnut Spinach Salad. I figured out how to sugar my own walnuts several years ago - so I can use plain walnuts from the big bag I keep in my freezer. I love this salad - the sweet tangy cranberries pair well with the sugared walnuts and I am going to use a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It's going to be fantastic.
I am also making one of my favorite dinner breads to go with this meal - Rosemary bread. This is a unique yeast bread that my mom used to make. I've changed it somewhat over the years. But it is filled with onions - which roast right into the bread and compliment the rosemary and garlic. It is simply to make but so delicious and makes the whole house smell amazing as it bakes.
For dessert we are simply having Orange Cream floats. Creamy vanilla ice cream with fizzy orange soda- and as the ice cream melts it mixes with the soda and makes it taste like a creamsicle. I love these things!
I love this whole dinner plan because there are so many different flavor contrasts going on but they still all fit together. It's going to be perfect for today!
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| French Toast and Sausage |
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| Chestnut Soup, Rosemary Bread, Cranberry Sugared Walnut Spinach Salad and Orange Cream Floats |
BREAKFAST:
1. Heat a griddle to around 375 degrees. Then mix the milk (and/ or cream, you can do a little of both to make a richer batter. Today I used evaporated milk) with the eggs in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup. Stir well.
3. Add 1/2 cup of flour. This isn't in the recipe but it's something I've learned to do to make the batter more of a batter.
4. Take a slice of bread and dip it in the egg mixture. Let it soak up the mixture, and then turn it and let it soak well. Until the bread is well coated on both sides and feels "heavy" with the mixture.
5. Generously grease the griddle, or even melt a good layer of butter where you want to fry the coated bread. Place the batter soaked bread on the griddle.I like to sprinkle the uncooked side with cinnamon while the other side cooks.
6. Fry until golden on one, side. Check by sliding a spatula under one corner, lifting it up and seeing if it's golden underneath. Flip it over and cook until golden on the other side.
6. Fry until golden on one, side. Check by sliding a spatula under one corner, lifting it up and seeing if it's golden underneath. Flip it over and cook until golden on the other side.
8. Serve with butter and syrup. ENJOY!
DINNER:
CRANBERRY SUGARED WALNUT SPINACH SALAD
1. Grease and then heat a medium small saucepan over med-high heat. Add sugar and water, stir to dissolve.
2. Meanwhile, roughly chop walnuts (or pecans).
3. Let sugar-water mixture boil until thickened and syrupy.
4. Add the walnuts to the sugar syrup, stir quickly to coat. Keep stirring as water evaporates.
5. Keep stirring to keep the walnuts covered in the sugar-syrup as the water evaporates. Cook until all the water is gone and the walnuts are sugared. Remove from heat and pour onto cooling sheet or foil.
6. Pour spinach into a bowl.
7. Add dried cranberries to spinach, toss to mix.
8. Add sugared walnuts.
9. Pour dressing over all and mix to coat.
10. ENJOY!
CHESTNUT SOUP
1. Add olive oil and broth (or water and bouillon to crock pot).
2. Add carrots (the recipe calls for dicing them, but since this soup will be pureed it isn't really necessary).
3. Chop celery and add to crockpot.
4. Add minced onions, anise and black pepper.
5. Stir. Cover the crock pot and cook on LOW for 6 hours or more.
6. Add chestnut puree. Add parsley (or tarragon). Stir.
7. Ladle the hot soup into the blender (or food processor). Puree until smooth.
8. Pour the soup back into the crockpot and keep warm.
9. While the soup is keeping warm, make the croutons. Turn the oven on broil. Cut bread into cubes and coat with butter, garlic salt and Italian seasonings. Place on baking sheet. I had some garlic knot bread, which is already coated in butter, garlic and seasoning. So I used this - and just cut it into small pieces and placed it on a baking sheet.
10. Place the baking sheet in the oven. Let them broil until lightly browned and crisp.
11. Ladle soup into bowls and top with garlic croutons.
12. ENJOY!
ROSEMARY BREAD
1. Chop onion. Set aside.
2. Add warm water, salt and sugar to mixing bowl.
3. Add in yeast and let sit a few minutes until foamy.
4. Add flour and olive oil to bowl.
5. Add chopped onion and rosemary to bowl.
6. Mix until the well blended and the dough forms a sort of "ball" and pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
7. Grease a baking sheet. Dump the dough onto the center.
8. Press dough sort of flat into a circle.
9. Using a large serrated knife, cut vertical and horizontal lines across the dough.
10. Brush the top with olive oil and then sprinkle with garlic salt and rosemary.
11. Let rise until double - about 45 minutes to an hour. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
12. Place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes or so until golden brown.
13. I like to serve it in wedges - it is very good. ENJOY!
DESSERT:
Tonight is ultra simple- vanilla ice cream with fizzy orange soda. Orange Cream Floats. YUM!
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