Stuffed French Toast with Fig and Cream Cheese

Stuffed french toast, what can I say, if you haven’t had it your missing out, so simple to make at home, it takes common french toast and elevates it to a much higher level, worthy of being the star on your brunch or breakfast table, it could feed a crowd, be made ahead of time and kept warm in your oven.

Think of your favorite jam’s or marmalade’s, apricot, orange, peach, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry or plum, or if you prefer any fresh berries will do.

I recently purchased a huge jar of fig paste that was out of this world from a middle eastern store in the city, I couldn’t believe it was only $5.00! Loaded with figs and much thicker than a jam, it worked perfectly, I’m going back for more.

I like to use a good hearty Italian bread or a country loaf, artisan style that you can cut yourself.
Make 1 1/2 inch slices and then with your paring knife make a slit to form a pocket, be careful not to cut all the way through.

For each individual serving I used a mixture of 2 tablespoons of fig paste along with 2 tablespoons of reduced fat cream cheese, so just figure out how many servings you’re going to make and you’ll be able to figure out the amounts. If you’re using fresh berries you might want to add a little powdered sugar in the cream cheese for added sweetness.

Your egg mixture for dipping your french toast will consist of eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. I always sprinkle more cinnamon on top while it’s cooking, the more the better!
Recipe adapted from Everyday Food

Buon Appetito

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What to do with an Over Abundance of Asparagus

Lately I’ve been buying a ton of asparagus, they’re popping up all over in grocery stores, markets and menus, a sure sign of spring, and over the last couple of weeks I’ve been making them all different ways. Here’s just a few ideas to serve them either as a side or a starter.

Asparagus with Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts

Make a vinaigrette with 3/4 cup of olive oil to 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 shallot minced, 1 teaspoon Dijon, a squeeze of 1/2 lemon, salt and pepper. Whisk until blended. Pour some of it over your roasted asparagus, crumble up some Gorgonzola and sprinkle on top, garnish with toasted chopped hazelnuts.

Note: You’ll likely have extra vinaigrette unless you make a huge amount of asparagus, so bottle it up and save it for salads of all kinds.

Phyllo Wrapped Asparagus

Mix lemon zest and parmesan cheese together with salt and cracked pepper, use this mixture to sprinkle over your raw asparagus.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Unwrap the phyllo and cut the stack in half lengthwise. Reserve 1 stack for later use. Cover the phyllo with a damp towel to keep it from drying out. Take 1 or 2 sheets of phyllo and brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with the parmesan mixture. Place 2 to 3 asparagus spears on the short end of the sheet. Roll up, jelly-roll style. Place each piece, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Brush with more melted butter and sprinkle with more Parmesan. Repeat until all the asparagus spears are used up. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
Serve with an aioli, or in this case I used Stacey’s wonderful romesco sauce for dipping.

Roasted Asparagus with Sun-Dried Tomato Gremolata

In a food processor add 6 sun-dried tomatoes marinated in oil, 2 cups of parsley, 1 cup of basil, 1 clove of garlic.

Pulse til desired chunkiness. Sprinkle over your roasted asparagus. Great with cauliflower too!

Creamy Asparagus Soup

This is the perfect soup for springtime , I found this recipe while visiting Deb’s blog last Sunday, she just raved about how good it was and said it was a winner three times over. Fortunately I had everything I needed to make this and whipped it up in no time, it took less than 30 minutes. We loved it, very healthy and low fat, I just used a dash of milk at the end to “cream it up” a bit. Oh, and it has secret ingredients that make it extra special. Go check out the recipe here.
Buon Appetito!
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Braised Artichokes

I know spring is here because I see artichokes popping up all over in the stores. Artichokes happen to be one of my top 5 vegetables that I couldn’t live without! So with that being said, whenever I see them cooked a different way or a new recipe I haven’t tried, I’m all over it!

Such is the case with braising artichokes, would you believe I’ve never actually braised an artichoke before?
I’ve stuffed many in my lifetime with various fillings, I couldn’t put a number on it.

I’ve fried them (don’t do that anymore), grilled them ( so good ), put them in everything you can imagine, salads, omelette’s, quiche, dips, bruschetta, crostini, hummus, salsa, pasta dishes, risotto, pizzas, soup, added alongside meat dishes, marinated, frozen or fresh it doesn’t matter!

I came across this recipe from the book Salt to Taste, and I’m so glad I did, this will now become part of my beloved artichoke repertoire. Great for a buffet or an antipasto table, it tastes best when slightly warm or at room temperature. I used fresh artichokes for this recipe so it took a little time to cut them in quarters and to prep them, but oh so worth it. I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use frozen instead, I would not recommend marinated.

Here’s the fabulous recipe:
Adapted from Salt to Taste
4 large artichokes quartered with choke out and rubbed with lemon, tender leaves only
2 lemons
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 sliced garlic cloves
3 small whole red pepperoncini, or less if you like
1 T. of dried oregano
1 large onion, thick slices
2 small rosemary sprigs
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 T of white wine vinegar, I used fresh lemon juice instead
1/4 cup of chicken broth
Salt and cracked black pepper

After your artichokes are prepped and ready to go, place oil, garlic, pepperoncini and oregano on low in a large deep skillet. Gently warm til garlic is soft about 5 minutes. Add onion, rosemary and cook over low heat until onion is soft. Add wine, vinegar or lemon juice and broth. Bring it to a boil then reduce to a simmer, add the artichokes and cook til tender. Allow to cool, serve warm or room temperature.

The flavors all blend together perfectly and you get a hint of spicy because you never cut the pepperoncini open, you could just place them in at the end the heat will slightly seep out. Garnish with lemon slices.

Imagine this with some good crusty bread for dipping the juice, some imported cheese like provolone, olives and some Italian deli meats, heaven!

Have a great weekend and Buon Appetito!

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