sprinklefingers

fancy lunch on the subway? what will they think of next?

read all about it here. and see the slideshow here.

it wasn’t until i found myself pregnant that i ate breakfast every day. actually, it wasn’t until i found myself pregnant that i did a lot of things like, say, burst into tears for no reason, take a daily vitamin and declare 5pm as my official bedtime. while the end result (my crazy kid) was worth the deprivation, one other positive thing* about pregnancy is the fact that breakfast became a way of life for me.

now the only thing that complicates breakfast for me is whether or not i’m going to go to the gym after eating it. for me there’s nothing worse than working out and burping up breakfast. [i know i’m not alone here, even if i am the only one who will say it out loud.]

the other day i knew i was going to spin class, but i was also dreaming of eggs. with caramelized onions. and cheese. so i risked that workout-burpy feeling and went ahead with it. i’m so glad i did.

scrambled eggs with balsamic caramelized onions and cave-aged gryuere
serves 1

[this is so easy to whip up on a busy morning if you’ve got a jar of balsamic caramelized onions in the fridge. if you don’t have a jar of them in your fridge, you should seriously consider it. they’re so delicious in this recipe, but really take salads and just about anything else to a whole new level. plus, they’re very easy to prepare and last for weeks in the fridge.]

you need:

• butter for the pan
• 2 large farm fresh eggs
• splash of half & half
• salt & pepper
• generous pinch dried fines herbs
• a few forkfuls of balsamic caramelized onions
• generous handful of shredded cave-aged gryuere

make the eggs:

1. heat a small skillet over medium and add the butter.
2. in a small bowl whisk together the eggs, half & half, salt/pepper and fines herbs.
3. once the butter has melted and is hot (but not browning), add the egg mixture.
4. give the eggs a few seconds and then add the forkfuls of onions.
5. once the onions are in, stir the eggs to scramble them and let them cook until they’ve almost reached your desired doneness.
6. add the cheese, stir a bit more - then remove the pan from the heat and plate the eggs. (if you leave the eggs in the hot pan (even off heat) they will continue to cook.)

i enjoyed these eggs with a slice of toasted & buttered whole grain bread. and, for the record, i only burped once during my workout.

*let it go on the record now that, while i love my kid more than life itself, i was probably the world’s most miserable pregnant person. the fact that i’m finding anything positive to say about it at all is blowing my mind.

it’s an easter miracle. we went to church and my four year old (hopped up on jelly beans and the ears of a chocolate bunny) lasted the TWO HOUR service without having a complete freakout. i feel rather accomplished.

after the service we rushed home and i set about making brunch for a few close friends. on the menu: french toast, bacon, sausages, fruit salad and (hello!) mimosas. [as an appetizer we had about 45 chocolate easter eggs. apiece.]

generally when i have people ‘round for brunch i’ll plan a menu that’s as do-ahead friendly as possible. but not this time. i had two loaves of cinnamon bread in the freezer that were just screaming to be made into french toast, so i was determined to make it work - even if our lovely guests had to wait for me to griddle the toast.

delivering french toast to the table hot is made easier by an electric griddle. i’m not one for excessive amounts of kitchen equipment, but i would be lost without my electric griddle. i use it for breakfast (pancakes! french toast! bacon! eggs!), lunch (grilled cheese! quesadillas!) and dinner (veggie burgers!) - because it’s so much larger than a frying pan, an electric griddle allows you to, basically, griddle up the first round of french toast for the table and then (as you’re enjoying the first round with your guests) the second round can be frying up all golden brown. genius!

the other trick to getting this french toast on the table in a timely manner is that the bread is not soaked in the custard. while the custard is whipped together the night before, the bread is simply dipped in the custard before it goes on the hot (and buttery) griddle. really quite easy, even when cooking for a crowd.

orange & vanilla bean-infused french toast
serves 6 big eaters or 8 wimpy eaters

you need:

• 2 loaves cinnamon bread 
• 2 cups half & half
• 1 cup whole milk
• 9 eggs
• 6 T light brown sugar
• 3/4 t kosher salt
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• zest of one orange

to make the custard:

1. crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. add the half & half, milk, brown sugar, salt, vanilla bean pod & seeds and the orange zest to the eggs whisking until frothy.
3. cover the custard bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. leaving the custard to sit overnight allows the flavors of the orange & vanilla to fully infuse the custard…the results are delicious.

make the french toast:

1. cut the ends off each loaf and then slice the loaves into slabs approximately 1 1/4 ” thick.  
2. heat the griddle to medium-high heat and add a few tablespoons of unsalted butter. 
3. pour the custard into a 9x13” pan and remove the vanilla bean pod. working with three slabs of bread at a time, plop the slabs into the custard and then press down lightly on them so that they’ll absorb some of the custard. flip the slices and press them down again. lift them out of the custard and wiggle them a bit to shake off the excess, then transfer them to the hot, buttered griddle.
4. repeat the soaking of slabs in custard and placing them on the griddle until your griddle is full.
5. cook the slabs until golden, approximately five minutes per side. 
6. repeat this process until your bread has all been dipped & griddled.

serve the french toast with butter and warm maple syrup. and maybe some bacon. and sausage. and probably some champagne and orange juice. and perhaps even a few chocolate eggs.

i know. i know. not everyone has a freezer stocked with extra loaves of brioche. and i keep posting recipes requiring brioche. what can i say? i’m a jerk. BUT. i’m a jerk who loves brioche.

it took me a long time to figure out my go-to brioche formula. one that would work great as a loaf and equally well as a sticky bun or a doughnut. but i can’t share my formula. not yet. we’re using it pretty exclusively at the bakery and i’m just not ready for everyone to know how we do it…besides, the batch size is gigantic and you don’t want 7 lbs of brioche dough on your hands…or do you? don’t answer that.

to make it up to you, i’m going to share with you my second-favorite brioche recipe. it’s from the fine folks at fine cooking. FC just so happens to be my favorite food-related magazine. the step-by-step photos are incredible, and they always have a way of taking something seemingly complicated (brioche dough) and turning it into something anyone can do. anyone who has a stand mixer, that is.

brioche has one million uses. and after it’s baked it can be frozen. and because it freezes so beautifully, i suggest that if you’re going to go through the trouble of making a batch, you might as well make two. or three. the steps will all be fresh in your mind, and you’ll be in the brioche zone! just go with it! while one batch is mixing you can prep your ingredients for your next batch. you’ll be a well-oiled brioche making machine. (this won’t be very far from the truth because making brioche requires a lot of butter.)

brioche dough
makes 2 loaves
from allison ehri kreitler, lesli heffler flick of fine cooking magazine

you need:

• 1 lb. 2 oz. (4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 oz. (4-1/2 tsp.)
• 2 t kosher salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 4 oz. (1/2 cup) whole milk, at room temperature 
• 8 oz. unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, slightly softened

make the dough:

1. in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle, mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. add the eggs and the milk and mix to combine. once the dough comes together, switch out the paddle for the dough hook. set the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes. scrape down the bowl and the hook, then mix for 2 minutes more. the dough should become firm and somewhat stretchy. if it keeps sticking to the hook, simply keep scraping it off.
2. set the mixer to medium-low. while the mixer is running, add the butter one piece at a time, letting the pieces combine almost completely between additions.  scrape down the bowl and dough hook a few times between additions making sure to scrape the dough on the bottom of the mixer up to the top. it should take you 8-10 minutes to add the butter.
3. when the butter has been added and is on it’s way to being fully incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes. scrape the bowl and hook again, then continue to mix until the dough is smooth and shiny, about 4 minutes more. at this point, the dough should make a slap-slap sound against the sides of the mixer bowl. 
4. scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. with floured hands, knead it a bit, then fold all four sides into the middle of the dough. flip the dough ball over and smooth the top down to the sides, tucking it under itself. you’ll have a loose ball with a smooth top. put the dough, smooth side up, into a lightly oiled bowl. cover with cling wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk - about 1 hour.
5. after 1 hour, remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. do to it exactly what you did in step 4 above - fold all four sides into the middle of the dough. flip the dough ball over and smooth the top down to the sides, tucking it under itself. you’ll have a loose ball with a smooth top.
6. put the dough back in the bowl and cover tightly with cling wrap. refrigerate overnight.

shape, proof & bake the brioche:

1. remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temp for about an hour.
2. butter two 9” loaf pans (if yours are 8.5” that’ll be fine.)
3. working on a floured surface with light, quick hands, turn the dough out of the bowl. form the dough into yet another ball by folding all four sides into the middle of the dough. flip the dough ball over and smooth the top down to the sides, tucking it under itself. 
4. divide the dough into 16 equal pieces - it’s best to put the whole lump of dough on the scale and weigh it. once you have that weight, divide it by 16 and then make 16 balls of dough that are exactly that weight. it’s math! it’s easy!
5. working with one piece of dough at a time, cup your hands over the top of the ball of dough and roll it on your countertop until it forms a tight round.
6. repeat this ball-rolling for the remaining dough.
7. fit 8 balls snugly into each of your loaf pans in 2 rows of 4 balls each.
8. cover the pans with a lint-free kitchen towel and let rest in a warm spot for around 1 hour or until the dough is cushy and has doubled in bulk.
9. preheat the oven to 375. if you would like to brush an egg wash on the loaves to give them a shiny appearance, whisk together 2 eggs with a pinch of salt and carefully brush it over the tops of the proofed loaves. take care to not let too much of the egg wash drip down into the loaf pan or the loaves will be difficult to remove.
10. bake the brioche loaves for approximately 25 minutes. the tops of the loaves will be a beautiful dark-golden brown.
11. let the loaves cool for 20 minutes then unmold them.
12. if freezing, wrap the still warm loaves in a double layer of foil and freeze straightaway.

i realize this looks like a ton of steps. and brioche-baking is labor intensive, i’m not going to lie. but the results are so very worth it. for reals.

i’ll be back tomorrow with all sorts of ideas for brioche-deliciousness.