So, when Steph made the soup the other night…there was a ton of tomato/chicken broth that was left over. Steph really digs the hearty soups and pretty much pureed the solids while leaving all the liquids behind. Looking at that tomato’y goodness and I immediately thought “BREAD”! Now, I stuck with a standard bread recipe which (and how impressive is this that I’m doing it by memory)
So…a day after we made the soup…this is what I was left with:
mmm…yummy, eh?? I decided to take it a little easy with the salt and ease back on the oil a little bit. I went through the normal schtick that I’d go through with any bread recipe and even before proofing, there was this great tomato smell that was filling the air. I went through the standard rise (45 mins) and the second rise (25 mins) then into the oven it went.
What came out wasn’t quite as tomato flavored as I would’ve liked, but subtle. I sorta dug it and it didn’t really last all that long around the house That is always the mark of a good bread in how fast we inhale it…lol. Needless to say…we aren’t a big atkins/low carb household…but we sure do have fun. Hey…I was happy that I even got a rise outta this bread and it opens up thoughts for trying something like this again. I believe the key to success was the fact that there was a combo of chicken broth AND tomato. Tomato alone would’ve been too thick…but together with the broth it was close enough to a clear liquid that the yeast was happy Next time, I’m so throwing in rosemary and roasted garlic…mmmm…garlic!
****************Baking Music*******************************
“Taking Control” - Metro Station
So, a couple weeks ago my friend and quasi cooking mentor Al stops by my desk and drops this book down called Once Upon a Tart. I picked it up an inspected it and gave him an odd look. This truly was a beautiful cookbook with some very interesting everyday recipes but it so wasn’t an “Al Book”…he doesn’t cook this way at all. Apparently, he is a member of a cookbook of the month club (think those old school CD offers…10 for the price of 1!!) and if you DON’T send back the card with recommendations they send you a cookbook for your laziness. Anyhoo..this was one that came that he didn’t want so he gave it to us.
Let me just say that beyond some beautiful food stylings there are some fun recipes. We had all the ingredients to make a chickpea/tomato soup in the house as Steph booted me out so she could make it. I did sneak back for the final pureeing as Steph loves a thick soup she took all the solids out and blended them and put them in a separate pot from the left over tomato liquid. Funny stuff as half the chickpeas were supposed to remain whole…but hey…I wasn’t the chef that night. I did help a bit as it seemed a little under seasoned and a little bland…so I put in some cumin and salt. Good stuff…very easy to make with some canned tomatoes, chickpeas and chicken broth (of course we finished with some cheese on top!).
So, on Saturday night Steph and I got to go over my pal Johnny D and his wife Terri’s place. John and I went to college together and he has been a true friend in some really tough spots in my life. We had the Defina’s over for dinner a little over a month ago and had a really nice time especially getting to know Terri. That said, we were invited over for dinner at their place on Saturday night. Dinner was a really nice time, however dessert really was fab! Terri tried out a new recipe on us…it basically was a layer cake that was made in a spring form pan and everyone was pretty psyched when it came out.
Basically this had a cake base, oreos and cream ice cream followed by a layer of crushed oreos, followed by a layer of cool whip topped with another layer of crushed oreos. Seriously…how YUM is that??? Huh? I was very impressed…THEN came the topper. See…it’s a well known fact to my friends that I’m a PEEP fanatic. I love that peeps are around in various format throughout the year and Terri is a big Peep fan as well! She was kind enough to let me (as Steph and John apparently are commies who don’t like peeps) have some along with my cake. All I can say is MONEY! Can’t wait to see what becomes of our next dinner partay!
******************Rockin Peep Music*****************
Some of you may have read about Chef Robert Irvine’s fall from grace. I have to say, I’m gonna miss Robert as I can’t see how the heck he’s gonna get back on the air. His show, admittedly did seem a bit formulaic and somewhat repetitive, but at least it was cooking. He genuinely seemed to like food and unlike other British Chefs that we get over here in the States…he didn’t yell/scream or swear. Damn him for lying…I mean where else could you watch a show with a chef with arms the size of a WWE wrestler?? So another show bites the dust and I’m sure it’ll be replaced by some other insipid Rachael Ray or Sandra Lee type show. I get the feeling that Food Network needs to start a second network for people who want to watch chefs cook…hey..what a novel idea! lol I’m sure it won’t happen as it makes too much sense…but I can dream about it and when I do I’ll be humming this song:
*************Food Dreaming Music*************
So, I was sitting down the other day and wondering what to have for breakfast when I looked over to see some of that yummy orange cake that Steph had made. I immediately thought to meself…”hrmmm…what could I do with that?” The answer came to me right away…how about some French Toast??? I found a recipe here that seemed easy enough to make. Kicking things off we had some of my favorite ingredients:
I mean…Vanilla, Nutmeg AND Cinnamon?? Yummers, no? Since the Brits call this “Eggy Bread”…have to use some eggs, right?
The recipe was silly easy to put together. It had been so long since I had French Toast, so I gave them a gentle dip in the bread then into the skillet they went. What came out had such an interesting flavor and texture I couldn’t have been more pleased! Well..truth is that this was a cake that I was using instead of bread…but hey…we like to be creative here @ cforcooking.com Anyhoo…it may be a while before Steph makes some of this Orange cake again…but I was so happy to get a French Toast fix that I would definitely make this again!
**********GROOVIN’ FRENCH TOAST MUSIC*******************
Deftones - Drive* bonus points for anyone who knows who originally sang this without looking it up
That is always the mark of a good bread in how fast we inhale it…lol. Needless to say…we aren’t a big atkins/low carb household…but we sure do have fun. Hey…I was happy that I even got a rise outta this bread and it opens up thoughts for trying something like this again. I believe the key to success was the fact that there was a combo of chicken broth AND tomato. Tomato alone would’ve been too thick…but together with the broth it was close enough to a clear liquid that the yeast was happy 
Next time, I’m so throwing in rosemary and roasted garlic…mmmm…garlic!
. I picked it up an inspected it and gave him an odd look. This truly was a beautiful cookbook with some very interesting everyday recipes but it so wasn’t an “Al Book”…he doesn’t cook this way at all. Apparently, he is a member of a cookbook of the month club (think those old school CD offers…10 for the price of 1!!) and if you DON’T send back the card with recommendations they send you a cookbook for your laziness. Anyhoo..this was one that came that he didn’t want so he gave it to us. 
