Every year my friend Alisa and I host a Chrismukkah brunch, and the only food that gets repeat play is her breakfast casserole. Coming up with new foods we've never made before is half the fun of planning the brunch, and for some reason, this year, the first food that came to mind was stuffed French toast. I've never actually made stuffed French toast before, so I set out researching recipes. Most had you slicing whole loaves of bread and cutting a pocket into each slice, then stuffing the pocket with your filling. That seemed too time consuming. I've made monte cristos plenty of times, so I decided to go with that dipped sandwich approach.
My first attempt was to make banana stuffed French toast. I sliced a banana up into 1/4 inch coins, laid the coins out on the first piece of bread, covered it with the second, then let each side soak in an egg and milk mixture for a minute per side, then cooked it in a well buttered pan for two minutes on each side. I dusted the tops with powdered sugar and my fiancé and I ate them with syrup. They were good, but the egg mixture didn't soak in all the way, and even if it had, we would have been eating raw egg on the inside and cooked on the outside.
For my second attempt, I decided to add Nutella to the mix. First I toasted just one side of each slice of bread (using the bagel setting on my toaster). Then I smeared Nutella on the toasted sides of the bread, laid the banana coins out as before, soaked the outside in the egg mixture and cooked. I left off the powdered sugar and syrup figuring the Nutella was sweet enough. This was pure heaven! Each bite gave a soft spongey texture on the outside, a crisp bite from the toasted side, and in the middle, gooey, warm, chocolate and banana. Perfection.
I plan on serving these cut into bite sized cubes, maybe with a slice of strawberry on top.
Banana Nutella Stuffed French Toast
4 slices of buttermilk or white bread
1 medium banana, cut into 1/4" slices
4 tablespoons of Nutella or other chocolate spread
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of milk
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
Toast one side of each slice of bread. Spread Nutella on the toasted side of each slice, then arrange the banana slices on two of the slices of bread. Cover with the remaining slice, Nutella side down, so that you have a layer of bread, Nutella, banana, Nutella, and bread.
Beat the eggs with the milk in a pie plate until incorporated. Rest the sandwiches in the egg mixture for 1 minute on each side.
Heat the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until melted. Add the sandwiches to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
Serves 2.
My Uncle Eddie owns a pizzeria in Cairo, NY, and it was one of my favorite places to visit as a kid. My cousins and I would mix soda concoctions at the soda fountain, play video games on the arcade machines, and when the giant mozzarella shredder was running, I'd dip my hand into the pouring shreds and grab a handful of cheese as it rained down into the giant bowl. My cousins all knew how to toss dough, and I always wanted to learn, but never had the courage to ask.
A few years back, the Food Network was airing Pizza Week programming. All pizza, all the time. After watching a couple dough tossing competitions and Alton Brown's "Flat is Beautiful" episode, I decided to give it a try, and found it surprisingly easy. Here's a little step by step guide:
1. Dump your mound of pizza dough onto a floured surface, then flip it over to coat the other side with flour.
2. Press down around the edge of your dough, turning it as you go, and slowly work your way toward the middle, until you have a lumpy, but flattened disk.
3. Pick up the dough and lightly stretch the edges, tugging just enough to expand the disk a bit.
4. Make a fist and place the disk on it. Using your other fist, continue to stretch the dough until it's about 9" or 10" in diameter. Allow the dough to rest on your left fist while flexing your right wrist to pull the dough.
5. With the dough resting on both fists, turn your hands so your left fist is furthest from you and your right fist is closest, one behind the other. As you toss the dough in the air, twist your arms around so the right wrist is the further and the left is closer, like you're turning a steering wheel. The dough should spin in the air, like a frisbee. Then catch it on the back of your hands. Do this about 3 or 4 times.
If you have any round of fabric, you can practice with that.
Margherita Pizza with Roasted Tomatoes
Roasting the tomatoes first is well worth the effort. The tomatoes will burst in your mouth, creating fresh sauce with every bite. But be extra careful of pizza mouth. The tomatoes will be extremely hot. Let the pizza cool a minute or two before serving.
Tomatoes:
8 oz of cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Pizza Dough:
1 teaspoon of rapid rise or bread machine yeast
1 tablespoon of olive oil (I use a basil infused olive oil for extra flavor)
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of all-purpose flour or a half and half mixture of all-purpose and semolina
6 oz of warm water
Pizza Topping:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup of shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
1 small bunch of fresh basil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
To make the dough, add flour, salt, and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment or bread machine. Pour the liquid ingredients on top and allow the mixer to work the ingredients until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Allow the machine to knead the dough for another minute. Pull the dough off the dough hook and, with well floured hands, remove the dough to a bowl coated with oil. Cover wit plastic wrap and allow to rise for one hour. The dough should double in size. While the dough is rising you can roast the tomatoes.
Preheat the oven to 500˚. Toss the tomatoes in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour into an oven-proof pan or baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. The tomatoes should have some black char and look withered.
Once your dough has risen, flatten it into a disk using the instructions above, or if you're really not comfortable tossing your dough, you can press it out into a disk using your fingers and the palms of your hands. Rolling pizza dough is a bit of a Sisyphean task, as the dough will just bounce right back into it's former shape. It's always better to stretch pizza dough.
Once you have your disk, transfer it to a well oiled cookie sheet or pizza pan. If you have cornmeal on hand, you can sprinkle that onto the oil first. It'll help keep the dough from sticking, but it's not entirely necessary. Brush the dough with oil, then layer on your tomatoes. Pres the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to burst them slightly. Next, sprinkle with garlic, mozzarella, and parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste and bake for 10 minutes.
Chop the basil and sprinkle on the finished pizza.
Serves 2.
In the winter, when my sister and I were home from school for a snow day, or winter break, there would always be one day when we didn't want to go outside, there was nothing on TV, and the roads weren't plowed so we couldn't see anyone or have anyone over. That would leave only one thing to do. One thing that would take the entire day. "Dad, can we make pasta today?"
Dad did the most work when it came to making pasta, so it was always up to him, and he never said no. When my parents had remodeled the kitchen upon buying the house, they saved the piece of the counter that was cut out for the sink, and this was our all-purpose workspace. Dad would lay it on the kitchen table, measure out the flour, and dump it in a big pile on the board. Then he'd make a well, crack a few eggs into it, and mix it all together with his hands. I don't remember ever seeing him use a recipe or even use exact measurements, and for pasta, you don't really have to. There are only those two ingredients, and if the dough can be kneaded without sticking to your hands, then you got it right.
We'd assemble the Atlas Pasta Maker and clamp it to the kitchen counter, and this was where my sister and I came in. This was always a three-person job. One person to feed the dough through the rollers, one to turn the crank, and one to catch the pasta. And of course we wanted a turn at every position. But when it was time to run the dough through the cutting rollers, Dad was always the one to catch because he'd then immediately hang the pasta on a collapsible clothes rack to dry. We always made enough to fill the entire rack, but I'd sneak a strand or two off and eat it raw. This was before I knew anything about salmonella.
After the pasta was dry, Mom would boil a giant pot of water, and in a second pot, she'd make alfredo sauce. This was the only way we ever ate fresh pasta. It was always cut into fettuccine and it was always served with alfredo sauce. Then I'd beg her to put ham in the sauce. And when it was all done, we ate every last noodle.
Now I have an Atlas of my own, and make the whole thing myself. Feeding, cranking, and catching is a bit of a challenge with no help, but it's manageable. And my favorite thing to do with leftover Christmas ham is dice it up and throw it into the alfredo sauce.
Verni Family Fettuccine Alfredo
Pasta:
The ratio is 2 parts eggs to 3 parts flour by weight. If you don't have a scale, use the following for 3-4 people:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
A pinch of salt
Alfredo Sauce:
1 stick of butter
2 cups heavy cream
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for serving
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
To make the pasta using a stand mixer, add the flour to the bowl, create a well in the center and add the eggs and a pinch of salt. Using the dough hook attachment, let the mixer run until the dough has gathered into a ball. You may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can do this all by hand. Start with a fork and mix the eggs together in the well, gathering flour little by little as you go. Once the mixture starts to stick to the fork, use your hands to mix the dough until it's smooth. If it's too sticky, add more flour. If it's too dry, add a little water.
Form the dough into a ball, place in a covered bowl, and let it rest for 15 minutes. In the meantime, assemble your pasta machine. When the dough is ready, roll it out into a half inch thickness and cut into 4 pieces. Run each piece through the machine at the thickest setting, and continue through each consecutive setting until you reach the 7th setting. The dough may become sticky throughout this process, so dust the sheets with flour whenever necessary. You will also need to keep the length manageable. I find that around the 4th setting, the pieces will start to become too long. Just cut them in half an continue.
Leave the sheets hanging to dry slightly, about half an hour. If you try to run the dough through the rollers at this point, the dough will be too soft and you'll end up with a single sheet of pasta dough with the markings of where the cutting roller pressed it.
When the dough is still floppy, but you can't feel much moisture, run each piece through the fettuccine roller and hang the pasta to dry completely.
Bring a large pot of water to boil, and while waiting for the water to boil, assemble the sauce.
For the sauce, heat the butter in a medium sauce pan (if you want to add diced ham, this is where you would do that, and let the ham cook for about a minute.), add the minced garlic and cook for a few seconds, just to release the flavor. Next add the cream, constantly whisking as you go, to incorporate it.
Add the pasta to the boiling water. Fresh pasta only takes about 2 minutes to cook, so watch it carefully. When the pasta is done, strain it and reserve about 2 tablespoons of the cooking water to remain in the pot, so the pasta doesn't stick. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the pepper and cheese, stirring to mix thoroughly. Add salt to taste.
Pour the sauce into the pasta and gently toss. Serve with fresh ground pepper and extra grated parmesan.
Serves 4
