This morning's breakfast: French Toast

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Katie

I have always loved French Toast. I remember living for the days Mom would make it for us! I’ve been wanting French Toast a lot this week, and I think it’s all because we had it at our friends’ house in Michigan last weekend. Matt must have been wanting it too, because he came home with a loaf of Texas Toast the other day, and said, “Now you can make some!”

I only had 12 slices of French Toast, but judging by the egg mixture I had leftover, I probably could have made 16.

10 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. milk (I used whole – any milk would probably do)
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
16 slices Texas Toast

Mix all ingredients (except Texas Toast) in a large mixing bowl. Heat a griddle to medium-high heat, and grease with butter or cooking spray. We set our electric griddle to 350. Individually submerge Texas Toast slices into mixture. Shake off excess, and place on griddle. After they turn a nice golden brown, flip to brown the other side.

Serve with a pat of butter and some hot syrup! I can’t wait to eat leftovers in the morning…

This is the mixture I had leftover...

Here's my first batch, toasting side 1

This is what you want it to look like. These are perfect, in my opinion!

Oh my goodness...this is too good!

Ree's Cajun Chicken Pasta

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Katie

This dish has quickly become a regular around the Swisher house! A few months ago I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman’s website, and I have made it 4 or 5 times since. It’s really SO good, and it’s really not that hard! Here’ s the recipe I followed:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/cajun-chicken-pasta/

Just a warning: you’re probably going to see a lot of Ree Drummond’s recipes on here. I love that site, and I have yet to try a recipe of hers that I don’t like. Go buy her cookbook RIGHT NOW! And on with the show…

You’ll see that I changed things up a little bit for mine, but remember: THAT’S OKAY! You should always feel free to mix it up a bit in the kitchen. Don’t be afraid to customize dishes to your tastes.

Raw chicken goes in…

Yummy chicken comes out!

I took a bit of liberty here with the veggies. I had beautiful, plump, big beefy tomatoes ripe in my garden, so I used those instead of romas. Because of the extra liquid, the vegetables ended up stewing more than searing. It was still so yummy…I don’t really care!

Here’s where I have been cheating lately: see that yellowish-white glob up there in the midst of all those yummy veggies? Yeah, that’s crushed garlic, and I get it at Trader Joe’s. It has CHANGED. MY. LIFE! I never used the jarred minced garlic. I think the taste is just weird. BUT THIS! This tastes (to my amateur palate anyway) like freshly crushed garlic! So I spend the $1.50 or whatever nominal amount they ask for to save myself the trouble of crushing my own garlic. Ree calls for a minced garlic, but crushed works just fine for me. I’m not that picky here! Go to Trader Joe’s and stock up on this stuff. I love it…

If you have something bad or scary to say about it, just know that I’m plugging my ears, and humming carelessly so as not to hear you.

Here’s the Cajun seasoning mix I’ve been using lately. I started using it last year when I picked it up while vacationing in New Orleans with my mom and sister. If I were to move to a town for food alone, I would move to NOLA. Amazing food. AMAZING! Like nothing you’ve ever had before, and certainly like nothing I’ll ever be able to cook! Until I got this Slap Ya Mama stuff, I was a dedicated Tony Chachere’s fan. Some Texas friends introduced it to me about 11 years ago, and Tony and I have been close friends ever since. Seriously, how does one live without a good Cajun seasoning in their cabinet at all times? Anyway…I still love Tony, but we’re on a break right now while I enjoy some time with Mama.

I usually use fettuccine for this dish, but I used linguine tonight because that’s what I had. Pasta=Good in my book, no matter the shape, width or length!

Okay, see all that brown stuff at the bottom of my pan? This is what we had after the chicken cooked. Raise your right hand and SWEAR to me that you won’t get rid of this! It’s beautiful in it’s ugliness. As you stir your sauce, please do yourself a favor and make sure you scrape it off the bottom of your pan so it gets mixed in. Your life will be so much better for it.

Here’s where I’ve added the chicken stock (yum), cream (yum) and white wine (YUM!). I’ll take this opportunity to let you know that I don’t drink much, and I’m not really sure what wines are best for what. Beyond the whole red meat=red wine, chicken and seafood=white wine, I’m fairly lost. I’m learning though, so give me that. The wine I used is assuredly not the best, but it’s what I grabbed. It’s Yellow Tail Chardonnay. I got chardonnay because I needed a dry, white wine, and I know chardonnay fits that order. At least I’m not using Franzia guys! I’m too classy for that.

P.S. Whoever decided to put wine and cream and chicken stock together was a total genius.

P.P.S. Whoever came up with spell check was a genius too. I just tried to spell genius G-E-N-I-O-U-S. Twice.

Moving on.

This is the finished dish. Is it messy? Yes. Is it the most beautiful dish you’ll ever make? Not a chance. Is it delicious anyway? Darn straight. Eat up!

Sesame Crusted Tuna

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Katie

For my first real post, I thought I’d simply chat about what we ate for dinner tonight. It was so yummy, and it was really easy to prepare!

We got this beautiful bit of yellowfin tuna at Merindorf Meats in Williamston, MI last week.

We have some wonderful friends who live in Williamston, and we got away for a few days to visit with them. Williamston is a really great little town, and we enjoyed our time there – mostly because our friends are so amazing! Second on our list of favorite things in Williamston though would be Merindorf Meats. Matt loved this place! We saw this bright red tuna from across the room, and I immediately knew I needed to take it home. This is just over a pound, and we split it between us.

I cut the piece in two, and pressed black and white sesame seeds around all sides. I had both types of seed, and I really like the look of both colors. You can obviously use one or the other. I don’t think it affected the flavor much, if at all.

I seared the tuna in some extra virgin olive oil on medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, I made a red curry sauce with these ingredients:

I know most people don’t have these on hand. They’re easy to find in your international aisle at the supermarket though. I firmly believe everyone needs to keep this red curry paste on hand at all times. It’s too good!

I came up with the sauce based on a recipe on the side of the curry paste jar. I doubt it’s traditional curry sauce, but it’s yummy all the same!

(In case you're wondering, I'm wearing Zoya Lillith on my nails. You're welcome.)

The sauce looked like this in the pan. (If I had more paste, I would have put it in. I was low though, so this is what I got. The jar calls for 1-2 Tablespoons, and I only got 1.)

And here is my finished product. I made the rice in a microwave rice cooker. I am admittedly very bad at making rice at this point in my life. It’s just easier to be a cheater and do it in the microwave! It’s still not perfect, but it’s doable.

I got distracted in the kitchen, and cooked the tuna longer than I wanted to. When I make this again (and I definitely will!), I’ll make sure to only sear it for a couple minutes on each side, leaving a nice, red middle. I love tuna that way. (Pink tuna freaks out my aunt Gayle, but TRUST ME – it’s safe to eat, and MUCH more delicious this way!) I added some scallions and squeezed fresh limes over the top to finish the dish. I love scallions, and the limes added a zingy freshness to it all. Limes are like my BFF in the kitchen.