Finally got around to taking pictures of the bathroom remodel.

I removed all of the base cabinets, added new flooring, new paint, wainscoting and all new hardware.

Before:

After:

orange cinnamon french toast

6 large eggs
2 cups half and half
2/3 c. fresh orange juice
grated zest from 1 orange
1/3 c. pure maple syrup
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg
8 slices challah or brioche, 1 inch thick
1/2 stick butter

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine the eggs, half and half, orange juice and zest, maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Soak the bread thoroughly in the custard mixture.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons butter. Once the butter is melted and beginning to foam, place some soaked bread slices into the pan. Fry the bread until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the toast to a baking pan and cook in oven 5-10 minutes. Repeat with remaining slices.

Serve with additional butter, maple syrup and powdered sugar if desired.

Serves 4-6 (1 to 2 slices per person).

Recipe source:

“Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen” (Tom Douglas)

Today’s Menu:

Food and Wine Magazine, June 2002: Chocolate Frosted Eclairs
Notes: I only got 1/2 dozen out of the dough mix. Need to pipe the dough tall as the eclairs seemed to flatten out a lot after cooling. Need to grease the cookie sheet.

Cooks Illustrated, August 2008: Grilled Bone-In Chicken Breasts
Notes: I didn’t use any of the glaze recipes because I was going to serve it with the Pickled Tomatoes below. Before cooking, be sure to toss a bit of olive oil, S&P if not using glaze recipes.

Food and Wine Magazine, August 2008: Pickled Farm-Stand Tomatoes with Jalapenos
Notes: These were amazing. I served this spooned over super crispy crostini topped with goat cheese. This would be great over grilled fish or shrimp.

Mustards Grill Cookbook: Grilled Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic
Notes: substituted thyme for the rosemary. These are super easy and can be thrown on the grill to cook along with any main dish.

I graduated from high school 20 years ago. That is not a typo.

TWENTY. YEARS.

so weird.

I finally uploaded some pics from the 2008 Amelia Island Concours. Link is in the list in the right column. Or here.