How to Make Great French Toast

In the list of foods I don't eat any more but that I love, French Toast is at the top (right above ice cream). In the last 25 years I have made it for my children and grandchildren thousands of times.

Here's my favorite formula:

First, and I say this often, good cooking requires good ingredients, it's all down hill after that. If you like Wonder-bread type french toast, have at it. I don't. Our family favorite is a baguette cut into slices 1 inch in width. If you get a baguette, don't get the sourdough, and don't get the real thin ones. The size in this picture is about right.

The ingredients are simple: eggs, bread, salt, cooking oil, butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and sugar. I usually don't add milk to the whipped eggs, but I am not opposed to it, if it is just a little. Crack and whip your eggs, slice your bread, put a little oil on the skillet, dip your sliced bread in the batter and place on hot skillet. Easy.

Not so easy: There is one practice that makes french toast especially good, though it is easier to do than explain. Use more than a thin film of oil, about 1/8", get the oil the right temperature and kind of fry the bread a little. If you get the oil too hot it doesn't work, not hot enough and the bread gets greasy. Like I say, practice. But the end result, if you get it right, is a slightly crispy french toast (by the way, please use the back burners away from young hands, when cooking with oil).

Miscellaneous:

If you are serving adults and it is a special breakfast pay extra and get the grade B real maple syrup. It is worth the added expense.

Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top with sugar or powdered sugar.

And any kind of berry on the side.

Kids love the smaller slices.

Buon appetito!
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(coming soon: a special beef steak salad, a recipe from the Texas Beef Council)

The Right Way to Make Scrambled Eggs

I have been cooking breakfast for "lo these many years" and it was just last year that I learned the right way to make scrambled eggs. It was Christmas morning, I think, I was getting ready to make the breakfast eggs and my daughter, who is all things Food Network, said, "dad, turn the heat down low and they'll taste better." I did and they did.

Add butter to a warm pan, let the butter bubbles burn off, then crack the eggs directly into the pan. Slowly cook and occasionally scramble. When they are done they will be moist, not a uniform color, meaning not perfectly scrambled. Turn the heat off just before they are done so that they will not over cook in the pan. Salt to taste while cooking. I don't add milk or water to my scrambled eggs. For a change I fry onions and chopped peppers, saute', add the eggs, slow cook and just before they are done add a few chopped tomatoes.

For the tastiest eggs, get home-grown or free range. When my daughter was young I had 6 or so chickens in our Fort Worth backyard and even though every so often I would find them grazing in the neighbor's front yard, it was worth it, the eggs were much more flavorful and colorful than store bought.

How to Cook Oatmeal -- Properly.

I don't know about you but I eat differently in the winter than I do in the summer. In the summer, I eat plates full of fresh vegetables and fruit. In the winter I like hot soups, hot chocolate, and one of my favorites, a big bowl of hot oatmeal. I appreciate the fact that everyone likes even simple things like oatmeal prepared differently, and I try to be tolerant in matters of taste -- but I draw the line at overcooked and mushy oatmeal. That's just unacceptable.

Which is why I called this post -- how to cook oatmeal properly. Here's how:

Follow the box instructions for portions of water and oats, I use about a 1 3/4 cups or so of water and a cup of oats. Get the water to a good boil. Add a pinch of salt. Add the oats, maintain the heat for 5 - 10 seconds to get the water and oats back up to boil, then turn off the heat and place a lid on the pot for a minute or so. The important thing to remember is this: do not follow the instructions to cook the oats for 3 minutes or 5 minutes. That guarantees mush. Boil the water, pour oats in water. Cover. Let sit. Simple.

When you remove the lid the oats will be al dente, not mushy.

Toppings are personal. Like the pancakes, I like yogurt, honey, frozen berries and peanut butter. Cinnamon is perfect here. Even whole natural sugar crystals. If you use yogurt, make sure the oatmeal has cooled slightly or the yogurt will curdle.

One thing I don't understand is why people buy instant oatmeal packs. Instant oatmeal is just oatmeal cut into small pieces. Buy the whole Quaker Oats "old fashioned" oats in the canister, or even better, buy it from the bulk bin at Central Market or Whole Foods.

About 500 calories, including my toppings, and a hearty meal.

P.S. -- If you buy the organic plain yogurt, whatever you do don't discard the clear liquid that separates from the solids in the yogurt. The liquid is the good protein part.

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How to Make Whole Wheat Pancakes, Properly: Whole wheat pancakes

How to Dress-up those Whole Wheat Pancakes

Jeromey got very close to the way I prepare the whole wheat pancakes. Some people think it's a little over the top healthy, but here's the way I do it:

-- 1 big whole wheat pancake, hot and steamy.
-- 1 full tablespoon scoop of natural, plain yogurt, cold.
-- very light shot of honey.
-- Whole berries. Fresh or frozen. Or sliced banana (not berries with syrup).
-- Here's the kicker: 1 tablespoon of all natural crunchy peanut butter.

That's about 600 calories and very filling. No bad carbs. Lots of protein from the yogurt, egg (from pancake) and peanut butter. Good oils. Fiber. The yogurt has a little sourness to it, which goes nicely with the wheat and berries. I'm telling you, this is perfecto.

And yes, I will make this late at night, too, CW. The batter only lasts about 24 hours, but, but, but, if you have extra batter, make the pancakes. Let them cool to room temperature, plastic wrap them and place them in the refrigerator. When you want one, place it in the toaster, toast it twice, and they are as good as new. Butter, jam, and you have a great late night snack.

Cooking, Pancakes, and the Crisis of Year 2000.

Cooking is part science and part art, so they say. When I cook, I am usually hoping for a dash of dumb-luck, since I am untrained in the culinary ways. Vegetable beef soup suits me just fine because one can throw things in until it tastes right, if it doesn't, give it a new name, and serve it up. The fact is that many common dishes are the result of necessity, scarcity or abundance, and leftovers. Pizza, being the most famous.

My favorite time to cook has always been in the morning, especially when my children were, well children. It's quiet, the coffee smells good as it brews and one has the time to prepare without interruption. Saturday morning was usually french toast, sometimes waffles and sometimes pancakes, plus eggs, bacon and orange juice. For the french toast, I'd buy a fresh baguette, slice it, and make small almost bite-size pieces. Small slices have more crispy sides per square inch, easily slide around the pan, and kids love them (put a little extra oil in the pan, get it "french-fry" hot and the toast will be crispy).

A couple years ago my wife bought a wheat grinder and buckets of whole grain wheat kernels. I think this was the "stock up for the coming crisis in the year 2000" era in our home. On day 2, year 2000, we were still there, with electricity and everything else before the crisis, so I decided I better figure out a way to consume a garage full of wheat. (I'm not exaggerating by much, trust me). Hence, whole wheat pancakes.

Here's the good part.

Whole wheat pancakes, made from freshly ground wheat, are about as good and tasty a breakfast as one can have. This I am not exaggerating. They have all the good taste of pancakes with the addition of a rich, nutty flavor from the whole wheat -- and if made right, fluffy too.

What made me think of this was a recipe for whole-wheat pancakes in the New York Times this week. The author claims to get fluffy pancakes from whole wheat flour. I never had that much trouble with it and I used the Betty Crocker cookbook recipe that my wife has had forever. The two recipes are similar, the Betty Crocker recipe uses buttermilk, which I prefer.
Whichever recipe you use, remember:
-- Do separate the eggs, whip the whites (I do it with a fork), and fold them into the batter.
-- Don't over stir when adding the wet and the dry ingredients. 5 - 7 seconds is plenty.
-- For a special breakfast, find some real maple syrup, even a grade B. There is a difference.

Here's the recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/dining/161mrex.html?ref=dining

Tomorrow: my crazy (but I think, best) way to eat whole wheat pancakes

Soft Scrambled Egg Recipe

My daughter has proven to me that the secret to good, tasty, scrambled eggs is low heat and slow cooking. Here is a great recipe for scrambled eggs with ricotta cheese from the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/dining/102arex.html?ex=1349668800&en=5d0a8651c6abbf67&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss