Brunch Magic with Boozy Baked French Toast

I adore brunch. It’s part of San Francisco’s food soul. We know how to Brunch in this city and we take our late morning meals very seriously. So it’s no surprise my family opted for a brunch mother’s day fiesta. We actually got to do it two weekends in a row since my folks were in town visiting the weekend before mother’s day and then the in-laws came over on actual mother’s day. The one drawback of hosting is the hostess is always running about the kitchen and prancing in and out of conversation like a little food fairy. For once I wanted to sit and chat and enjoy relaxing while also hosting so I turned to my girl, smittenkitchen for some ideas and man did she deliver! I played with her Baked Boozy French Toast recipe and it was a major hit. Super easy; prep the night before and then throw it in the oven the day of. That’s it. I paired it with soft scrambled eggs (ie. cook low and slow stirring constantly and you get the creamiest eggs ever) and some bacon that I baked off in the oven (400 degrees for 15 mins). I threw together a quick fruit salad (or have your brother-in-law do it which was what I did the second weekend) and an easy berry compote (optional but awesome) and we were set. I could spend the morning sipping far too many mimosas and not hoarding over the stove. So next time you want a brunch that wow’s the table but doesn’t make you wish you could clone yourself, try this French toast. It’s brunch magic!

Not for Passover Noodle Kugel

This shiksa made a booboo on Passover and brought noodle kugel to dinner. I like to think it is rather endearing of me and thank god for forgiving in-laws. Apparently the fact that pasta dough is not leavened doesn’t matter. It’s still on the ‘do not invite to Passover dinner’ list. Most of the folks at Passover dinner this year could not in fact explain to me why pasta is not allowed aside from just knowing its just not. So, with that new information in hand, next year I will volunteer to make something more Passover appropriate and while I will likely be the butt of a few family jokes for eternity (though I’m not sure this tops my mother in law’s gefilte fish-matzo ball soup accident) at least I made my mark in a very A Girl and Her Kitchen way.

My religious faux pas aside, this turned out to be hands down the best kugel I have ever in my entire Jewish food eating life tasted.  I’m not sure there is a kugel out there better than this here dish. Now I had previously thought kugel was a noodle pudding. Obviously my recent Passover experience proves that wrong. Apparently a kugel is a casserole (which can also be made with matzo which most normal Passover cooks do for the holiday…ooppss). Duly noted.

If you have not had the pleasure of making or eating kugel, you are missing out. It’s a sweet or savory dish (I like sweet) made of (in my house) wide egg noodles, slightly sweet eggy custard doted with mild cheese, melted butter, and perfectly seasoned with lemon zest and nutmeg. It is baked until it is golden with a light sweet and crunchy crust around the edges and the custard has set. It is in a word divine. You must get on this right away, just don’t bring it to anyone’s house for Passover.  Though truth be told, while I am not naming names, a significant number of the husband’s family and friends gleefully met me out by the car where I doled out heaping helpings of my black market Passover unfriendly dish all of whom have been asking for the recipe ever since :).

Rack of Lamb and Parmesan Polenta

One of my go to easy entertaining dishes is definitely rack of lamb. Costco sells a good rack of lamb for a very affordable price. Sure you could go to a butcher and spend a lot more for fancier meat, but I find the Costco lamb to be just fine for me and mine. This particular recipe made its debut on my table this past Christmas when my family was out for the holidays. It has a very easy yet high in flavor rub that knocks this one out of the park. The mix of fresh rosemary from my garden, bright cloves of garlic with tangy luscious mustard and a splash of sweet balsamic vinegar…this lamb never had a chance; it was meant to be down right finger lickin’ good.

I serve this dish with a side of parmesan polenta and smashed peas with mint, though I didn’t have the energy for smashed peas last night, so I’ll have to make them another time to share. But the parmesan polenta gets better every time I make and it reheats beautifully. I’ve also been known to sit in from of the frige digging into a cold dish of it with just a spoon and a smile on my face. I am sucker for anything with cheese after all.

Closing 2009 with a full on food coma

This was the first year that my husband (hereto referred to as hubs) and I hosted Christmas. It was a pretty big deal because when I moved out here from the east coast it was a big blow to the folks. So hosting Christmas this year was my way of showing that I can carry forward the family traditions even when I'm 3,000 miles away. So I put my day-job skills of project planning to work and came up with a ridiculous Christmas Feast Matrix spanning 5 days. Every opportunity to eat, well I was going to feed them and feed them well. As it turned out, I might have over fed them. Combined I think the family gained a new member in weight but I was proud of everything that got put on the table. Of course the pièce de résistance was Christmas day dinner but I have to say, Christmas eve was damn good too.

Christmas Eve - Mustard, Rosemary, Garlic and Balsamic Crusted Rack of Lamb









Served with Smashed Peas with mint and Parmesan Polenta.

Christmas Day dinner brought a 7lb beef tenderloin (which was spectacular and purchased from Costco (along with the aforementioned lamb) for a totally reasonable price!)

The beef was rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic thyme, and garlic powder and then roasted to perfection. (35 minutes at 450).




The beef was served with Tyler Florence's epic mashed potatoes that were cooked in cream...yes, CREAM! Some fresh thyme sprigs and garlic cloves were in the cream bath with the potatoes. After mashing, they also got a shot of grain mustard. Best mash ever!

To round out Christmas Day dinner plate we added roasted broccolini with balsamic, a decadent horseradish cream sauce and an earthy, rich wine infused mushroom bordelaise sauce. The meal was divine and a hit for my first Christmas hosting.