Savory French Toast with Mushrooms

FreshTartSteph — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:08:49 PST

I couldn't eat much of anything this terrible, sad weekend, but as my desire to cook has slowly returned, I'm turning to comfort foods. I made pan-seared steaks with a dried-and-fresh-mushroom pan sauce and it was just really nice to serve John and Nathan one of their favorite meals.

I made a good amount of the mushroom sauce with savory French toast in the back of my mind. If you only enjoy French toast for breakfast, you're missing out on a terrific and fast lunch or dinner. I used gluten-free bread for the pic (and my stomach), but if I could eat gluten I'd use challah. Any type of bread works nicely, though, really what you have on hand. Because that's the point - savory French toast is a filling, comforting base for leftovers of almost any type, on the table quickly.

If you're not a mushroom fan, try spinach sauteed with garlic, perhaps with a spot of sausage in the mix as well, perhaps with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Or thin slices of ham and a spoonful of braised beans. Or roasted squash and fried sage leaves. Or in the summer, slices of ripe tomato and crispy bacon. (Best. Thing. Ever.) French toast is rich, so a touch of acid and a shower of black pepper strike a delicious balance.

In case you ARE a mushroom fan, the sauce below is a terrific finish for any pan-seared meat that leaves lovely, crusty drippings behind: chicken, steaks, lamb, venison, veal, pork. Just stir the completed sauce into the hot pan juices, scraping the pan while simmering for a couple of minutes. That's it. However, the sauce is also rich and flavorful on its own, thanks to the beauty of dried wild mushrooms. And sherry. And butter.

Yes.

Savory French Toast with Mushrooms
Serves 2

Mushrooms
1/3 c. dry sherry
2/3 c. water
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
6 oz. fresh mushrooms, quartered
4 Tbsp. butter
salt
1 clove garlic, minced
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
few gratings of fresh nutmeg (optional)
1 Tbsp. minced fresh herbs (thyme or tarragon or whichever you like best; optional)
1 Tbsp. heavy cream or sour cream (optional)
freshly ground black pepper

French toast
2 eggs
2/3 c. milk or half-and-half
pinch of salt
4 slices bread (challah, country bread, sandwich bread, gluten-free, any type works)
2 Tbsp. high heat oil (sunflower or safflower)
2 Tbsp. butter

For the mushrooms:
Combine sherry and water in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until hot (steaming). Add dried porcini mushrooms to the pan and remove from heat. Let sit for 30 minutes, stirring the mushrooms a couple of times, until mushrooms are soft. Using your hands, scoop mushrooms from the liquid and squeeze excess liquid back into the pan, reserving the liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add fresh mushrooms to the pan, along with a generous pinch of salt. Stir around so the mushrooms are coated with butter, then let them be for a few minutes until they start to brown. Give them another stir, add the porcini mushrooms and garlic, and saute for another 5-7 minutes until the whole pan is browned and glaze-y.

Pour the porcini soaking liquid into the skillet of mushrooms, leaving the sediment that will have settled to the bottom of the saucepan behind. Simmer for 3-4 minutes to thicken the sauce a bit. Stir in the squeeze of fresh lemon juice (to taste). Stir in optional nutmeg and/or fresh herbs and/or cream or sour cream and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

For the French toast:
In a pie plate, beat together the eggs, milk, and pinch of salt. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, dip both sides of the bread in the egg/milk mixture and add to the hot pan. Fry bread until golden brown, then flip and brown the second side. Transfer French toast to plates and serve immediately with warm mushrooms.

Hi Honey

FreshTartSteph — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:51:04 PST

Man I love honey-crisp apples, still tasting mighty fine. As much as I'm enjoying the frozen berries and cherries I mentioned yesterday, I still need something fresh to sink my teeth into, if for no other reason than to remind me that plants were once alive in Minnesota. Sigh. And honey-crisps are particularly Minnesotan, as the delicious variety (name says it all) was developed here by the University of Minnesota. I really like the smaller version and grab them when I spot them, sometimes at Whole Foods, sometimes at Byerly's. They're quite tasty sliced with a smear of almond butter, or grated into oatmeal or pancakes, or with a slice of sharp cheddar, or of course just out of hand. Sasha is an apple-dipped-in-chocolate afficionado and who could disagree with that? Chocolate! Nathan likes them with peanut butter, or dipped in caramel sauce. So good.

There are locally grown mushrooms at the market as well. I'm a big, BIG mushroom lover and as such, like the cheese, I stand alone. At least in my family. But that's OK, I'm also the cook, so I saute a pan of mushrooms on the side (little olive oil and minced garlic, sprinkle of salt, finish with a squeeze of lemon) and add them to all the other things I make for dinner. In fact, they're a delicious stand-in for meat, so if I make burgers, for instance, I'll make myself a small (2 oz.) burger and load it up with mushrooms. My goodness, so delicious. Ditto steak and chicken - a nicely sauteed chicken breast, topped with mushrooms and a bit of pan juices? In my book, hard to beat. I use them to fill out pasta dishes too, often sauteed with other vegetables - everyone else has a plate of spaghetti, I have a small portion of spaghetti filled out with lots and lots of vegetables. The way it's supposed to be. (My hope is that the kids will someday follow suit. That whole "if you cook vegetables in flavorful ways, and offer them repeatedly to your children, they'll soon be eating them" thing has not worked for me... You?) And then there's my favorite dining-alone dinner - sauteed mushrooms with polentaaaaah. Hmmm, I could use one of those dinners, it's been awhile.

Fresh Tart

Savory French Toast with Mushrooms

Hi Honey