Your Monday Food Reading

I recently re-found my link stash, and came across this recipe for perfect hard-boiled eggs. I have to admit, I’ve been loving this “recipe” since before this blog existed, because it just works. No green lines. No rubbery whites. Just tasty, tasty eggs. Just remember that fresher is worse-r for hard-boiled eggs, ok?

So, back in 2010, I was just as interested in baked French toast as I am now. but I never managed to make this one. I wonder if I should.

If Big Food Buys Your Favorite “Natural” Food Brand, Will You Trust It? I’ve wondered that for a long time, particularly with regard to Unilever and Ben and Jerry’s so many years ago. (Note, they are not mentioned in the article.) In general, I feel like much of the folks who buy food were already suspicious of these bigger brands, and so rarely bought them anyway.… Continue reading →

Coffee Beer. French Toast. Quiche. Wins.

Spent grain might be magic, guys.

I know. I know. I’m SUPPOSED to be talking about homebrew. Since, you know, that was the basis of the giveaway. And, frankly, the homebrew was delicious. Our coffee amber was well-received (and I’m told it’s been entered in its first contest!), though the two bombers we shared were fascinatingly different. Both quite tasty, but one was more deeply akin to coffee than the other. We speculated that the coffee wasn’t properly mixed in at bottling time, but we’ll never know for sure.

On top of that, we tried a couple of bottles of homebrew from my friends Jason and Matt. Jason’s “Nightmare Stout” was delicious and deep. Matt’s “Damn Fine Cup of Coffee” was exceptional. It hit all the right notes of coffee and stout, without being huge and heavy.… Continue reading →

Preparing to Host Brunch

Well, it’s almost time for people to show up for my second, ever, homebrew and home-cooking event.

Ha. “Event” makes it sound so much bigger than it is. What I’ve done is invite a handful of people over for brunch. But it feels like an “event” because at least one person is someone I’ve never met before. Which means a lot more cleaning than if it were just Rob or Nicky or Jason showing up.

Luckily, the beverage plan is easy. I’ll ask Bill to pick up some coffee beans and make some coffee for folks who are arriving. Then, I have the coffee beer I made with Nancy, a coffee beer Jason (Beer Husband) made, and a coffee beer Matt made. This isn’t actually a TON of beer for six people, as Jason & Matt’s beers are in 12 oz bottles.… Continue reading →

[105] + [106] French Toast

How to Cook Everything, Revised Edition by Mark Bittman

Cover of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

French toast is my breakfast enemy.

I like to eat good french toast. Most people and places, myself included, do not make good french toast. I really do not like to eat bad french toast. Most people and places, myself included, not only do not make good french toast, they make bad french toast.

That’s right. There is no “meh” in french toast. There’s only “good” and “bad”. I suppose there can be “excellent” and “horrible” as well, but there’s no “meh”. It’s that simple.

This french toast, amazingly, was in the “good, but could be excellent” camp. I’m astounded. I never thought I could make french toast that was even in the “good” category, much less in the “could be excellent” on as well.

Why did I feel I couldn’t aspire to such heights?… Continue reading →

[37] Peaches & Crème Brûlée French Toast

Cover of Virginia Bed and Breakfast Cookbook by Melissa Craven

Did I mention I love peaches at any point on this blog? I’m sure I haven’t.

Oh, man, peaches. Peaches, peaches, peaches.

Unfortunately, the farmers at the farmers’ market tell me that peach season has basically ended. I might see another week of them, but I probably will not unless I go to a market tomorrow or Tuesday (basically, markets I don’t normally go to). So, I have some peaches I’ve frozen and a few fresh ones left with which to make this recipe again.

Which is good, because this recipe is a winner. Probably. It actually hasn’t quite worked out in my kitchen yet, but it’s getting there. We’ve made it twice, and both times it was quite tasty, but the texture left something to be desired.… Continue reading →