Crème Brûlée French Toast – Happy National French Toast Day!

November 28, 2016 The Culinary ChroniclesLeave a comment

HAPPY NATIONAL FRENCH TOAST DAY!!!

And what better way to celebrate this fun food day and the holiday season than with this decadent breakfast/brunch treat — Crème Brûlée French Toast!

For this month, I worked with our friends over at Safest Choice® Eggs to up the ante on the traditional French Toast by mashing it up with one of my favorite desserts—-Crème Brûlée.

It all starts off with a rich custard base of eggs, cream, milk and then it’s flavored with warm spices, vanilla extract, Grand Marnier and fresh orange zest. Day old bread then soaks up the custard overnight so that it gets into every nook and cranny.

In the morning, you throw the dish into the oven until the bread becomes golden brown and puffed. The final step is a generous sprinkle of sugar over the toast and then it’s quickly brûléed.

The end result?

When you cut into the top layer of caramelized sugar, you get a wonderfully satisfying crunch and the center is rich and decadent. Personally, I think the brûléed sugar gives the right amount of sweetness but if you want to add a drizzle of maple syrup—go right ahead!

Scrumptious breakfast and a make-ahead wonder!

Head on over to Safest Choice® Eggs to read my Crème Brûlée French Toast post this month and while you’re at it, click here for the recipe.

HAPPY NATIONAL FRENCH TOAST DAY!!!

Kale, Bacon and Cheese Strata

August 31, 2016 The Culinary ChroniclesLeave a comment

Y’all hear that bell ringing?

That’s right– SCHOOL’S BACK IN SESSION!!!

It’s the time of year in many households where everyone is just wishing they had a few extra minutes in the morning before they dash out the door for the day.

So for this month, I worked with our friends over at Safest Choice® Eggs to create this deliciously satisfying “make the night before” dish that will fuel up your loved ones for an entire day of work, school, and any shenanigans they may find themselves in.

Breakfast Stratas are essentially a savory bread pudding. It’s the perfect way to use up all of your stale bread and any other fixings you may have tucked away in the corner of your fridge. And since the custard base needs time to soak up in all the nooks and crannies of the bread, it’s the ideal thing to prep the night before only to be thrown in the oven while you’re getting ready in the morning.

This time around, I chose to use sauteed kale and combination of cheeses to flavor the strata and of course– bacon. Because the smell of bacon is the sure fire trick to motivate people out of bed in the morning! I also tossed in some leftover diced potatoes because I like the texture and body it gives to the dish. But if you prefer to use bread only, feel free to leave it out.

Added bonus? This Kale, Bacon and Cheese Strata is such a stunner, you can definitely serve it up at a brunch gathering alongside fresh fruit, juices, coffee and mimosas. Guaranteed hit!

Head on over to Safest Choice® Eggs to read my Strata post this month and while you’re at it, click here for the recipe.

Desserts/Pastries · Ice Cream · Sponsored

Welcome Summer in with Roasted Berries Ice Cream

June 20, 2016June 21, 2016 The Culinary ChroniclesLeave a comment

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!!!

And here in San Diego, it came in full force today with a whomping 105 degree weather! Can you imagine what it’ll be like in July?!?

Luckily, I know of very few better ways to beat the heat than with lots and lots of ice cream. So this month I partnered again with our buddies at Safest Choice® Eggs to whip up an ice cream that was an ode to Summer — Roasted Berries.

Have you ever roasted berries? If not, please do so STAT because it’s a game changer! The berries become so wonderfully intensified in flavor and can be used in so many different ways. Over cakes, with yogurt, on top of meringues and in this case–in ice cream.

I chose strawberries and blackberries this time around but really, you could use any berry that tickles your fancy.

Never attempted homemade ice cream before? No worries! It’s all quite simple and if you’ve got a trusty ice cream machine, it’s a breeze!

Head on over to Safest Choice® Eggs to read my ice cream post this month and while you’re at it, click here for the recipe.

We’re ready for you Summer!!!

Breakfast/Brunch · Sponsored · Vegetables/Vegetarian

Crispy Polenta Cakes with Poached Eggs & Asparagus

March 24, 2016June 21, 2016 The Culinary Chronicles4 Comments

Spring has most definitely sprung!

The sun is shining, the days are getting longer, the flowers are in bloom (Aaaa-CHOO! My pollen allergies are terrible!) and everyone seems to be in a festive mood for celebrations and leisure meals. And why not? So many delicious items are coming back into season!

Asparagus is one of those beautiful produces that are coming back and are popping up all over at our Farmers Markets and grocery stores. And in my opinion, nothing pairs more lovely with asparagus than eggs. Eggs and Asparagus….what could be more “Spring-like” than that winning combo?!

To celebrate the comeback of my favorite season, Spring, I’m partnering with the makers of Safest Choice™ pasteurized eggs to create a quick and easy dish that would be perfect to make for breakfast or even a last minute brunch gathering and featured that winning pairing.

Veggies? Check!

Bright and sunny egg/protein? Check!

But what about a starch?

I’m not a gal to shy away from bread or potatoes — I’m unabashedly carbo-holic like that. Though for this dish, I thought I’d bring a little Italian slant to it by pan frying up some crispy polenta cakes by using a pre-made polenta roll.

Now before you yell at me for using a pre-made polenta, let me justify it by the following:

One of my favorite stores carries a wonderful organic polenta roll that is extremely tasty and affordable.
If I made the polenta myself, I would have to wait for it to cool before frying them up into crispy cakes.
It’s QUICK! And who doesn’t need some short cuts every now and then?

But hey-if you prefer to make your own, I’m all over it! In fact, it would be a great opportunity to use up any leftover polenta you may have lingering in your fridge.

After roasting the fresh asparagus with simple S&P and lemon zest, I topped them with the crispy polenta cakes and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. And the pièce de résistance – a beautifully poached Safest Choice™ pasteurized egg. In my humble opinion, there are few other culinary beauties than seeing an unctuous egg yolk over a dish.

Perfection!

And not only is a beautiful but it’s functional. The yolk becomes a rich sauce for both the crisp polenta cakes and asparagus. I know some folks are wary of under cooked eggs but rest assured. Davidson’s Safest Choice® uses an all-natural egg pasteurization process to eliminate the risk of salmonella–all without changing that farm fresh flavor or nutrition. Plus their wonderful chicks are Hormone free, Antibiotic free, and Vegetarian-fed. You can learn more over at SafeEggs.com

As for the next few months, I’m looking forward to all that Spring has to offer as well as fixing up more dishes fitting of the season. But in the meanwhile, you can find this quick and delectable recipe for Crispy Polenta Cakes with Poached Eggs and Asparagus here.

*DISCLOSURE: This recipe and post was created in partnership with Safest Choice™ pasteurized eggs. However, as always, all opinions are my own.*