Archive for » July, 2013 «

Finger Food Friday: Andouille French Bread Pizza

When we were young, my mom introduced me, my sister and my brother to a couple of quick and fun ways to make pizza at home. One method involved flattening canned biscuits and topping them with leftover red gravy and whatever else we could find in the fridge. Ham, bacon, black olives, onions and cheese made frequent appearances. We loved the novelty of those pizzas and made them frequently, especially for afterschool snacks. The other style was French bread pizza. As the name suggests, the base of those pizzas was French bread. And again, the toppings [ ... ]

Lost Bread

Pain Perdu is French for “lost bread.” In New Orleans, the two terms are used interchangeably to describe the City’s decadent take on French toast. Our version reflects one of many ways we breathe new life into stale bread, bread that would otherwise be “lost” or trashed. That new life comes by way of a custard bath and patient pan frying. Although it doesn’t look like much on paper, the ingredients and the process come together to create an extraordinary breakfast treat. When properly prepared, Lost Bread will have a creme brulee-esque bite to it. [ ... ]

Blueberry Gateau

A Blueberry Gateau (or gâteau if you choose to write it as the French would with a circumflex accent, not unlike the one over the second “e” in my name) is simply a blueberry cake. In this instance, it’s a light sponge cake decorated with fresh blueberries and a dusting of powdered sugar. I’ve been making this delightful sweet treat, which doubles nicely as a breakfast item, for years. Unfortunately, though, I don’t know where my recipe came from. If I had to guess, I’d say I copied it many years ago from either the old food section of the [ ... ]

Beer Can Chicken

Some say it’s nothing more than a grilling gimmick, that beer can chicken. Those Negative Nellies complain that the beer does nothing to keep the bird moist, the can-filled cavity inhibits even cooking and a perfectly good brew goes to waste. I don’t know about all that. My beer can chicken always turns out super juicy (okay, I’m sure my herbed butter has a little something to do with that) and I’ve never had a problem with uneven cooking. I firmly believe the heat generated by the aluminum can actually helps the inside of the bird [ ... ]
Category: Chicken, Main Dishes  Tags:  Comments off