Sunday, March 11, 2012

I made Pain Perdu for breakfast this morning! I have been wanting to make this recipe for some time and today seemed like a good day to do it (slightly overcast and cooler than yesterday). Besides the fact that the French usually eat this for dessert, Pain Perdu is slightly different than our American French toast in that the bread is soaked in milk flavored with vanilla extract, then dipped in egg sweetened with sugar. You also brulee the tops after they are sauteed in a pan in butter (what else?!). Here is the Laura Calder recipe from "French Food at Home" on the Cooking Channel:


Pain Perdu

Total Time: 20 min
Prep:5 min|Inactive Prep:5 min|Cook:10 min
Level:Easy
Yield:4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 cup/250 ml milk, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 slices baguette
1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for caramelizing
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more if needed
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Cherries and blackberries, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Stir together the milk and vanilla in a shallow dish. Soak the bread slices in the milk mixture for about 5 minutes, turning once so that they absorb the milk evenly.

Beat the egg with the sugar and pour onto a plate.

Heat the butter in a skillet until sizzling. Take the bread from the milk, holding it above the bowl to drain slightly. Dip into the egg mixture to coat both sides, then drop into the sizzling butter and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.

At the last minute, sprinkle the tops with a little extra sugar and "broil" with a blowtorch (or place them on a baking sheet under the broiler until the sugar, melts, bubbles and turns golden).

Divide the bread among serving plates. Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dribbling of fresh, ripe cherries and blackberries that have been sauteed in butter and sugar and possibly flamed.


Now I did not serve it with ice cream, lol, nor did I flambe cherries and blackberries. I just served it with fresh strawberries and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. If you serve it like regular French toast, then this recipe only makes enough for two people. The Pain Perdu truly was crisp on the outside and creamy, custardy on the inside, just like she said it would be!

I had every intension of baking today, but did not get any baking done. While I was doing some computer work, Jordan got a call from a friend of his who was in town and wanted to get together. Jordan invited him over for dinner. What to make??!!

I rooted around to see what we had and came up with Rolled Pork Florentine (also a Laura Calder recipe) served with a pan sauce (my recipe, lol), roasted fingerling potatoes, and steamed broccolini. It does pay to keep some meat in the freezer as well as frozen vegetables for occasional just like this. Keeps you from running out to the store all the time. For dessert I made individual Baby Tiramisu. Everything got rave reviews, for which I am always grateful!

Tomorrow maybe I will get some baking done, lol.