French Toast with Sliced Banana & Butter Lemon Caramel Sauce

Thank goodness the price of bananas have come down. Our family love them and tonight I got these for $2.99 a kilo. We are going to have these tomorrow morning sliced on top of french toast made with sour dough bread and a home made butter, lemon and caramel sauce. Yummo!

French toast is so easy. Just whisk a 6 eggs in a bowl with a splash of cream, then dunk the thick slices of sour dough in the mixture. Fry in a fry pan that has a little butter on a medium heat until golden on each side. Place all your french toast onto a baking tray and put in a very low oven to keep warm. To make your sauce is easy. Stick two big tablespoons of butter into a saucepan and allow to melt. Then add two generous tablespoons of brown sugar and simmer lightly until the sugar has dissolved. Throw in a half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and the juice of half a lemon. Allow to simmer for a minute or so. Then take the saucepan off the heat.

Place two pieces of the french toast on a plate and then top with sliced banana. Drizzle as much or as little of the sauce as you would like, and a dollop of creme freche or marscapone. For an adult touch add a little Cointreau to the sauce and sprinkle some toasted flaked almonds on top for crunch. Enjoy. So Easy and so delicious. See next post for photos :)

Dinner Last Night :) So Easy

I was wandering around the house yesterday thinking, what am I going to make for dinner? We had some nice T-Bone steaks in the freezer so why not steak and veg. I thought to myself potatoes, what to do with them instead of the norm. So sesame garlic potatoes was what I came up with. I was a bit unsure, but had already mentioned it out loud so I thought okay I am going to follow through. Turns out they were fantastic. I was quite chuffed with myself. So here's how I did it.

Steak & Mushroom Sauce

with

Garlic Sesame Potatoes

Basically I just cut about 6 medium sized washed potatoes into pieces as for a roast. I then steamed them until tender. I chopped up four large cloves of garlic and then melted a good amount of butter with the chopped garlic in a bowl in the microwave. I put the potatoes into a bowl and added the melted butter and garlic, a good sprinkling of salt flakes, a splash of sesame oil and of course sesame seeds, about 3 tablespoons. Then I mixed them all together. I spread them out on a baking tray, covered them with foil and popped them into the fridge to go cold. Ready to go in the oven near dinner time. Then I just baked them on a high heat until golden. Excellent.

Mushroom sauce so easy. 4 cloves of chopped garlic, about 500 grams sliced mushrooms, 500mls of chicken stock, salt and pepper. I used a tablespoon of cornflour in a small amount of cold water to thicken the sauce. Basically just fry your mushrooms and garlic in a little olive oil until all the moisture is gone. Then add the chicken stock and allow to reduce by a third or so. Then add the cornflour mixture and simmer for a couple of minutes stirring. Salt and Pepper to taste. Your done. So easy.

I hope you enjoy my little experiment with the potatoes? We did :)

Bread and Butter Pud - So Easy :)

What better way to enjoy a Panettone, than to make a Bread and Butter Pudding. This time of year is a great time to indulge when you are sad to see the Christmas Cheer and indulgence is over, yet again. This is the time of year I am on the look out. Now this is going to sound cheap and pathetic, but I love Panettone and the price is usually out of my budget for a dessert. To Clear or Reduced stands are my first stop. I bought this one for $5 at Bi Lo. I know pathetic.

Panettone makes great Bread and Butter Pud, French Toast, Normal Toast, Soft with real butter, just yummy and it isn't heavy like a fruit cake is. It is so versatile.

Bread and Butter Pud

1. 600 mls thickened cream
2. 1 whole egg & 4 egg yolks
3. 3 tablespoons of caster sugar
4. 75g butter, not marg, not a substitute, real butter softened
5. 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
6. 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
7. And of course a Panettone
8. Your favourite jam. I usually use my home made mango, but you are not limited, I have used raspberry, ginger, rosella. All fabulous.
9. Demerara sugar for sprinkling.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius . Mix cream, eggs, caster sugar, ginger and cinnamon in a jug. I use a mini whisk, until well combined. Now for the panettone. Turn it on it's side. With a bread knife, slice off the round big knobby bit on the top. Then I turn it around and slice the end crust off the bottom. Then slice the panettone into circle slices about 2cm thick. Then you make them into circle butter and jam sandwiches. Cut sandwiches into wedge shapes. Place them into a baking dish with the pointy ends up. Pour over egg and cream mixture and allow to stand for 10 mins or so. Smear more butter over the tips of the bread. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Place in the oven and cook for about 45 mins or until it has set. Just serve simply with thickened cream. Heaven, just Heaven. So Easy :)

Coffee Guy :)

Coffee has to be my all time favourite drink, anytime, anywhere, I will be there. I have become totally obsessed with the Coffee Guy across the road. I send the kids over to pick me up a latte quite frequently. His blend of coffee is so............ good. It is smooth and succulent.

Daniel has an excellent range of everything you could need to make your own brilliant brew at home. Or if you are feeling lazy and want a perfect coffee, then drop in and see him. His coffee machine is a masterpiece to look at and Daniel says 'it is the only one of it's type in Australia'. Daniel has such a passion for coffee and he is filled to the brim with all sorts of fabulous information for you at home.

You can order your coffee or anything from him online and in the comfort of your own home. http://www.coffeeguy.com.au/ Or you can check him out in person Shop 2, 85 Kent Road, Wooloowin, Brisbane. Go on, you will not be disappointed. Sacrilicious MMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Hollandaise Sauce - So Easy :)

This has to be my all time favourite sauce. It is so simple and can be used so many different ways. Eggs Benedict, as a sandwich spread or just use your imagination. Like in my signature dish. It stores really well in a sterilized jar in the fridge for at least a week. Great to keep on hand if you are trying to nudge a loved one into making brekky in bed ;)


Ingredients

• 3 tbsp White Vinegar
• Ground Course Black Pepper
• 125 grams Melted Butter
• 6 Large Egg Yolks
• Good Pinch Salt Flakes
• 1/2 Lemon Juiced
• Love

Reduce vinegar with black pepper in a small saucepan until about 1 tablespoon is left. Melt butter and allow to sit for a minute, so that it separates. Place the 6 egg yolks into a clean mixing bowl and whisk together with vinegar, until fluffy. Then pour the melted butter in a thin stream while you continue to keep whisking on high speed. Leave the remaining solids from the butter in the jug. Try not to get to much in the sauce when pouring. Whisk in the lemon juice and salt. Taste for seasoning. I like lots of pepper, so I add more at this stage. Pour into a sterilised jar and your done. So Easy :)