Monte Carlo or Cristo

Jason and I had this for the first time while on our honeymoon. It's now a faviorte in our house.

2 eggs

2 tbsp. milk

4 slices bread

4 tbsp. butter

4 thin slices ham and or turkey

4 slices Swiss cheese

1 tbsp. powdered sugar

Mix together eggs and milk. Dip bread in egg mixture, coating thoroughly on one side. Heat butter in large skillet over medium to low heat, place bread egg side down in skillet. Place the swiss down on the bread in the skillet, and then the ham followed by another peice of cheese. I really like provolone with this too. I guess you can use any cheese.
Cook until the bottom is done to your liking. Dip another peice and put it egg side up on the sandwich allready in the skillet. Then flip the entire sandwich to brown the other side.

Cut in half and sprinkle powered sugar over the top. I like to have a small amount of syrup to dip in.

Sunday Crock Pot Roast

Someone asked for a roast recipe awhile back and I'm just getting around to it. My sister gave me this recipe and it has become one of our favorites:

1 large roast- I use a chuck roast...they seem to be the most tender and I like when roasts fall apart
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/4 cup catsup
1 small onion
1 small bag of baby carrots
1 envelope of Lipton onion soup mix- you don't have to have this but I always add it

Season roast with salt and pepper and brown in a little melted butter. Put carrots in bottom of crock pot and add roast on top. Put sliced onion on top of roast. Mix soup and catsup (and I usually add about 1/2 cup of water) and pour over roast. Sprinkle Lipton onion soup over ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low 10-12 hours or high for 5-6 hours. When done skim grease off the drippings and make a gravy out of it. Serve with mashed potatoes! Supper Yummy!

Cheddar Chicken Pot Pie~

1 cup cooked diced chicken
1 cup frozen broccoli (or vegetable of your choice)
1 (15 ounce) can of cream of mushroom soup
1 (9") pie shell, frozen
Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Gently combine chicken, vegetables and soup in medium bowl. Pour mixture into pie shell. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 45-60 minutes, until cheese is melted and mixture is bubble.

Granola

GRANOLA

2 C flour (wheat)
4 C rolled oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C oil
1/4 C honey
1/4 C molasses
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix with a fork. It should be lumpy and have bits about the size of a pea up to the size of a penny. Spread mix on large cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Stir the mix and turn it with a spatula. Bake 10 more minutes. Add raisins, cranberries, or other dried fruit and nuts after baking. Store in a sealed container.

Foolproof Bread

A couple of you have asked for my bread recipe. It is one of the easiest and yummiest recipes I know of for whole wheat bread (or rolls or bread sticks or pizza dough or cinnimin rolls). I have a Bosch Universal mixer and can make five loaves at a time. It cost about $2.50 for the whole five loaves. If I have my wheat already ground into flour, I can do it, start to finish, in an hour and a half--roughly 15 minutes of actual work time, 10 minutes of kneading in the mixer, 5 minutes to put dough in pans, 30 minutes to rise, 30 minutes to cook.

I think two things are key to a moist bread: (1) use half apple sauce, half oil and (2) try to use fresh (or as recently as possible) ground flour. Take several cups of wheat berries (the unground stuff you get from the cannery or, if you live in Utah, the grocery store) to a friends house and borrow her wheat grinder and then store it in your freezer to keep it fresh. I have a Nutrimill wheat grinder, also made by Bosch, in which I am happy to grind wheat for anyone who lives near by.

In the recipe below I have listed two measurements for the ingredients. The first is from the original recipe, intended for a large (6 qt.) mixer. The second is for a smaller mixer (like a basic Kitchen Aid) that will make 2-3 loaves. If it is confusing I have a Word document with a nice table I can email to you. Just leave a post for me.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

Warm Water: 6 c or 3 cups
Salt: 2 T or 1 T
Oil/Apple Sauce: ¼ cup each oil and apple sauce (large) or 2 T each oil and apple sauce (small)
Honey: 2/3 C or 1/3 C
Dough Enhance: 2 ½ T or 3 ¾ t (I can't find this in NY so I just leave it out)
Vital Wheat Gluten: 2 T or 1 T (buy in any grocery store probably in baking or health food)
Flour: Start with 8 ½ C (use 12-15 total) or Start with 4 ¼ C (use 6-7 ½ total)
Yeast: 2 ½ T or 3 ¾ t

MIXING INSTRUCTIONS:

Wheat: Combine 8-9 (or half that for smaller mixer) cups gresh wheat flour and warm water. Using the dough hook, mix to paste consistency. Mix in yeast and then add salt, honey, oil/apple sauce and gluten. Turn on mixer. As the motor bears down, turn up the speed. Add additional flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl (careful not to add too much flour). Let knead 7-8 minutes then add dough enhancer, knead 2 more minutes. (Total 10 minutes). Use shortening or oil on your hands to form loaves (not flour!). Take dough immediately from bowl. Fill non-stick loaf pans ½ to 2/3 full with shaped loaves. Cover with plastic wrap to keep moist. Let rise until doubled (approx. 1 ½ inches above top of pan--about 30 minutes). Place in cold oven. Turn oven to 350◦. Bake 30-40 minutes. Yields: 5-6 or 2-3 1 ½ lb loaves.

Cinnamon Rolls: Same mixing instructions as Wheat bread. Remove the dough once it’s kneaded, and roll it out on a lightly oiled surface into a large rectangle about 16X36 inches and approx. ¼ inch thick. Melt ¾ cube butter and spread it evenly over the dough. In a separate bowl mix 1 ½ cups brown sugar with 3 tsp. cinnamon. Spread mixture evenly over dough. Spread 1 cup shredded pecans and 1 ½ cups plumped raisins evenly over dough. Roll up dough to form a roll starting with the long side. Seal the seam by pinching dough together. With seam side down, cut into 1 inch slices using fish line or floss. (Slide string under the roll, cross it over the top, and pull apart.) Place rolls on a non-stick baking sheet. Let rise until double in size. Bake: 350◦ 13-18 minutes. Yield: 32 rolls (or more).

breakfast decadence

one of my favorite breakfast indulgences is french hot chocolate (chocolat chaud). it's darker and more frothy than the traditional american hot chocolate. and it's typically eaten with dry, unbuttered toasted bread--an egg bread like challah or brioche works best--which is dipped into the chocolate. not something to be consumed daily (trust me). but chocolate chaud with toast makes for a positively delicious breakfast (or late night) treat.

chocolat chaud (hot chocolate)
adapted from the recipe used at ladurée.

ingredients:
3 cups (750 grams) whole milk
1/3 cup (80 grams) water
1/3 cup (65 grams) sugar
6 ounces (175 grams) bittersweet chocolate (at least 80% cocoa), finely chopped

to make chocolate:
bring the milk, water, and sugar just to the boil in a medium saucepan. remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate. the hot chocolate needs to be blended at this point. at ladurée, this is done with a hand-held blender (also called an immersion blender). if you have an immersion blender, leave the hot chocolate in the pan and whip it for 1 minute. if you don't have an immersion blender, transfer the hot chocolate to a traditional blender and whip on high speed for 1 minute. serve the chocolate immediately while it is still hot and frothy.

to reheat chilled hot chocolate:
the chocolate can be made up to two days ahead and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator. to reheat, warm the chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring gently, just until the first bubble pops on the surface. pull the pan from the heat, whip the chocolate for 1 minute with an immersion blender (or in a traditional blender), and serve immediately.

to make cold hot chocolate:
chill the hot chocolate until it is very cold, then stir in 3/4 cup (200 grams) cold milk. whip the cold chocolate for 1 minute with an immersion blender (or in a traditional blender). serve the cold hot chocolate over an ice cube or two. the cold hot chocolate allegedly makes for a yummy ice cream float, too.


make yourself a pot of chocolat chaud, toast yourself some strips of brioche, and indulge in a perfectly decadent breakfast or late night snack.