Recipe: Buttermilk French Toast & Rubarb Compote

 
As we've definitely mentioned before, we're drowning in a sea of fresh eggs - along with all the other backyard chicken owners out there. But, of course, we're not complaining! There are a seemingly infinite number of recipes that use eggs by the coop-full, and we're having a blast experimenting.

Lucky for us, we also have a glut of fantastic local bakeries in the area. One of our favorites, and oldest, is the Daily Bread Bakery. They make a ton of fantastic things - black bottom cupcakes, homemade oreos, granola... not to mention, one of the best basic chocolate cakes ever. 

But our current obsession is their classic challah bread. This buttery challah, toasted with a spoonful of jam, makes an amazing breakfast all on its own. But add a few bright eggs and some tangy buttermilk, and you've got the fixin's for some kick-ass french toast! So the other morning we took out a loaf, cut a few thick slices, cracked some eggs, and started cooking. Because we also have too many rhubarb stalks (detecting a theme here?) we made a quick compote to spoon on top along with our favorite Old Field Farm Syrup. Sweet, simple, and delicious - and we used up four eggs!

Buttermilk French Toast

From Gourmet via Epicurious.com

+ 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

+ 4 large eggs

+ 3 tablespoons sugar

+ 1/4 teaspoon salt
+ 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices challah (from a 1-pound loaf; not end slices) 

+ 4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 

1. Preheat oven to 200°F. 

2. Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Pour into a large 4-sided sheet pan, then add bread in 1 layer and soak, turning occasionally, until bread has absorbed all liquid but is not falling apart, about 20 minutes.

3. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Transfer 4 bread slices with a slotted spatula to skillet and cook, turning once, until slightly puffed and golden brown, about 3 minutes total. 

4. Transfer to a large shallow baking pan and keep warm in oven. Cook remaining bread in 2 batches, adding 1 1/2 tablespoon butter between batches.  

Rhubarb Compote

+ 4 cups 1/2-inch pieces fresh rhubarb

+ 1 1/2 cups sugar

+ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Simmer the ingredients in a small saucepan until the rhubarb is soft, about 15 minutes.

Recipe: Classic Welsh Scones

On a lazy weekend morning, nothing makes us happier than a big cup of coffee and something freshly baked. The problem with this equation is that, in your pre-pastry haze, you have to actually “freshly bake” something. Enter scones - the easiest thing ever to make, a catch-all for aging pantry staples, and the perfect not-too-sweet-not-too-savory vessel for butter, cream and jam. Seriously, you could make these in your sleep – which is basically what we did last weekend. 

The morning (ok, ok, afternoon) after a rousing game of Pictionary (ok, ok, we’re waaaay cooler than we sound), Silka rolled out of bed desperate for our favorite scones. And as she slowly flipped rummaged through the pantry, we realized that we’d been holding on to just a handful of raisins, almonds and walnuts. The nuts went into a pan to roast and the raisins into a hot water/left-over whiskey to plump up. After an easy mix of simple ingredients and a quick cooking time we were back on the couch contentedly snacking away and watching bad movies On Demand. Who could ask for more?!  

Welsh Scones

From The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri

+ 2 1/4 cups All Purpose flour

+ 1/3 cup sugar

+ 1 tbsp baking powder

+ 1 tsp cream of tartar

+ 1/2 tsp salt

+ 8 tbsp (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter cut into 12 pieces

+ 1 large egg

+ 1/2 cup milk

Optional:

+ 1/2 cup of raisins, soaked in a mix of hot water and whiskey for 30 minutes

+ 1/2 cup nuts, roasted and coarsely chopped

1. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is mealy but dry and powdery.

3. Invert the bowl of the food processor over a mixing bowl and carefully remove the blade. If you are adding raisins, nuts or both, gently stir them in now.

4. Quickly whisk the egg and milk together and use a fork to toss the egg mixture into the flour mixture, continuing to toss until all the flour mixture is evenly moistened.

5. Gently knead the dough 3 to 4 times, until it is smooth. Divide the dough in half and pres and pat each half into a disk about 6 inches in diameter. Place the two disks of dough a couple of inches apart on the prepared pan.

6. Use a floured bench scraper or knife to mark each disk of dough into 8 wedges, pressing straight down, and cutting no farther than halfway into the dough disk.

7. Bake the scones until they are very deep golden and firm, 12-15 minutes.

8. Slide each disk of baked scones onto a platter and use a knife to cut them completely along the markings into wedges.

9. Serve with butter, whipped cream and jam!