Sunday, July 18, 2010

When in Doubt, Add Rum

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I wish I was giving you a recipe for Rabanadas today, but unfortunately I am not.

See, a while back I found a treat at Delessio's in San Francisco that truly blew me away. Simply labeled "Rabanadas" I had no idea that I was in for what may be, for me, the ultimate breakfast food/dessert.

Rabanadas are Brazilian French toast, and they are like American French toast on hyper drive. I tried desperately to recreate the crazy love child of French toast and a churro, but to no avail. Instead of a crispy, sugary, golden-brown outside with a creamy, custardy, melt-in-your-mouth center I ended up with soft, overly chewy, decidedly un-custardy echoes of what could have been.

Never one to waste what still had the makings of a halfway decent meal, I did what any sane person would do - cover the whole lot in a sauce. A brown sugar banana rum sauce to be exact. It did wonders for the "French toast", and, even though it couldn't be called anything close to rabanadas, I still ended up with a pretty decent breakfast.

If you have the chance to sample some rabanadas I highly recommend you take advantage of the opportunity. In the meantime I'll keep working on the at-home version and give you the consolation prize of directions for the banana rum sauce. Next time you run out of syrup or just need to jazz up your Sunday morning breakfast give it a try. There are worse things you could put on your short stack.

Brown Sugar Banana Rum Sauce
2 tbs of brown sugar per banana, approx
1 tbs butter per banana, approx
1 smallish banana per serving, sliced
A hearty splash of dark rum (1-2 tbs)
A dash of cinnamon
A pinch of salt

1) Begin to melt the sugar and butter over medium until it begins to bubble.
2) Add banana, rum, cinnamon and salt and continue to cook until banana becomes slightly softened.
3) Pour over pancakes, waffles, French toast,  or ice cream.

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Sunday, July 11, 2010

Oddly Named Desserts: Strawberry Flognarde

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Hello again dear readers. I know you've been waiting with bated breath for my return, and no, I have not abandoned you. I just took a little vacation and while on this vacation I came upon the realization that some of the best things I can do are to keep cooking, keep writing, and keep busy. Oh, and eat a lot of dessert, too!

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Today's sweet tooth tempting taste treat is a Strawberry Flognarde. A flognarde is a brilliantly simple dessert that looks impressive but is really just a thick custardy crepe with fruit baked in. If I had made it with cherries it would be called a clafoutis, but as it stands it is a flognarde. Enjoy that tidbit of culinary trivia while you tuck in.

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Strawberry Flognarde
Adapted from The Dinner Files recipe for clafoutis

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
The better part of 1 lb. of strawberries
2-3 Tbs. of orange liqueur or orange juice
Powdered sugar for garnish (optional)

1) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a baking dish approx. 9x13 inches (a tad smaller will make it thicker - yum, larger will make it thinner).

2) If the berries are on the small side leave them whole, if they are larger cut them into quarters or eighths, and place in a bowl large enough to accommodate stirring all the berries. Sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of the sugar, the orange liqueur or juice, and a tablespoon or two of flour and stir briefly to coat.

3) Whisk together in a separate bowl the eggs and milk (may be done in a blender). Add remaining flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla and whisk (or blend) until a smooth batter.

4) Spread the berries evenly around the baking dish and pour the batter over the berries, place in the oven and bake until the batter is set and the edges begin to brown, approx. one hour (start checking at about 45 minutes if, like me, your oven runs hot and cold on you).

5) Let cool a few minutes and slice into pieces. Dust with powdered sugar if so desired.

**In an effort to speed up the pre-heating process I started my oven at about 450 and accidentally left it there. My flognarde was well on the done side of life after only about 25 minutes and seemed to suffer no ill effect, but in any case I recommend cooking it the way it was intended - slow and steady.

**Also, my berries were VERY ripe, and the whole thing ended up a tad sweeter than I may have liked. If your fruit is also a bit sweet you may try using a squeeze of lemon in with the berries or omitting the powdered sugar.

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