Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

My mom and I are big fans of French toast, so I decided to make some this morning for her birthday. Of course, whenever I do anything in the kitchen that involves more than two steps, my mom can't help but fuss around me while I'm cooking - moving dirty dishware, cleaning inadvertent drips, and asking what I'm doing every five minutes. I suspect these habits will never change.

I picked up this recipe card from my local Panera Bread and used their cinnamon raisin bread for the French toast, but you can probably use any bread you like. The perk about using cinnamon raisin is that the bread is already sweetened, so you can't really screw up on the flavor, and it was sweet enough that we skipped the maple syrup when serving.

Ingredients

• 8 slices of half-inch thick Panera cinnamon raisin bread (or other bread)
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. For the French toast custard, combine and whisk together the milk, heavy cream, eggs, honey, vanilla extract, and salt. This custard can be made well in advance. Give a brisk stir before making the toast.
2. Transfer the custard to a casserole or open shallow dish for dipping.
3. Dip one slice of bread into the custard and turn over after about 15 seconds. Transfer the slice to a plate while dipping another slice into the custard.
4. Place a large skillet on a medium fire. Allow the pan to heat thoroughly before pouring 1 tablespoon of the melted butter into the pan.
5. Place both slices carefully into the skillet and cook on each side until golden brown or about 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 until all the French toast is cooked.
7. An optional step is to place each finished French toast onto a baking sheet in a preheated oven until all are ready to serve. 
8. Serve warm with maple syrup, if desired. Makes four servings.

Cinnamon-Honey Waffles

I came across this recipe in a recipe leaflet from Lucky's, and since the photo looked so nice and my boyfriend had yet to try out his new waffle iron, I decided to give it a spin. The only waffles I'd ever made before were the Eggos from the frozen aisle, which I had long sworn off. Fortunately, making real waffles from scratch is nearly just as easy! These came out fluffy and sweet - perfect for weekend brunch. I like my waffles a bit crispier though, so next time I'll let them cook for just a tad longer.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
• Optional: maple syrup, warm fruit topping, mint sprigs

Instructions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
3. In separate medium bowl, whisk together egg, yogurt, milk and honey.
4. Stir wet mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Stir in melted butter and mix.
5. Cook waffles in waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
6. Serve with maple syrup or warm fruit topping. Garnish with a dollop of yogurt and/or mint sprigs, if desired (I didn't have mint sprigs so I randomly used parsley for garnish). Makes approximately four waffles.
   

Brunchin' At Home

What better way to spend a Saturday morning than cooking up some brunch at home? And if I'm in the kitchen, I will default to my (usually) fail-proof omelets. I love omelets because they're so versatile; you can make them as simple or as fancy as you wish. I like folding mine in a half circle, just the way Remy does it in Ratatouille (which, incidentally, is still one of the best movies for foodies, in my opinion).

On this particular morning, I made some omelets with prosciutto, a shredded four cheese blend, onions, and a sprinkle of parsley flakes on top. I even took the time to pay some attention to plating since, let's face it, who doesn't like their food to look pretty?

The boyfriend also had a bag of pumpkin pancake batter mix from Trader Joe's, so we made some cinnamon-y pumpkin pancakes too. We're still experimenting on getting the heat and texture just perfect, but I'm sure we'll be pros in no time. Two foodies in the kitchen can't go wrong!

Looking forward to some good Dine About Town dinners in San Francisco this weekend! Eat on!

Special thanks to WongCo Food for the photos :)

Foreign Cinema: Brunch At Its Best

Marshall: Why can't two guys who are friends go to brunch?
Ted: Because brunch is kind of...
Robin: Girly.
Marshall: Girly? Breakfast isn't girly. Lunch isn't girly. What makes brunch girly?
Ted: I don't know. There's nothing girly about a horse, nothing girly about a horn. But put them together and you get a unicorn.
-- How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

Maybe the idea of brunch really does evoke images of girly, yuppie indulgence on a Sunday morning, but that made it perfect for a food date to catch up with Julie, one of my long-time girlfriends who was visiting in town. I had heard wonderful things about the brunch at Foreign Cinema, and we were definitely not disappointed. And luckily for me, Julie brought along her fancy SLR camera, so I have to thank her for these photos!

The restaurant is a pleasant surprise in the middle of the busy Mission District of SF. The space has a soft industrial feel, but is still effortlessly classy and comfortable, with wood floors, a high ceiling, and plenty of natural light.

Chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark have roamed the city's restaurant scene for decades. In addition to having worked at Zuni Cafe and Chez Panisse, they've also traveled through Europe and Asia researching culinary ingredients. In 1999, they opened Foreign Cinema, which offers exceptional California/Mediterranean-inspired dishes with fresh ingredients, creative flavor combinations, and chic-but-unfussy presentation.

Two poached eggs with grilled duck breast
on a bed of warm salad greens, croutons, currants, shitakes, sherry ($12.50)

It's never too early to eat duck! This was Julie's dish, but I tried a bit and immediately put it on my list for next time. The duck was tender and juicy; the eggs were perfectly poached; and the greens were a nice contrast of color and texture.

Baguette French toast
with blackberry sauce, mascarpone, powdered sugar, maple syrup ($8.50)

All the milky and eggy goodness of French toast, plus the chewy consistency of a baguette! The blackberry sauce was a nice touch that complemented the maple syrup well.

Slow-cooked brown sugar smoked bacon ($4.50)

This was the BEST bacon I've ever had. No joke. The bacon was juicy, crispy but not burnt, and infused with sweet brown sugar. A happy marriage of the sweet and the salty.

And finally, no girly brunch would be complete without dessert!

Ginger cake with crème anglaise, citrus essence ($5.50)

You can bet I'll be back at Foreign Cinema soon. With the girls, or the guys, or just myself! Can't really care when the food is this good.

Foreign Cinema

2534 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
www.foreigncinema.com

Breakfast at Judy's

I have never been a morning person. I'm one of those shameless sleepaholics who keep hitting snooze and hugging my pillow until the last possible minute before reluctantly dragging myself from the warm nest of my bed. But there are some things that I happily wake up for, like shopping sprees, dim sum with the family, yoga class, road trips, and a really tasty breakfast. And a great place for breakfast or brunch in the city is Judy's Homestyle Cafe.

There's an eye-popping selection of omelets and scrambled egg breakfasts, along with other classics like french toast, and lighter choices like fruit and cheese plates. The omelets were wonderful -- soft, fluffy eggs stuffed with cheeses and other yummy fillings.

Spanish Omelet | salsa, sour cream, jack and cheddar cheeses

Farmhand Omelet | ham, onion, home-fried potatoes, jack and cheddar cheeses

Bacon Etc Omelet | bacon, avocado, sour cream, jack and cheddar cheeses

Each breakfast dish comes with your choice of a homemade pumpkin loaf, blueberry muffin, english muffin, or toast. At my friend's recommendation, I tried the pumpkin loaf, which turned out to be the most memorable part of my meal. The loaf had a lovely texture, with the sweetness of pumpkin and a slight touch of cinnamon. It was like pumpkin pie in bread form!

Pumpkin loaf

So if you ever need something to wake up to, keep this place in mind! And happy holidays!

Judy's Homestyle Cafe
2268 Chestnut Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 922-4588

"You Stay Classy, San Diego!"

As a graduation gift to myself, I took a weekend trip to San Diego to visit some old college friends and, of course, to eat until I regained all the weight I lost while I was engrossed in textbooks during my exam period. The following are photos of my favorite meals from the trip.

La Jolla eggs benedict | bacon, mushrooms, spinach, tomato, garlic & balsamic vinegar| The Cottage

Mimosa | Champagne Bakery

Breakfast flatbread | over easy egg, bacon, cheese, marinara sauce | Champagne Bakery

Chicken wings | Yakitori Yakyudori

Smoked gouda cheese | Von's

Wine selection | The FleetWood

Tako wasabi | Tajima 2

Uni pasta | Tajima 2

Shaved ice | Cafe Venti

Thanks to everyone who made the meals so memorable! I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. And I'll be topping off my graduation celebrations tomorrow night with dinner at Epic Roasthouse in San Francisco!

Brunch at Tra Vigne

The last of my Napa posts for now - photos from our brunch at Tra Vigne.

A quiet place for a meal

Ouvo Benedetto All' Italiana - Italian-style eggs benedict with poached eggs, crispy pancetta, and basil hollandaise ($12.95)

Frittata Tra Vigne - smoked chicken, leeks, crimini mushrooms, and fontina cheese ($10.95)

Pasticcio di Costata di Bue - slow braised beef short ribs hash with poached eggs and sun dried tomato pesto ($12.75)

Tra Vigne
1050 Charter Oak Avenue
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-4444
www.travignerestaurant.com