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March 17, 2005
Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together
Have you ever had friends over for a party or a meal and ended up serving something so delicious that people were e-mailing you months after the fact to get the recipe? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Creme Brulee French Toast. This stuff is essentially one of those "make ahead" morning casserole things, which most really serious cooks eschew. Fortunately, I am not a serious cook.
It's not a whole lot like Creme Brulee (one of my all-time favorite desserts), but it IS a lot like baked French Toast doused a sauce of heavy cream with a layer of melty brown-sugar syrup on the bottom. I suppose you could cut out the middle man and just strap plastic bags of the stuff directly to your waistline, but we're in it for the love, aren't we?
I found this recipe on the exceedingly wonderful Food Network website, so visit there, pick an ingredient and watch the amazing list of recipes appear. I leave out the Grand Marnier, but you could replace it with Orange extract, or even orange or lemon zest. Here's how to make it, courtesy of Sara Moulton and her now-defunct Food TV show, Cooking Live:
CREME BRULEE FRENCH TOAST
Prep Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 (8 to 9) inch round loaf Challah bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13 by 9 by 2 - inch baking dish. Cut 6 (1-inch) thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit. In a bowl whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla, Grand Marnier and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bring bread to room temperature. Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
Posted by kyle at 10:56 PM | Comments (4)
March 15, 2005
Found Porn Star
I work in a store that is pretty popular around here. It has locations around the country, inclding NYC and LA. Sometimes a gal at the "home office" will post in our company-wide weekly newsletter that certain celebrities came into the store and tell us what they thought and what they bought.
I doubt this one will make it into her list, but gay porn's own Jason Branch (above) came in last night, and once I picked my jaw up off the floor, I managed to laugh quietly to myself as several co-workers treated him to our legendary customer service, never knowing the dirty dirty things he's done for fun and profit.
Unsurprisingly, he was a very nice guy who had chatty banter with all of us on a quiet Monday evening. Once he and his friend (husband? life-partner? Slave-boy?) left, I wasted no time in telling the tale, though it outed me as a porn watcher in a relatively straight-laced setting. They can't imagine I stay at home and bake all the time. Even though I sort of do.
Living in SF as I do, it's not all that unusual to see the odd porn star or so, even when it's not Gay Pride or Folsom St. or Bear Weekend or whatever, but this was still pretty cool. I rank this right up there with the time I saw Judd Winick and his lovely wife Dr. Pam Ling, both of MTV's "Real World: San Francisco" in the store. Naturally, Judd is famous to me for his great comics, but having that "I know this guy is famous even if you don't" factor applies in both cases.
I won't include a pic of Judd here, as I don't think it's fair to compare his absolute cuteness to a person who makes his living from being a physical paragon. Plus, I can't find a shot of Judd in tight white underwear showing hard.
Posted by kyle at 11:03 AM | Comments (2)
March 11, 2005
think BLUE x 2
So, you remember what happened back in November, right? Me too. Though I cringe my way through Morning Edition each day listening to the leader of the free world mangle his native language and worse, I carry a little bit of hope for the next election in my heart. Or rather, on my wrist.
Some neighbors of ours, Chris and Sarah, along with their pal Jason, in reaction to the 2004 Presidential Election results, created think BLUE 2008, a not-for-profit dedicated to spreading the "blue state" message one wrist at a time. They found a manufacturer to make a version of those ubiquitous Live Strong bracelets that superbiker Lance Armstrong sells, and changed the focus from cancer to Democratic and similar left-wing causes.
Lots of my friends ordered their own bracelets on the think BLUE website, and still others got their bracelets from me. And, since Chris doubled my most recent order gratis, I ended up with scads to share. Since then, I have discovered a secret: when we saw Chris and Sarah lately, they each wore two bracelets each. People tend to ask about them more, and when they do, you can simply offer one!
I usually give a quick "Oh, it's blue for Blue State -- you know... Blue State/Red State" sort of explanation, but being able to then offer them one for free (if they want it) means they can later go online and visit the site and get inspired themselves.
Because I've been wearing two lately, I've given away lots more, especially to strangers. I have a job in a rather public setting, and while it's probably not entirely kosher, I've given a few away to sympathetic customers.
Now if I could just get my family back in West Virginia to wear them....
Posted by kyle at 9:05 PM
March 10, 2005
The Porn Everybody Found
Though everyone from ESPN.com to the Day In Pictures posted this, I feel I can't resist showing pro golfer Phil Mickelson learning a new manly art. Thanks, as always, to Pete.
Posted by kyle at 11:56 AM | Comments (2)
March 9, 2005
Cheesecake Club
Last night, Jenny and I convened a long-awaited meeting of the Cake Club. I got a springform pan a while back, and because of that, I have wanted to make a cheesecake. Not just any cheesecake, either. I wanted to try Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cheesecake.
By far this was the easiest and cleanest Cake Club meeting yet. In fact, because the cheesecake had to chill (and not in the "I'm just chillin' outside the library between classes" way) for at least four hours, and because it was so easy to assemble and bake, we actually first made an "instant gratification" Chocolate Domingo Cake from Jenny's copy of The Cake Bible. That way we had a little cake to eat that night.
Anyway, back to the cheesecake. It was stupefyingly easy. Blitz up an entire box of graham crackers, melt a stick of butter (or two, like Jenny did), combine with a dash of cinnamon, tamp into the bottom and sides of the aforementioned springform pan and voila! A crust. Throw that shiznit into the fridge while you move on to the filling.
Take two 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese (at room temperature), and whip them into a smooth yet tasty frenzy in your handy Kitchen-Aid. Then slowly add a cup of sugar. Once that looks sufficiently delectable, drizzle in a pint of sour cream (that's a lot, yo), 3 eggs, the zest of one lemon, and a bit o' vanilla. And no, auto-correct, I do not want to change "yo" to "you."
Pour the filling into the prepared crust, wrap some foil around the bottom of the pan, set the whole thing in a bain-marie, and bake for an hour or so at 325. The result is smooth and impossibly creamy, and has a nice taste of lemon. Serve it alone or with some fresh or cooked fruit topping that you won't like as much as the cheesecake.
In other news, Tyler Florence, aside from being a cheesecake god, is still a total stud. Rrrooowwwl.
Posted by kyle at 10:46 PM
March 6, 2005
Shooting Fish in a Barrel
Oh splurp! My latest review for the Queer Eye on Comics series is up on the Prism website. You can read it here, if you are mildly amused by someone poking fun of comics written for innocent 1960s pre-teens. What can I say -- my comics diet lately just doesn't include enough stinkers.
Posted by kyle at 11:01 AM | Comments (2)