The Black Sea restaurant

 It's time for another restaurant review!  A year ago... or maybe it's been two years now, Julie and I decided that we didn't love the gift giving obligation that came with holidays (it makes it ten times harder to find a good gift when you're under pressure) so we changed it up.  Since we love food and trying new places to eat we figured we could each pick a restaurant and treat the other person to a meal, that way we got to experience new foods/restaurants and do something for the holiday too.  Oh... and there isn't really a time frame on using this gift except that it has to be done before that holiday comes up again the next year!  

A few weeks ago we finally made it out for what was going to be my Christmas pick, yep that's right... we waited until October to use it haha (it's harder than you'd think, don't judge!)  Anyway back to the good stuff, a buddy of mine had told me how he went to this awesome restaurant in St. Paul called The Black Sea and that he really had a good experience there.  That's all I needed to know to pick this place as my spot.  Everything was unplanned and totally last minute which made the experience even better!  We headed out that way having no clue really what to expect except that it was supposed to be good and realizing we have both probably driven by it a million times and never even knew it existed.

We walked into a small (really... it was tiny) hole in the wall restaurant with about 10 tables crammed in and the place was packed!  Not only were pretty much all of the tables occupied with happy, hungry (and full) people but there were more people standing who were either picking up food or waiting to order food to go!  That was a great sign to us and we managed to find a table that someone was just getting up from.  

One of the awesome things about this restaurant is you could order apps and meals for one person OR family style.  After reading through the whole menu we decided we wanted to try one of the appetizer combos that included dolmas, falafel, and hummus accompanied by olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, lemon, pepperoncini and pita bread.  We figured we should probably just get the single serving and split it so we could have room for our meal as well.  What a great appetizer and fun to try so many different things!  

Our meal consisted of another combo (we really wanted to try as much as possible and... we were having trouble deciding what we wanted) and this time we ordered it for 2 people.  It was delivered on a HUGE plate that contained... chicken and beef kebab, chicken, beef, and lamb doner, 2 kofte kebabs all topped with grilled onions and peppers, lettuce topped with tomatoes and onions, pita bread and two sides: french fries (random, huh?) and rice.  Sounds like lot of food? It WAS!!  It looked a little something like this... (sorry for the poor picture quality)

That plate of food was amazing.  We loved everything and even better was the awesome sauce they served with it which they made from homemade yogurt, cucumber, and garlic (we put it on EVERYTHING).  Besides the food being delicious the service was great as well.  Everyone was incredibly nice and I think they kind of got a kick out of our love for their food.  They were the real deal!  I'd totally recommend this place if you're ever in the St. Paul area close to the fair grounds.  It's worth the trip even if you're not in the area!  Head over there some evening with empty stomachs and close friends and enjoy rubbing elbows with each other over some amazing and authentic food.  You won't be disappointed!

~ Melissa

Pumpkin Cashew Coconut Curry

Good morning!  This week has (again) been crazy busy but I've managed to get a few new things made!  Yesterday was another day full of kitchen time wooohooo!!!  My cousin came over and we made Roasted Carrot soup, date balls (you know... those things Julie posted about earlier except without the peanut butter goodness), and a new one Pumpkin Cashew Coconut Curry with coconut rice (using cauliflower as the rice, I'll explain that more in a little bit).

I found this recipe on one of my new favorite blogs, PaleOMG (and YES, this is another Paleo recipe!) and it sounded good, sort of easy, and a lot different than most of the stuff that we usually make.  You'll start to figure out that Julie and I have a habit of making Asian or Mexican food most of the time with a little Italian thrown in there as well.  We haven't tackled too much Indian cuisine so I decided to give this a try!  I've eaten Indian food before, not often but it's not completely foreign to me except I really haven't had much curry.  So... yesterday morning I visited the grocery for what seemed like the millionth time this week and got all my ingredients for this new recipe.  It went a little something like this...

Pumpkin Cashew Coconut Curry over Coconut Rice
Source: PaleOMG

Prep time:  10 mins         Cook time:  15 mins           Total time:  25 mins

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

For the curry

• 1lb chicken, cut into cubes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• ⅔ cup canned coconut milk
• ½ cup pureed pumpkin
• ½ cup cashews
• 2-3 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• pinch of cinnamon
• salt and pepper, to taste
• cilantro, to garnish

 For the coconut rice

• 1 head cauliflower, stem removed, roughly chopped
• ½ cup canned coconut milk
• ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. First add your chopped cauliflower to your food processor with the shredding attachment to “rice” the cauliflower or just chop it up with the blade in the food processor
2. Pull a large pot, place over medium heat, and add a tablespoon of coconut oil then add your cauliflower. Add a pinch of salt, then cover to help steam, mixing occasionally.
3. Now pull out a large skillet and place under medium heat. Then add your coconut oil.
4. Add your chicken stirring occasionally... when the outsides start to turn white, throw in your garlic and let that go for a min or two until the garlic becomes fragrant
5. Add your ⅔ cup coconut milk and pureed pumpkin to your chicken and mix until the pumpkin breaks down.
6. Now add your sliced onions and spices to cook down, you can turn the heat down just a little and cover it for a few minutes.
7. Then add your other ingredients for your coconut rice and cover to cook down. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn!
8. Let the rice cook for about 5-8 minutes until coconut milk has evaporated and you have sticky rice.
9. When chicken is done cooking and your curry has thickened a bit, remove from heat and add your cashews to the curry mixture.
10. Now place sticky rice in a bowl along with curry over top and cilantro to garnish!

This meal was warm and comforting, perfect for a fall day!  Enjoy!

Melissa

Crockpot Chili (Paleo)

Good morning!  Now that I've filled my belly with a delicious breakfast and got a little coffee in me to wake me up I'm ready to tackle the day.  Today is the day... the day Julie and I get to cook together and I can't be more excited!  More about that later... right now I want to tell you about the awesome crockpot chili I made last night... well I put it together yesterday morning and ate it last night!  It's paleo style which means no beans in this chili.  Wondering what the heck you put in chili if you don't have beans?  I'll tell you... veggies!  I know I know... you're probably thinking you don't want something like chili, which is delicious and hearty, to be ruined by more veggies but I dare you to try it.  You'll be shocked by how good it is!

I changed a few things in this chili to make it work with what I had.  I used ground turkey instead of grass fed beef (which I love by the way just had turkey I needed to use), I added carrots, and didn't use bacon fat... just Olive Oil. Contemplated adding zucchini but I decided I'd need it for those muffins I made yesterday too!  I'm pretty sure sweet potatoes would rock in this recipe too... next time?  We've found that chipotles and sweet potatoes are an awesome combination, just so you know!

Crockpot Chili (Paleo)
Adapted from Free Range Human

Ingredients

• 2lbs grass-fed ground beef
• 1 Tbsp bacon fat (or olive oil)
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes (28oz)
• 1 small can tomato paste
• ¼ C cocoa powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (from can – make sure they are wheat-free), sliced  (I used the whole can and it was pretty dang spicy, you could just use the adobo sauce or just use a few of the chipotles from the can to get the flavor without all the crazy heat)

Instructions

1. Heat bacon fat (or olive oil) in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and onion; saute until tender but do not burn.
3. Add the ground beef and cook until about medium (just long enough to brown most of the meat).
4. Once browned, add meat/garlic/onion mixture to the crock-pot.
5. In no particular order, add in the celery, bell pepper, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, cacao powder, chipotle peppers (if used) and spices.
6. Stir all ingredients well and set Crock-Pot to low and cook for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.
7. Serve and enjoy!

 ~ Melissa

Almond Zucchini Muffins (Paleo)

Hey foodies!  Well I finally found some time today to make a few different and NEW things!  I was way stoked to be in the kitchen today... so much so that I couldn't sleep... ok, that's not really the reason I was up bright and early but it helped!  After a crazy busy week going to Fire Fighter classes, an ambulance driving class, and a 24 hour on call shift that ended at 8am this morning... I was ready to get the heck out of the fire station and into the kitchen.  As soon as my shift ended I headed to the grocery to get the supplies for the day.

I started out prepping this great paleo chili that needed 8 hours for the awesomeness to simmer and then headed to the gym for a quick workout.  After getting cleaned up I started the muffins which I was dying to make because I've never made any baked good (I don't bake that much anyway) without regular flour!  This was truly going to be an experiment in which I had not the slightest idea how it'd turn out!  Guess what... they turned out great!  I have a few ideas for some changes (trying to stick within the paleo rules still) that I'll try for next time but for the first time with these tasty bites I was pretty happy.

They were moist (isn't that a horrible word? I hate it but what can I do...) and the texture was more on the spongy side.  I love dense healthy muffins so these were a little different.  I just can't wrap my head around the idea that ALMONDS can create muffins with a texture pretty dang close to a normal muffin (not the so dense you know they're healthy muffins).  How the heck does that work?!  I guess I can deal with not understanding and just enjoy the fact that it works!

So... here's how it works....  Oh and by the way, this was actually supposed to be a bread but I wanted to be able to sample them and share them with more people so I decided to go with the mini muffins!  Ready?  Here we go...

Almond Zucchini Muffins (Paleo)
Recipe adapted from Running to the Kitchen
 

Ingredients

• 1½ cups almond flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup grated zucchini, water squeezed out
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two mini bread loaf pans.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Combine wet ingredients besides zucchini in a stand mixer and beat on medium for about 2 minutes. Alternatively, combine in a large bowl and whisk together vigorously.
4. Add zucchini and mix until combined.
5. Pour dry ingredients into wet and mix until incorporated.
6. Pour batter into loaf pans.
7. Bake for 32-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
9. Transfer bread out of loaf pan and cool on wire rack.

ENJOY!!
- Melissa

 

So much food, so little time!

Well it's Minnesota which means it can go from sunny and 70 to cold and snowing overnight.  While the weather wasn't THAT nice yesterday it has gotten colder, as I sat at work today I watched the rain turn to snow in just seconds.  This weather makes me (and I think many others) want to curl up next to a fire and take a nap.  It also makes me want to go to town cooking!  Nothing sounds better than a big bowl of comfort food with family and/or friends.  So with the weather turning I've been busy looking for new recipes to experiment with but I haven't had any time to cook!  This fall is crazy busy and I'm just ready for a long day spent in the kitchen with my best friend.  I think we might get that chance on Sunday!!  Woohoo!! 

Anyway... just thought I'd throw out there some of the things I've been dying to make and will hopefully be posting about in the near future when I can manage to squeeze in some much needed cooking.  Recently I've been pretty interested in this whole Paleo thing so I figured I'd try and make some crazy paleo recipes.  I'm always entertained as I see all the Paleo versions of food that everyone loves but isn't necessarily the best for the body.  I've kind of always had the theory that if you're going to eat something that's bad (meaning delicious, probably high in fat and maybe sugar too) then you should just go all out and not try to make it healthy.  It's not a bad thing to indulge every now and then!  However, there are some pretty interesting Paleo things that represent some of these 'bad' foods we all love.  I'm fairly certain that these treats are still meant to be eaten in moderation but hey, if you can make something delicious and healthier than it's non-Paleo counterpart... I'm all in.

The other day I got a bunch of Almond flour and Coconut flour, these seem to be the base in most Paleo baked goods.  I'm excited to try my hand at this in the next few days so here are some of the things I'm looking to try out.

Baked Goods:

Pumpkin Spice Bread
Almond Zucchini Bread (Paleo)
Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes
Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

Can you tell I'm into the whole pumpkin thing right now?  It's fall... gotta go with the fall flavors!

Dinners:

Pumpkin Cashew Coconut Curry over Coconut Rice
Enchilada Chicken Stew
Brazillian Curry Chicken

Ok for real... that's barely a dent in the real amount of recipes that I want to make...not just at some point in my life but right NOW.  I think I have a lot of work to do in the kitchen... maybe I just need to quit my jobs and cook?  Ha!  Maybe one of these months (January? when fire classes are over??) I'll be able to have more time for some serious cooking but for now I'll just have to be content with whatever time I can actually get!

Time for some family and football.  Hopefully you'll be seeing a few of these recipes in the next week! 

Melissa

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls

 

My favorite part about these tasty treats is sharing them....not because I'm nice....instead, it's because I'm inappropriate. I love asking people (man, woman, child; it matters not a bit), "Would you like to try my balls?"

My second favorite part is that although these balls seem like they should be slightly decadent, they're not.  The sweetness comes from dates (nature's candy).  I feel like dates are the tofu of the sweet world...they easily morph into whatever sweet flavor you desire.  By simply processing them and adding cocoa powder, some finely ground almonds and vanilla extract, those dates turn into a fine facsimile of an undercooked brownie.  YUM.  By the way, the chocolate layer is delicious by itself, made into balls or bars or whatever shape you want.  However, if you want to go to the next level of deliciousness (warning, this level FOR SURE will require an ice cold glass of milk), add the peanut butter layer.  Somehow, some way, when peanut butter meets vanilla protein powder, MAGIC happens.  Trust me on this.

These make the perfect grab and go snack.  They're ideal for those days when you overslept and don't have time for breakfast.  Your kids will love snacking on them between football and hockey practices (those 2 sport nights...gotta love 'em).  Best of all, these delicious balls freeze well so you can always keep them on hand.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Inspired by Texanerin

Chocolate Layer

• 1/2 cup whole almonds
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder (to increase the protein content, up to half of the cocoa powder can be replaced with your favorite chocolate protein powder)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Layer

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 scoops (roughly 3/4 cup) of your favorite vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Begin with the chocolate layer.  Put your almonds in a food processor and grind them to the consistency you desire.  Add dates and pulse till the dates are finely ground.  Then add your cocoa powder and vanilla and pulse till the mix is uniform.  Dump the chocolate part onto a Silpat or piece of parchment.  Use your fingers to press it down flat.  The process will look like this:

 

Then, mix together the peanut butter and protein powder with a hand mixer.  Once the protein powder is thoroughly incorporated, put it on top of the chocolate mix and spread it out as evenly as possible.  One way that works well is to put another Silpat or piece of parchment on top and use a rolling pin to flatten it.  This isn't an exact science.  If you have a lot of chocolate sticking out on the sides, just fold it over onto the peanut butter part.  After you have the peanut butter where you want it, cut (GENTLY with the back of a butter knife if you're cutting on a Silpat) into squares. The number of squares will depend on how many balls you want to make.  Roll each square into a chocolate peanut butter tie dye looking ball of goodness.  I think these are best refrigerated and don't forget, they freeze well!

 

ENJOY!
~Julie

Avocado Cucumber and Buttermilk Soup

Avocado, Cucumber and Buttermilk Soup with Grilled Shrimp

Serves about 4 as a first course, 2 as a main dish
Inspired by Five and Spice

One of my favorite meals this past summer was on a super steamy June evening.  Melis was over and we wanted to cook without making my kitchen unbearably hot so we settled on this dish.  It was almost too hot to eat so we knew if this recipe failed, it would be no biggie.  It was the OPPOSITE of failure!  Instead, the result was a delicious, cooling meal. 

I know, I know....buttermilk sounds scary but it's not.  Buttermilk has the fat content of 1% milk, a tang like sour cream and the body of heavy cream.  It's every good thing.  I've always loved to drink it...I'm sure when I was little it was partially to gross people out, but I truly love it now.  BUT...don't be fooled...just because it SOUNDS decadent and creamy, don't try putting it in your coffee like my sister-in-law Tracy did.  It WILL be chunky.  Gross.

Melis and I decided to grill some shrimp to go with it.  We collaborated to come up with a quick marinade with a lime base.  The results were amazing.



Avocado, Cucumber and Buttermilk Soup
Serves about 4 as a first course, 2 as a main dish

This soup is creamy, cool and refreshing! 

• 1 medium cucumber, cut into chunks
• 2 ripe avocados, cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• dash of cayenne pepper
• juice of 1 lime
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Put the cucumber and avocado chunks into a blender.  Add the buttermilk, salt, cayenne pepper and lime juice.  Blend till it's completely smooth. 

Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the soup (to prevent discoloration).  Chill for 1-2 hours then place in bowls and garnish with cilantro....and grilled shrimp, if you desire.


Quick (or so) Grilled Shrimp Marinade
Serves 4 (or so)

This recipe is VERY precise.  NOT.  Play with the amounts...I'm fairly certain you can't go wrong.

 

• juice of 2 limes (or so)
• 1/3 cup of olive oil (or so)
• salt (to taste)
• a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp (or so)

Combine liquid ingredients in a bowl.  Add shrimp and marinate for 15-30 mins (or so).  Drain and grill till shrimp is cooked.

Pile shrimp on top of or next to your chilled avocado, cucumber and buttermilk soup, crack a cold beer and enjoy it all in moderation (or so).


~Julie

Duluth Grill... our experience and remaking of the Asian Peanut Burger

Last August we decided to experience the awesomeness that is the Duluth Grill in Duluth, MN.  Yes... I do realize it's more than a year later and I'm just getting around to writing this... don't worry, the experience was one that we won't be forgetting and recreating it for you shouldn't be too difficult!

We're both really familiar with Duluth after all the hockey tournaments and weekends we've spent up there over the years, taking a trip for the day was no big deal and something we were excited about!  We had heard about the Duluth Grill through friends and it was even featured on the well known foodie show Diners, Dine-ins, and Dives!  We figured we needed to find out for ourselves what all the talk was about.  Since it's a 2 hour drive we decided to make a day of it and eat more than one meal there... who wouldn't want to try as much as possible?!  Since breakfast is one of our favorites we left bright and early (with a detour to Toby's for a sweet treat to hold us over haha) and ended up at the Duluth Grill around 9.

Our gameplan... to order a few things and split everything.  We were hungry... but I don't think we were quite ready for the amounts of food we managed to order for TWO PEOPLE!  Typical.  Our order included Chorizo Sausage Skillet, a Scotch Egg, Red Flannel Hash, Seven Grain Porridge with yogurt and fruit, and a gigantic pancake.  If memory serves me right we did manage to make a considerable dent in our meal with no room left in our bellies for another bite!  The seven grain porridge had a chewy texture with a nutty flavor.  The Red Flannel Hash was a combo of beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, and bell peppers perfectly roasted.  The skillet left nothing to be desired.  The pancake was good and different, it had cornmeal in it and it gave it sort of a cornbready taste and texture.  Last but not least the Scotch Egg... this was my first experience with it and it was definitely different!  I liked it but I can't say it's something that I would order again.

 After filling ourselves with a tasty breakfast we headed out into town to walk around and check out the views.  We finished the morning at the beach on lake Superior and enjoyed soaking in the sun and even caught some of the chilly water to cool off!

Before leaving town we had one final stop to make at the Duluth Grill for an early dinner.  Still half full from our breakfast we managed to find some more room to fit in a burger.  We decided to split two different burgers and we each picked a few sides.  The burgers we chose were the Bisapeno-Pepper Burger and the Asian Peanut Burger.

Bisapeno-Pepper Burger: The bolder bison burger smothered with pepper-jack cheese, fresh sliced jalapeños, caramelized onions, and roasted red peppers. Served on a grilled multi-grain bun smeared with fresh guacamole, topped with roasted red pepper vinaigrette.

Asian Peanut Burger: Homemade spicy peanut sauce, bib lettuce, fresh cilantro, roasted red peppers and fresh avocado together with our 100% grass fed beef burger topped with an over easy egg all on a grilled multi-grain bun.

Both burgers were amazing and we left (again with full bellies) thinking about how we could make our own version of the Asian Peanut Burger.  Everything about the burger was delicious!  We already had an awesome peanut sauce recipe... we decided to give it a shot!  For more info on how to make your very own Asian Peanut Burger check out our Asian Peanut Burger post!  You'll get all the yummy details about what makes this one of the best burgers you'll sink your teeth into!

Overall, our trip to the Duluth Grill was a HUGE success!  Not only was the food great, the views, company, and whole experience was one of a kind.  We'll definitely be making a return trip to the Duluth Grill in the future... either between hockey games or a special trip just for the experience!  We recommend checking it out if you're in the area! 

~ Melissa

Our Asian Peanut Burger

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

 There's just something about sitting down to a hot bowl of food that has been simmering away all day while you're busy with life.  Comfort food is something that everyone loves and it comes in all forms.  For me anything that cooks in a crock pot all day is comforting!  Fall is my favorite season and it's when some of those crock pot comfort foods are at their best!  I found this recipe last fall when I was gawking at all the delicious pics on foodgawker and was immediately excited to try it!  I made this one by myself but with my little brother in mind.  I was staying with him for the week while our parents were out of town and he always likes when I cook for him.  I was hoping this would be something that we'd both love!  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

 Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
source: adapted from Smells Like Home

 Ingredients:
For the Chicken:

• 9 whole boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you can use breasts if you prefer white meat)
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 whole jalapeno or serrano pepper, stem removed, pepper pierced several times with a sharp knife

For the Sauce:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 whole large onion, peeled and diced
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp Kosher salt
• 3 tbsp garam masala
• 1 piece fresh ginger, about 2-3 inches, peeled and grated or very finely minced
• 4 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2-3 tbsp heavy cream

For Serving:

• 4 cups cooked jasmine or basmati rice, hot
• cilantro for garnish

Instructions:

1. Cut the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces. Sprinkle the coriander, cumin and salt over the chicken, then stir in the yogurt until all the pieces are evenly coated.  Place the chicken in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker and put the jalapeno on top of the chicken.
2. To prepare the sauce, melt butter in a medium saute pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and salt, then stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to lightly brown around the edges.
3. Stir in the garam masala and ginger and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute) before adding the crushed tomatoes and sugar. Stir well, scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or until the chicken is very tender.
5. Pour heavy cream into the slow cooker and stir gently until the color is even. Replace the lid and let cook for 10 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.
6. Serve over hot rice topped with a generous amount of chopped cilantro.

 I added 1 or 2 minced serranos to the sauce to give it a little kick, I like my food spicy!
Another great addition is some warm Naan Bread to go with the meal.  It's great for dunking in the sauce or for making a little wrap with everything.  This recipe is delicious the same day but it gets even better after sitting a day!

Enjoy!

Melissa

Pumpkin Cheesecake French Toast

It's the time of year again... the leaves are changing colors, the air is cool and crisp and the produce of the season is ready for all sorts of fun treats!  A few years ago I found a recipe for Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake and I thought it sounded kind of good and interesting.  For thanksgiving that year I decided to try it out and see how my family liked it, turned out it was a huge hit in the Mondo household!  This got me thinking... why can't I make a stuffed french toast with something similar?

From that came a new and delicious creation!  Now... for the most part I try to make food that isn't just delicious but is also pretty healthy.  I have to admit... there's really not much healthy about this recipe but sometimes you just have to let loose and enjoy it.  Some things aren't meant to be healthy and my thought is... if you're going to do it, do it right!  So here it is... french bread stuff with pumpkin cream cheese and dipped in a creamy sweet batter.  Just writing that made my mouth water a little :)

The recipe is fairly simple to make but it takes some time to put it all together, it's nice to have a little help so grab a friend, family member, kid and enjoy each other and the relationship while you create a tasty little treat for everyone to enjoy!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese:   

• 5 oz cream cheese  (soft)
• 2 Tbsp raw cane sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon or a little more
• Dash of nutmeg... I just shake it a few times or if you're grating it probably like a 1/4 tsp or a little less
• Dash of allspice and clove, don't need a ton.
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree




You're going to want to pull out the cream cheese and leave it on the counter for a few hours before you make this or it will be too hard to mix!  In a mixing bowl mix together the cream cheese and the raw sugar until smooth.  Add all the spices, vanilla, and pumpkin puree and whip till it's all blended together and creamy.  The amounts of spices you put in is kind of up to you, you might love cinnamon... add a little more!  You can't really mess it up so taste it and add more of anything you like... make it your own!  When you have the mixture ready to go, grab a sandwich size or quart size ziploc bag and scoop the cream cheese into it (try to place it in a corner of the bag).  When you're ready to stuff the french bread you'll just have to snip a little corner off the bag and you have yourself a nice little tool for squirting the cream cheese into the bread!  (I apologize to all you bakers for not knowing the correct name for this tool... or having the real thing!)

To prepare the bread, slice it at an angle in about 1.5 inch slices.  From my experience french bread almost always has holes in it so you might want to buy a little extra just in case!  Take all the solid pieces and on the top (or bottom) cut a slit almost as long as the slice and work your knife inside to make a little pocket for the cream cheese.  It's easiest to prep all the bread and then stuff it all at once.

When you have all the bread ready to go take a slice and insert the baggie into the slit and squirt some cream cheese in there.  It doesn't have to be pretty and you'll probably over stuff the first few :) but try to just add enough to keep it inside the pocket.  You can probably get about a Tbsp of cream cheese into there.  Try to spread it out inside as you fill the pocket.  Repeat until you run out of cream cheese filling.  The mixture probably fills about 20-30 pieces depending on the size of the bread.



French Toast Batter

• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon




You're going to want to at least double this recipe.  Double should make a pretty good amount and you'll be able to make some regular french toast as well.  Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and blend until smooth.  A stick blender works great for this!

Ok you have your batter ready, the french toast is stuffed so now all you have to do is dip and cook!  Get your griddle to about 350 degrees, throw some butter on there if you want and you're ready to go.  Dip your pieces into the batter making sure to fully coat the entire piece, let the excess drip off before you throw it up on the griddle.  These are pretty thick pieces of french bread so it takes a little longer to cook them.  Be sure to cook them a little slower so the insides get hot and cooked through at the same rate as the outside.  You'll just have to experiment a little to figure out how hot it needs to be.

Top the finished french bread with a sprinkle of cinnamon and maple syrup and enjoy with a hot cup of fresh coffee!  Make sure you have plenty of friends and/or family to share the experience with.  Enjoy the relationships as you filly your tummies!

~Melissa