Orange & Cinnamon French Toast

Let's talk breakfast. It's kind of my favorite meal. Y'know, besides dessert. That counts as a meal right? (I mean it should the way I do it.) I gravitate toward the sweet things personally: pancakes, waffles, French toast.

And no matter how many fancy-schmancy ways I make French toast, I still like my mom's the best. White bread, simple egg/milk mixture, and syrup. But if I can't have my mama's, this one will surely do in a pinch. It's got a nice tang from super-good buttermilk and orange zest and a hint of warmth from a sprinkling of cinnamon.

I used: semolina bread, cinnamon, orange zest, eggs, buttermilk, and salted butter. 

You need a nice shallow dish that will hold the bread. Pour in the milk and crack the eggs in.

A fork works for breaking up the yolk and incorporating the eggs into the buttermilk.

Cinnamon and orange zest add extra flavor.

I chose this semolina bread partly because I had it on hand and partly because it was a nice bread for French toast. Even though it was sliced on the thinner side, a little staleness made it sturdy enough for soaking.

I let it sit a few minutes on each side. French toast is commonly made with thick slices of challah or other sturdy bread that are probably a little stale. Because fresh bread will fall apart in the liquid mixture. So really, French toast is economical. Also, I definitely had enough liquid left to do another slice, so I made another slice. Because that's how I roll.

I melted a little butter in a cast iron skillet. You could use another sort of non-stick skillet, but you want to make sure your toast pieces will fit.

Getting the heat right can be tricky. You want it warm enough to, y'know, cook the toast, but not so hot that it just cooks the outside and leaves the inside soggy. My preference is to start it on medium-low to cook both sides through and then turn the heat up to medium to get a nice crust on the very outside.

Kind of like this. I like the crispiness the edges get and the little caramelized spots on the bread.

And can we just agree to use real maple syrup? Like the for real for real stuff. Because this is kind of why syrup exists.

Oh who am I kidding, this is why syrup exists.

Orange & Cinnamon French Toast (serves 1 very hungry lady or maybe 2 sensible people)

2 large eggs

1/2 c buttermilk

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp orange zest

2-3 slices of sturdy bread (staler is better in this case)

Salted butter, for sautéing

Maple syrup, for serving

• Whisk together eggs and buttermilk in a shallow dish. Add cinnamon and orange zest and stir to combine.
• Lay the pieces of bread in the liquid mixtures. Let them soak 3-5 minutes on each side. While bread soaks, heat a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat. Add a hunk of butter and let it melt. 
• Gently place soaked bread pieces in the warm skillet. Let cook until lightly browned on one side and flip. Let cook until lightly brown on the other side and increase heat to medium. Let the toast crisp around the edges and develop darker brown spots and flip. Crisp the other side and remove from skillet.
• If you're making a big batch of French toast, I advise heating your oven to 300º and turning it off. Place cooked French toast on a plate and set in the oven to keep warm.
• Serve French toast with extra butter and syrup. And bacon. Or bacon substitute if you don't partake in the pig.

Orange-Scented Honey Butter Popcorn

You know one of the best benefits of working from home? You can wear your pajama pants all day if you choose. I don't often go this route because I'm trying to maintain some semblance of humanity. But y'know there are days where even leggings are too much.

And then there are days when plain buttered popcorn is simply not enough. You know I love to play around with my popcorn-- cinnamon toast, a trifecta of tropical flavors, and an herby mix have all made appearances. 

I grew up eating honey butter with my hushpuppies but never thought to put it on my popcorn. And let us not forget that in the midst of a dreary winter there is vibrancy to be found in citrus. It's the perfect lunch snack.

You'll need: butter, honey, an orange, popcorn kernels, salt, and vegetable oil (not pictured).

Toss the kernels with oil and a touch of salt in a medium saucepan. You need it to be big enough to accomodate the popped corn. 

When the first kernels begin popping, slap the lid over the pot and start moving it over the burner. Keep it moving until the sound slows to a few seconds between pops.

Okay real talk. I should've just melted the butter into the honey. It would've been easier.

Because they're kind of hard to stir together. You might lose butter and that's just not cool.

Toss the popcorn with the honey butter in a large bowl. Trust me on this. I've tried too-small bowls before and it just ends in frustration and poorly coated corn.

Grate a little orange peel in there with a zester and toss to coat evenly. Honestly, just a teaspoon will do.  Oh and add a little more salt.

The bright, fragrant scent of orange and floral honey are grounded by rich, salty butter. Don't let the small serving bowl fool you-- I ate the whole thing.

Orange-Scented Honey Butter Popcorn (makes about 5 cups)

2 tsp vegetable oil

1/4 c popcorn kernels

Salt to taste

2 tbs salted butter

2 tbs honey

1 tsp orange zest

• In a medium saucepan with a lid, toss the oil, kernels, and a pinch of salt together. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. When the first couple of kernels pop, cover the pan with the lid and slide the pan back and forth over the burner
• When popping slows to a 3-4 seconds between sounds, take the popcorn off the heat. Pour it into a large bowl.
• Melt the butter into the honey and pour over the popped corn. Toss with a little more salt and the orange zest. Serve right away.

Cinnamon-Orange Shortbread Cookies

I think there's nothing my family loves more than a shortbread cookie. We've always had pecan sandies laying around like other families might keep Lay's potato chips or Oreos. But you know me, why buy what you can make?

These shortbread cookies are gussied up with cinnamon sugar and orange zest. Which happens to go perfectly with Russian tea. Please tell me you know what Russian tea is. It's really not tea or Russian, but it's so perfectly my childhood.

A few simple ingredients make these cookies. Powdered sugar, flour, cinnamon sugar, butter, more cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and orange zest.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, spices, and orange zest in a medium bowl.

A little whisking does the trick.

Now what you should probably do here is cream the butter first and gradually add the sugar. Or you can be like me and forget what the instructions actually say and do it all at once.

Life goes on and it all gets creamy.

Gradually add in your flour mixture.

Stop mixing just when a dough forms.

Divide the dough into two 1/4" disks on a sheet of wax paper. Cover with another sheet of wax paper and chill 30 minutes to an hour. Or y'know 10 minutes in the freezer because I can't read instructions and I'm occasionally impatient.

Make your life easy and roll out the dough between the two sheets of wax paper.

Your life will not be as easy if you use this snowflake cookie cutter. A tree is wayyy easier to use. Less tight spaces.

Lay the cut-out cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle the cookies with cinnamon sugar before baking.

You end up with seasonally-appropriate, fragrant cookies.

It's like my childhood Christmas met my adult Christmas and they're way cool with each other.

Cinnamon-Orange Shortbread Cookies (makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies, depending on size)

Adapted slightly from Southern Living

1 c + 2 tbs all-purpose flour

1 tbs orange zest

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1/2 c unsalted butter

1/4 c + 2 tbs powdered sugar

Cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling (1/2 tbs sugar + 1/4 tsp cinnamon)

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to distribute evenly.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix just until a dough forms. 
• Turn the dough out onto a sheet of wax paper. Divide in half and form two 1/4-inch disks. Cover with another sheet of wax paper and chill 30 minutes to an hour.
• Preheat your oven to 350º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out disks between the two sheets of wax paper. Cut out shapes with 3-inch cookie cutters or simply cut into rounds. Set each cookie about 1.5 inches apart on the baking sheet. 
• Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake 11-13 minutes or until just golden brown around the edges. Cool fully on a wire rack.

Glazed Orange Pull-apart Bread

Mercy me, I'm finally over whatever pestilence was lingering around my person, and the sun is out again.  Is there a better time to introduce a recipe inspired by something I loathed as a child?

A Funny Thing Happened Last Night

Ohh mah goodness, y'all.  Our tree completely toppled over at 3am last night.  I was dead asleep until I heard a thud and the sound of glass breaking.  It scared the bejesus out of me.  At first I'd thought my mom had fallen in her bathroom, so when I saw the tree lying prostrate I was a little relieved.  We lost a few ornaments in the fall but we've seen worse damage.  I think this little ornament sums everything up perfectly:

Hah!  Do you know the Maxine cartoons?  It's the dog from those.  I made a joke that he didn't look like that until the "incident."  And then I proceeded to laugh hysterically because I had not enough sleep and thought I was waaaay hilarious.

On a completely unrelated note, check this business out:

"What is that freaky looking object in the produce section?" you ask.  It's a Buddha's hand.  I Googled it after I saw what it was called.  It's in the citron family, and we Westerners commonly use the zest.  There's really not much to the flesh or pulp, but the pith is far less bitter than other citrus fruits; so you can use more of it.  Other peoples use it to perfume things.  I did smell it, and it had a lovely fragrance. You can also candy it.  Cray-cray.