Orange is in the air

I have been doing some fall decor lately nothing big, but just enough to get me in the fall mood, and while looking for inpiration I stumble upon some pretty pictures I wanted to share with you. Wheter looking for just some accents or redo a whole room, orange is the color to go. Enjoy

Waffle French toast

The best of both world ! This recipe comes from one of my favorite TV Chef  (close behind Jamie Oliver) Tyler Florence isn't he the handsomest!!!



Aaahhhh!!!!!

I love waffles. But I also looove french toast. The first time I heard of them (being french) I tried to translate the name of the dish and came up with something I've never heard of "tartine francaise" , then after reading the recipe I realised that it was "pain perdu" lost bread in France, It is called "lost bread" because it is a way to reclaim stale or "lost" bread. The hard bread is softened by dipping in a mixture of milk and eggs, and then fried. 

The concept of the waffle french toast is simple really, you take the french toast and bake it in the waffle iron, kind of messy but oh so good.

Start with you favorite brioche or egg bread (I like to use challah bread also)

Slice your bread in thick slices, and gently dredge the slices in the egg batter,

and place them on the waffle iron, how many you can cook at a  time depends on the size of your waffle iron.

Sprinkle with confectioner sugar, or your favorite syrup either maple syrup and fresh fruits like I did, or homemade fruit jam. Enjoy.

Recipe from Tyler Florence's book, Tyler Florence Family Meal

3 large eggs

1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

8 thick slices brioche loaf or other egg bread

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Chicken in a bag....brilliant!!

I came across these little packets while in France. And let me tell you it change my chicken cooking life!! Imagine cooking a chicken in a bag with the seasonings in it, no mess no clean up..now tell me who doesn't want that.

This is the packet containing the cooking bag and the seasoning.


 The little bag neatly folded,


And now unfolded,

put the chicken and seasoning, and shake, shake, shake...


Cook for 35 minutes and voila, the juiciest chicken ever!!!! And don't throw the juices, it make a perfect gravy.

 



Now I came back with only 4 bags thinking if I want more I will just ask my mom to send me some, so imagine my surprise when I found out that american grocerie stores carry something similar!!



They even have them for vegetables !





So ...what will you put in your bag ?? 

Happy Fall.....and a recipe.

Autumn is one of my favorite season!!!! And what's not to like, roasting the last marshmallows by the fire, snuggle on the sofa under the blanket with all the kids while listening to the rain outside, the changing color of the leaves is just breath taking, and of course the baking...




For me autumn also means apple season, and I've always loved baking with apples (since I can not eat them fresh because of my allergies!!). Today I want to share with you this cake recipe I made for the first time this week and took at a bunco game with my girlfriends and use those nice ladies as my guinea pigs (hmm I don't know if they'll  like that title) nevertheless the cake was a success and I had requests for the recipe, so here it  is ladies.

Mix together and 4 egg yolks (keep the whites for later in the recipe!!!!) until white and fluffy...

....

now the ingredient that makes the cake, add sofened cream cheese and blend well,

mix in the flour, ground almond and a dash of baking powder

Then to smooth out the batter, pour in some buttermilk...

and you'll obtain this silky batter,

But wait, don't forget about the whites from the yolks, beat them into stiff peaks,

and gently incorporate them to the batter

Peel and slice 2 mediums size apples

and push them into the  cake batter, which at this point is already been poured in the pan!!!!!

Bake for 35/40 minutes at 395 F, and there you have it, my cream cheese apple cake, so moist and delish...!! and not too sweet. Enjoy.

Ingredients :

4 eggs separed
3/4 cup sugar
7 oz of cream cheese
1 cup and 2 tablespoons of flour
3/4 cup of almond meal
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 cup of buttermilk

Grilled chicken with mustard/parsley and lemon

I am always on the hunt for new recipes for grilled chicken, and do you know how many recipes there is out there!!!!! it would take me 100 years to try them all, so when one is handed to me I just do a happy dance and run into my kitchen and try it (of course I thank the nice lady..). When in France my mom made this marinated chicken and I was sold, it is such an easy and tasty recipe you wouldn't believe!!

first you'll need chicken breasts that you'll butterfly or pound if you wnat, but I am too lazy to pound my chicken, besides when you're excited to try something you just want to do it as fast as you can!!! so butterfly it is...

Then have those ingredients ready, mustard, lemons, garlic, parsley and olive oil...simple!!

Squeeze the juice of 2 lemons and pour it in a shallow dish.

In goes 3 chopped garlic cloves

2 tablespoons of good mustard, and when I say tablespoons I mean a real tbsp, don't be shy!!

add the parsley and olive oil

Coat both sides of the chicken with that "elixir" and let it marinate at least 1 hour before you're ready to cook them

Grill the chicken in a pan with some of the marinate or on the BBQ, but I like it in the pan, because......

...I like to saute my veggies in all those yummy juices and brown bites, Mmmmm....

especially after harvesting 4 pounds of green beans in my garden





Ingredients

For 5 chicken breasts

Juice of 2 medium size lemons

2 tbsp of mustard

1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley

3/4 cup of olive oil

Where have I been..!!!!

Helloooo everybody, well it's been a while (again). Many times I meant to write and post on my blog but my computer has been attacked by viruses left and right and was going bonkers each time I was trying to download pictures for my recipes. And then summer came along and I was the one being attacked by 3 stinking cute viruses asking me to take them here and there, driving them to camp, playdates, and other outings that will not make me stay at home and hear the kids complain about been bored!!!!!!

And in august we had our big summer trip to France to see my family, and what a treat!! I was so happy to see them and delegate the kids to my parents!!! The kids and I had the chance to do some site seeing in Paris for a week, enjoy some time with my sister who lives there, then down south we went to stay at me parents house for the rest of our vacation. I came back with 4 suitcases full to the brim, with cooking books (I'll talk about that later), clothes, tons of goodies, and of course lots and lots of memories and pictures.







Now that I'm back on the blog wagon I can't wait to share new recipes with you!!!! Tata...