Easter Brunch Recipe: Honey-Roasted Apple and Brie Stuffed French Toast

Hello!  Before I get all distracted talking about Easter and stuffed French toast, let me introduce myself.  I’m Renée Kohlman - a chef and food blogger over at Sweetsugarbean.  My blog is about whatever I happen to be cooking in my little green kitchen - with a focus on local, whole foods, but butter, bacon and chocolate will happily make an appearance now and then.  Just over two years old, the blog has been an excellent creative outlet for me, gathering national attention as well when the National Post named me one of Canada’s Best Food Bloggers.  It was quite the honour!  When I’m not cooking in my kitchen I can be found out in my garden (when it’s not covered with snow, of course), admiring my tomatoes and smelling the sweetpeas.  Growing my own food has been a passion of mine and I cannot wait for the snow to melt so I can get out there and start digging in the dirt.  I believe strongly in knowing where your food comes from, and supporting local, independent food producers.  I was quite pleased when Ken asked me to write a few words for the March newsletter.  Saskmade Marketplace is a great store showcasing so many of this province’s talented food producers.  I mean, where else can you find Black Pansy Syrup, frozen sour cherries and dried morel mushrooms?  

Easter is my favourite holiday.  Being a chef - the Christmas season is too stressful and chaotic to really enjoy.  Easter is more my style - the snow is melting, the birds are singing and the earth is letting out a long sigh, preparing to begin again.  Easter is fresh starts and new beginnings and splashing around in rubber boots.  It’s about looking forward and being hopeful of the future.  And let’s be honest - having a little hope is not a bad thing.  That smell of damp earth and sunshine and wet grass - it gets me every time and I’m glad for it.  

Easter is also about the food - honey glazed hams and scalloped potatoes and devilled eggs as far as the eye can see.  Loaves of Easter bread are sliced and enjoyed with big sweeps of butter.

Brunch always holds a special place in my heart (and belly) so that’s how we celebrate the Easter feast.  It can be savoury -  a ham and brie tart with tomatoes and thyme or breakfast tacos with avocado salsa or sweet - strawberry, rhubarb and mascarpone crepes or my new favourite brunch item:  honey-roasted apple and brie stuffed French toast.  I used a lovely loaf from Earthbound Bakery and some cinnamon honey from Tu-Bees.  The whole thing was slathered in Saskatchewan Birch Syrup by Prairie Infusions and it was glorious.  Sharon, from Herschel Hills makes a fine Camembert, so if you want to use that instead of brie, it would be an excellent substitution.  However you feast, I hope it’s a fine one.  

I’ll be having some other tasty brunch items for sampling on March 23rd at Saskmade, so do come in and say hello - I’d love to meet you!  

Honey-Roasted Apple and Brie Stuffed French Toast

2 Gala apples, cored and sliced

1 heaping tbsp butter

1 heaping tbsp TU-BEES cinnamon honey

pinch of salt

4 slices good French bread

2 eggs

¼ cup milk or cream

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp butter

6 slices of Brie (or Camembert)

¼ cup toasted walnuts or pecans

Birch Syrup, to serve (but Maple will do, too)

Combine the apples, butter, honey and salt in small roasting dish.  Roast in a preheated 400*F oven for about 30 minutes until golden and soft - stirring every 10 minutes.  You want the juices reduced.  When done, set aside.  

Whisk the eggs, cream, sugar and vanilla in large bowl.  Dip the bread, making sure thoroughly soaked.  Over medium high heat melt 1 tbsp butter in skillet and fry two pieces of bread at a time.  When one side is golden, flip over continue cooking until that side is golden as well.  Place 3 pieces of brie, half the apples and walnuts on one slice.  Top with the other piece of bread - it’s like you are making a French toast sandwich!  Reduce heat and flip over once more.  Cook until the brie is melted.  Slide off to a baking dish and keep warm in low oven while you repeat with the rest of the ingredients.  Serve warm with Birch syrup and more butter, if you like.  Serves 2.  

[Feb'13] Sunday Dinner with Chef Simon

SaskMade Marketplace would like to welcome the esteemed Chef Simon of Simon's Fine Foods in Saskatoon for a new post series here on our blog. Sunday dinners have become a rare and treasured time for families to make time for each other, make meals to remember, and make memories to last a lifetime. Chef Simon will be bringing you inspiration and instruction for your own Sunday meal, using local Saskatchewan ingredients and European inspiration.

Valentines is over and I’m finally caught up so for this months blog I’m going to keep it as simple as possible and do one of my favourite desserts a crumble (crisp). This one is also going to be free of gluten and has a secret ingredient to make the topping.

Now the key to me is getting a tart fruit base with a reasonably sweet crunchy topping so this is a Granny Smith apple and blueberry fruit base and for the top it’s a wheat free oat, brown sugar, butter and… chick pea flour - that’s right chick pea flour!

As I type this I’m actually eating the subject and its perfectly balanced, sour, sweet, crunchy, hot… wow!

Here’s the recipe which makes about 4 portions.

Ingredients:

• 450g wheat-free oats
• 225g chick pea flour
• 3 tbsp apple cider
• 125g diced butter
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 4 Granny Smith apples
• 175g wild blueberries

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 325f
• In an ovenproof dish add the blueberries, peel and quarter the apples and remove the core, slice into the dish and mix.
• Pour over the apple cider
• In a bowl add the oats, chickpea flour, brown sugar and diced butter and blend with your fingers but keep some flecks of butter.
• Top the fruit with the crumble and ensure not to press down.
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the top is crisp, serve with a large ball of vanilla ice cream.

It’s a perfect dessert at anytime and quick to make.

[Jan '13] Sunday Dinner with Chef Simon

SaskMade Marketplace would like to welcome the esteemed Chef Simon of Simon's Fine Foods in Saskatoon for a new post series here on our blog. Sunday dinners have become a rare and treasured time for families to make time for each other, make meals to remember, and make memories to last a lifetime. Chef Simon will be bringing you inspiration and instruction for your own Sunday meal, using local Saskatchewan ingredients and European inspiration.

Pan fried herbed chicken breast, spicy salsa and porcini mushrooms

January 2013 and the start of another culinary year! This month I’m going to keep it simple, hearty and tasty.

Tomato sauce is a staple in most households but after a while they tend to taste the same, so instead of a tomato sauce I’m going to cook the chicken breasts in salsa! This will give the chicken a bright zippy flavour and a taste of fresh tomatoes, which is perfect for January in Saskatchewan. Herbs are another way of imparting lots of flavour. and eating fresh is no longer a challenge especially with Floating Gardens and their Hydroponics growing methods.

SaskMade shopping list:

• Rylee Green canola oil
• M&M Just Right Salsa
• Floating Gardens' fresh thyme, rosemary and tomatoes
• Prairie Infusions' dried porcini mushrooms
• Willow Creek golden flax seed

 

Ingredients:

• 2 large skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1 pack fresh thyme
• 1 pack fresh rosemary
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• ½ jar salsa
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ pack dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 2 cup cooked pasta of your choice

Directions

In this dish I made some fresh Gnocchi but you can use any pasta you have in the house.

Take the herbs and pull off the leaves chopping them well to release the oils and then place them over the chicken breasts with a glug of canola oil. Turn the chicken breasts over a number of times in the bowl so the herbs are evenly distributed, then season with salt and pepper. You can do this 4-6 hours ahead to allow the herbs to flavour the chicken thoroughly.

In a warmed sauté pan, sear the chicken breast for 1 minute on each side. Place into a casserole dish with the porcini mushrooms, chicken stock and the salsa, pop on the lid and into a pre-heated oven at 365F. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken breast is cooked through, if the sauce is too runny just pour into a saucepan and reduce to the desired consistency.

Cook your pasta and place in a bowl, slice the chicken breast and place over the pasta then pour the sauce over the top. o I sprinkled flax seeds over at the end to give a lovely nutty flavour as well as a boat load of Omega 3s!

The end result is a perfect comfort food for a cold Sunday night.

Sunday Dinner with Chef Simon [Dec'12]

SaskMade Marketplace would like to welcome the esteemed Chef Simon of Simon's Fine Foods in Saskatoon for a new post series here on our blog. Sunday dinners have become a rare and treasured time for families to make time for each other, make meals to remember, and make memories to last a lifetime. Chef Simon will be bringing you inspiration and instruction for your own Sunday meal, using local Saskatchewan ingredients and European inspiration.

Wild rice, lentil, bean, vegetable and goats cheese Pasty

This month’s blog is about what we chefs in the UK used to call “Cornish Pasty” until July 2011 when it received Protected Geographical Indication by the European Commission, which means I have to describe it as above.

Here are a few other names it’s known by: Cornish pasty, pastie, British pasty, oggie, oggy, teddy oggie, tiddy oggin to name a few.

There’s an amazing amount of history behind this simple pastry, and some of the more fun aspects include the reasoning behind the design - specifically the crimping. It was designed to allow the Cornish tin miners to take a meal down the mine, hold on to the pasty by the crimped section, eat the pasty and throw away the piece they held - now covered in dirt. Now that’s some clever food design right there! Some pasties even had savoury at one end and sweet at the other.

 Christmas is fast approaching and food will be the main topic over the holidays so here’s a great way to eat some healthy items in a perfect pastry package.

This recipe is vegetarian, but you can fill your pastry with anything, beef, lamb, chicken, and any flavour to boot.

Here’s the recipe for the pastry I used and I’ll add a gluten free recipe too. The filling can be prepared the day before to speed up the process.

[ Pastry ]

Ingredients  

Gluten free pastry dough

• 2 cups brown rice flour 
• 1 cup cornstarch 
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 3 tsp xanthan gum 
• 2 eggs 
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 8-10 Tablespoons cold water 
• 1 c water 
• 1 c butter 

Regular Pasty dough (makes 6-8 pastries) 

• 2 cups all purpose flour 
• 1 cup diced cold butter or lard 
• 2 pinches salt 
• 8-10 tbsp ice cold water 

Method

In a bowl add the flour, butter and salt and with your fingertips blend quickly until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the cold water and bring together to a dough, careful not to over work. Cling film (or plastic wrap) the ball of pastry and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest.

[ Filling ]

Ingredients   

•  4tbsp wild rice cooked and drained 
• 4tbsp pinto beans cooked and drained 
• 4tbsp lentils cooked and drained 
• 3 carrots chopped finely 
• 3 potatoes chopped finely 
• 4tbsp goats cheese 
• 1 small onion chopped finely 
• 3tsp dried garlic 
• 3tbsp chopped parsley 
• 1tsp fresh thyme picked 
• 1tsp fresh sage chopped 
• Salt and pepper 
• 3-4 tbsp tomato paste 
• 1 egg beaten 

Method

In a bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well. The veggies are uncooked in the mix and will cook in the pastry. Take out the pastry and divide into 8 pieces, roll out to the size of a tea plate (6-7 inch). Place a mound of rice mix on one half and test to see if the pastry will close.

Brush the outside with beaten egg and fold over the pastry, seal the edges well and place on a tray with parchment paper. Brush the pasty with beaten egg all over and pierce the top of the pasty to allow steam to vent. Bake at 400F for about 45 minutes. You can eat the pasty hot or cold.

These pasties are a perfect way to use up meats and veggies and will look amazing on a Boxing Day buffet.

Sunday Dinner with Chef Simon [Nov '12]

SaskMade Marketplace would like to welcome the esteemed Chef Simon of Simon's Fine Foods in Saskatoon for a new post series here on our blog. Sunday dinners have become a rare and treasured time for families to make time for each other, make meals to remember, and make memories to last a lifetime. Chef Simon will be bringing you inspiration and instruction for your own Sunday meal, using local Saskatchewan ingredients and European inspiration.

Pan fried Saskatchewan lamb, pickled carrot and black bean salad, mustard mayo, fingerling potatoes, Saskatoon berry syrup.

Serves 3 Ingredients

• 1 package lamb loin chops (roughly 6 chops)
• 1 bag fresh oregano
• 1 bag fresh mint
• ½ tsp dried garlic
• ½ bag fingerling potatoes
• ½ cup dried black beans
• 5 pickled carrots
• 4 tbsp Saskatoon berry syrup
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp grainy mustard

  Suppliers

• Floating Gardens Greenhouse
• M&M Garlic
• Living Soils Farm
• Willow Creek Organic Grain Co
• Prairie Berries
• West Bridgeford Meats Ltd.
• Rylee Green

Lamb History of Saskatchewan  I did a little digging and Sheep have been part of Saskatchewan’s economy for over 140 years with the first Sheep arriving on the Prairies in the 1800’s. There are around 70,000 ewes in the province producing 110,000 lambs each year but there is still room to double this production due to high demand. - CTV news, Saskatchewan Sheep development board

Great news for lamb lovers, SaskMade is soon to carry lamb too! I did my monthly run to SaskMade to look for ingredients for the November blog and as usual I look for the main ingredient and build the dish around it, Candace Ippolito one of the owners of SaskMade had mentioned earlier there was soon to be lamb and beef making its way onto the shelves and I grabbed a package of lamb chops which gave me a head start in my choice.

Prep Work This is a dish in which most of the stages can be prepared ahead of time.

• Marinate the lamb chops in the chopped mint, oregano, dried garlic and canola oil and place in the fridge for 24 hours.
• Boil the potatoes until tender and run under cold water until cold, then into the fridge.
• Making the salad ahead of time will actually improve the flavour, so boil the beans for 60-90 minutes until very tender, then under cold water to chill.
• Slice the carrots into bite size pieces and place in a bowl, add the drained beans, mayonnaise and mustard and mix well, place in the fridge till required.

Here’s my tip for lamb: if you’re purchasing rack or loin chops then cook the lamb pink! This is going to give you the most taste and the tenderest lamb you can eat.  

Let’s finish the dish...

• Remove the chops from the fridge about an hour before cooking to allow the meat to come up in temperature.
• Cut the fingerling potatoes length ways and sauté in canola oil and a knob of butter until golden, then season with salt and pepper and place to one side.
• In the same pan, add the chops and cook for 3-4 minutes each side on a medium heat. Take the Saskatoon berry syrup and drizzle generously around the lamb to give a sweet kick.
• Place the potatoes back in the same pan to warm up again and then plate as the photo.
• Add the pre-made salad to the plate and serve.
• This dish is so tasty and the combination of the flavours works extremely well with the minty lamb and the piquancy of the pickled carrots with the sweetness of the Saskatoon berry syrup!!

If you have bad memories and experiences eating lamb then a chop is one of the best ways to remedy this as the meat is mild, tender but rich which is perfect for adding lots of flavours to. The recipe allows two chops per person, but I would personally eat at least three.

So for a quick and easy Sunday dinner with lots of flavour try this at home and slam on the lamb!

Happy Cooking!
Chef Simon