Recipes #4, 5, and 6

It has been a busy couple of weeks and the quick bread recipes are pretty basic so I thought I'd lump a few of them into one post. I've been slow to turn out these recipes in part because 75% of my satisfaction in cooking lies in watching someone eat what I've baked. When these buttery, carb heavy recipes are presented, Andy's presence is required.

First, the scones. While the idea of scones always appeals to me, I'm usually left feeling disappointed; they're too hard, they're too dense, they're not sweet enough, there's not enough fruit... not the case with these crumbly, pastry-like, apricot scones. I'm reluctant to admit that we made eight and they were gone in less than 12 hours. I can already tell that all my fun in the kitchen is going to take its toll if I don't make up for it with more exercise.


Then there's the french toast. Oh. Sweet, Heaven. The best I've ever had, it practically melts in your mouth. The ratio of eggs to milk surprised me ( 6 eggs: 1 cup of milk), as did the absence of both vanilla and cinnamon. I did not miss either because they were that good. The recipe lends itself to personalization. A few splashes of bourbon or grand marnier, a dollop of whipped cream, some powdered sugar and strawberries, or a compote of bananas and walnuts, you could really make this your own.

I also want to add that Peterson does a superb job instructing on the temperature of the stove. He doesn't just bark "medium" or "high" heat, he offers concrete indicators that are helpful in troubleshooting, and make all the difference in recipes like french toast, and pancakes.


And tonight I made Crepes, delicious crepes. One of our favorite Richmond pastimes was to indulge in dessert crepes at Baker's Crust in Carytown. This recipe is amazingly simple with only three ingredients: flour, eggs, and milk. In spite of my assumption that crepes must be cooked in a crepe pan, my experience tells me this is completely unnecessary; I used a nonstick skillet and it worked just fine.

With heat on medium and a bowl of butter at my side I poured, flipped, and stacked over 25 golden crepes. Then I whipped my cream, making both a vanilla and chocolate version (which was insanely good, and put us both in a sugar coma) and cut up some strawberries and bananas. Then we mixed and matched until our stomachs hurt.

The result: a thin, rubbery, egg pancake great for dessert but equally suited for a more savory version.

I have 20 crepes left, nestled between wax paper, and stored in the freezer for another night.

That's right, I poured, flipped, and stacked crepes while breastfeeding ... if I can do it, you can do it!

As an aside, Roscoe has become quite interested in the food we eat. He eyes our plates intently, and tips his whole head back to follow our forks as we shovel the food in. He made a particularly cute spectator tonight!