Easy Chocolate French Toast

This is an indulgent brunch or snack that's easy to whip up- all you need is three slices of bread, some chocolate spread, an egg, and ideally some sugar or sweetener as well!

The idea came from the Slimming Foodie though her recipe also uses peanut butter, which sounds very nice. I just wanted to quickly share what I made and send you back to her website for more detailed instructions and recipe.

Spread two slices of bread with chocolate spread and sandwich together with a third slice so you have three layers.

 

Beat an egg in a small bowl with a dash of vanilla essence and dip both sides of the sandwich so it is coated in egg.

 

Fry the sandwich on both sides for a couple of minutes, then sprinkle one side of the bread with sugar or sweetener, turn and fry for another minute. Sprinkle the other side, then turn and fry that side for a minute.

That’s literally all you need to do – you can cut the crusts off the bread or leave them on. You end up with a toasted sandwich that’s moist and slightly sweet on the outside, with a gooey chocolate middle – fun for an occasional treat!

Nigella Lawson's Croque Monsieur Bake

If you like a toasted cheese sandwich then you will love this croque monsieur bake by Nigella Lawson. It takes a bit more time but not much more effort and makes a great brunch or lunch. One advantage over toasted sandwiches is you don’t have to make them one or two at a time (limited by space in your grill or toasted sandwich maker) – you can make a large portion in an oven-proof dish. Nigella’s recipe says it serves 4-6 but I did this for two people one lunchtime recently.

 

The method is simple – spread your sliced bread with mustard if you like, or for those with more sensitive palates or who dislike mustard you could use butter or marg. Put some sliced cheese and ham into each sandwich – you could also be a bit more adventurous with your fillings if you like, but I stuck with ham and cheese.
 

 

Put the sandwiches into an oven-proof dish – don’t be afraid to really squish them in.

 

Beat eggs, salt and milk and pour over the sandwiches in the oven-proof dish. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight for the bread to get really moist.

 

 

When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200C, remove the clingfilm and sprinkle with grated cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes and serve.

 

You don’t get the same crispy effect as you would with a toasted sandwich – these have a texture more like French toast or ‘eggy bread’ – but the oozy cheesiness is lovely.

 

 

Goat's Cheese Monte Cristos

When I was at university, my friend Dan made the best late-night post-pub cheese toasties - I've had my own Breville sandwich toaster for several years (the same brand that my parents had when I was a kid, a long time ago) and there is definitely something comforting, if a little greasy, about a toasted cheese sandwich.

I usually add a slice of ham and maybe a smear of mustard to mine, but that's as fancy as it goes. I was looking through a recipe book I have reviewed before called Breakfast for Dinner looking for weekend lunch recipes and came across Monte Cristos - which are effectively cheese toasties but posher.

Apparently this particular recipe originated in the US - it uses turkey and goat's cheese, with hot red pepper jelly for sweetness and spice, though as I didn't have any and didn't want to make it from scratch, I used cranberry jelly instead. You don't need a dedicated sandwich toaster - you make this in a skillet or frying pan, brushing the bread with egg to make an almost eggy-bread texture.

To serve 4, you need:
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
8 slices bread
100g spreadable goat's cheese
1/4 cup hot red pepper jelly - I used cranberry jelly
8 slices roast turkey
2 tbsp. butter

Spread 2 tbsp. goat's cheese onto a slice of bread, then 1 tbsp. jelly. Top with a slice of turkey and another piece of bread to make a sandwich.

Whisk the eggs, milk and salt in a jug and brush over the top of the sandwich.

Melt the butter in the frying pan and place the sandwich in the pan, egg side down. Brush the other side of the sandwich with egg mixture. Cook for 3-4 minutes then turn and cook on the other side, then keep warm wrapped in foil while you repeat with the rest of the sandwiches.

Arbroath Toasties

In honour of Burns Night on January 25 I decided to make a Scottish recipe and came across this one for Arbroath toasties. Arbroath is a place in Scotland that is known for its smoked haddock and this recipe is basically haddock and cheese on toast. It's easy to make, a good source of omega 3 and tastes really good.

I used a recipe from a website called Rampant Scotland. I simply heated the fish in a pan of milk, added flour to thicken it and then added cheese and egg yolk. I'm not entirely sure why the recipe calls for the egg white to be whisked separately but I did that as well, and spread the mixture on toast and put it under the grill.

Eat and enjoy!

I'm sending this to the Food Year Linkup, hosted by Charlottes Lively Kitchen.

Proper Welsh Rarebit

At this time of year sometimes you want a meal that isn't Christmas leftovers and doesn't involve a lot of cooking, and cheese on toast hits just the spot. Proper Welsh rarebit has a bit more to it than just melting some cheddar on toast, and my fiancé really enjoyed it when I made it for lunch recently so I thought I would share the recipe here.

To serve two, you need:
225g grated cheese
1 tbsp. butter
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp English mustard powder
2 tsp plain flour
4 tbsp. milk

bread - either sliced bread toasted on one side, or some crusty bread rolls or a baguette split in half.

Melt the butter in a small pan, add the flour and mix to make a roux. Add the cheese, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder and stir until the cheese has melted.

Stir in the milk and you should have something resembling a thick paste.

Preheat the grill. Place the bread under the grill so the bottom starts to toast.

Remove from the grill and spread the cheese mixture on the other side.

Return to the grill and heat until the cheese is bubbling.

It's a good idea to place a baking tray lined with foil under the bread as I found mine got quite messy from melted cheese!

French Toast Stuffed with Cream Cheese and Caramelised Pecans

Breakfasts in American hotels are always awesome (even in cheaper chain hotels which all seem to have waffle makers!) and the River Inn of Harbor Town in Memphis was no different. We stayed there for three nights and had some great breakfasts, many of which involved maple syrup. Instead of giving us a jug, we had miniature bottles which were so cute I couldn’t resist keeping one that I didn’t use as a souvenir, to use in cooking at home.

I’d had a brioche loaf in the freezer after not using it when I had friends staying so decided this was the perfect thing to use to make French toast. I wanted to make it a bit more interesting and remembered one hotel I’d stayed in gave us French toast that was stuffed with cheese and came – I think – with caramelised pecans. It turned out to be very easy to make, and delicious when served with crispy bacon!

 

You need:

2-4 slices brioche loaf per person

Handful of pecans

50g butter

50g caster sugar plus 1 tbsp

1 egg

Dash of milk

Dash of vanilla flavouring

Fry light or oil for frying

About 100g cream cheese

Bacon to serve on the side

Maple syrup to drizzle over the top

 

 

First make the candied pecans – place 50g butter and 50g sugar in a small pan and heat until the sugar has melted. Add the nuts and stir around to coat.

 

Cut the brioche loaf into thick slices and use a sharp knife to make a pocket in each slice as best you can. Fill with some cream cheese.

 

Mix a beaten egg with a dash of milk, 1 tbsp sugar and a splash of vanilla and dip each slice of bread into it.

Place in a hot, lightly oiled frying pan – I did these in two batches or you could use two pans, as the bread needs to sit flat. Turn once or twice until browned.

 

Meanwhile fry the bacon, in this case the crispier the better.

 

Serve the stuffed French toast with the pecans scattered over the top and the bacon on the side, and pour over the maple syrup. A very indulgent but enjoyable breakfast or brunch!

I'm sharing this with Alphabakes, the blog challenge I co-host with Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker, as the letter this month is M - in this recipe, M is for maple syrup.

I'm also sending this to the Club Sandwich, a new blog challenge hosted by the Crafty Larder and Cakeyboi.

Finally also to Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen as the theme is eggy breads, puddings and pastries.

The Ultimate Cheese Toastie Wrapped in Bacon

 

 

I saw this on Facebook ages ago and kept wanting to make it so one day decided we would have it for lunch at the weekend. This was before I got engaged and decided I needed to start a pre-wedding diet of course!

 

It’s very easy to make but very effective as my fiancé thought I was making him a bacon sandwich. Slice some cheese very thinly and place between two slices of bread.

 

 

Take some bacon – the streaky kind works best as you get long thin pieces. Wrap these around the sandwich so it is completely encased in bacon.

 

 

 

You don’t need much oil at all in the frying pan as the bacon releases plenty of grease itself but I sprayed the pan with a little Fry Light just to get it started (I definitely wouldn’t add liquid oil!). Heat the pan and place the sandwich in; cook on both sides until the bacon is done.

 

 

When you cut into the sandwich you will see the cheese has melted – it was awesome! I recommend having half a sandwich with some salad….

 

 

Tuna Melt Bagel

When I'm at a loss for what to have for lunch and don't want to cook, but don't just want a sandwich,  this is my go-to lunch: a tuna melt bagel. It only needs three or four ingredients and a quick 15 minute blast in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 175C. To serve one, take a bagel and slice in half. Mix a tin of tuna with some salad cream or mayonnaise to taste, and spread on one half of the bagel. Spread cream cheese on the other side - I usually use two Laughing Cow light triangles but you could use any kind.

Sandwich the bagel together and wrap in foil. Place in the pre-heated oven for 15 mins.

Carefully unwrap, and enjoy. You probably need to eat this with a knife and fork rather than with your fingers - the cheese melts nicely (I think using the cheese spread is less overpowering than grated Cheddar) and the bagel softens but crisps a little on top. It's really good!

Posh Cheese on Toast

 

 Cheese on toast is a quick and easy snack but sometimes seems a little bit plain. I found a recipe online which inspired what I am calling 'posh' cheese on toast.

To serve one person as a substantial lunch, you need two pieces of bread; pop them in the toaster just before the cheese mixture is ready.

Thinly slice half a leek and sweat it in some butter.

Add 1 tbsp plain flour and stir in then pour in about 150ml milk and stir until blended. Bring to the boil then simmer until the mixture has started to thicken. Add a handful of grated cheddar and half a teaspoon of English mustard powder.

When the mixture has thickened, add a few lumps of soft goat's cheese and stir in until melted.

Pile the cheese mixture onto the toast and serve.

I really liked the texture of having almost a very thick sauce on my toast and the taste was excellent.

I'm sending this to Chris at Cooking Around the World who has an innovative blog challenge based on the World Cup. England are playing tonight - literally right now, I've got one eye on the TV and one eye on my laptop (OK, I'm not much of a football fan)! I guess this recipe is arguably more of a Welsh rarebit but it uses English mustard and to me, cheese on toast reminds me very much of my childhood in Wiltshire.

I'm also sending this to Eat Your Greens, a new blog challenge hosted by Shaheen at Allotment2Kitchen. This month you can send in anything using a green veg.

Extra Veg, hosted by Michelle at Utterly Scrummy and Helen at Fuss Free Flavours, is a good challenge for me to enter with this cheese on toast as well, as it sneaks in a portion of veg which you barely notice, it's so yummy!