Some basics?? French Toast and cornbread?

[perpetual]

My mother's the great cook so I'm just trying to learn the basics. She cooks by pinch and feel, no recipe.

I just learned what a difference lemon juice makes to tuna salad so I thought I'd seek out some more easy but effective tricks if I could.

Two that I'd like to improve on are French Toast, mine is always dry and cardboardy. (I do add sugar to the egg mix)

and

Cornbread, which I'm just making from the albers box and still can't get right. It's always dry and crumbly. I tried adding yogurt didn't help. Also using Olive oil instead of vegetable oil.

Also my chicken comes out dry would it be good to marinade in lemon juice? or something??? I dunno


I should also mention we all try to cut back on butters and other fats.

Thanks for any tips!!!

=)

 

[redkitty]

mmmm...french toast! I dont add sugar, but I do add some vanilla, cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg. And a splash of milk.

My Joy of Cooking bible says ... 2/3 cup whole milk, heavy cream or half n half, 4 large eggs, 2 tbsp sugar or maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt. That is for 6 slices of bread.

 

[mudbug]

try soaking your French toast longer before you start cooking it - you really have to let the egg/milk mix penetrate the bread and get it nice and soggy first. a little grated orange peel is very tasty in the batter.

sounds like you are overcooking both the cornbread and the chicken.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Ditto what Mudbug said.

For french toast the bread needs to soak until it gets soggy - otherwise your just putting an eggwash on dry bread.

Cornbread sounds "over baked" - don't know what the "albers" mix says - but one thing what will cause cornbread to over cook is not using the size of pan they list on the box. If the directions are for 6-12 muffins and you pour the batter into a 10-12 inch cake pan or skillet- the batter will be thinner than in the muffin pans and will cook quicker. If I'm not making it from scratch I use Jiffy Corn Muffin mix ... I'll double the recipe for a 10-inch skillet, triple it for a 12-inch skillet - and use the time/temp on the box.

Again, if your chicken is dry it's overcooked - or could be your cooking method ... something that you didn't mention and could make a big difference in how to solve the problem. Marinating could help (although I wouldn't use straight lemon juice) and so could brining. Altering your cooking method may also do the trick.

 

[Phil]

Scratch corn bread is easy ....

First up, buy a #8 iron skillet and season it per instructions. Never scrub it. It's the greatest skillet on planet earth.
2 eggs, 1 c milk, 1/4 c corn oil (many recipes call for shornening, but we like the way the oil works) 1 1/2 cps. yellow corn meal, 1 c all purpose flour, 1/4 c sugar, 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder, 3/4 tsp. salt. All wet ingredients room temp., mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Oven at 450, grease your pan, pour mix in and bake 20-25 minutes ( or 12 greased muffin cups, 2/3 full, 15-20 min. or till a toothpick is clean after inserted in middle )
This cornbread rises four inches and is moist and delicious. I never use the packaged stuff cause I'm hooked on this recipe.

 

[perpetual]

Wonderful!! You all answered all of my questions. I'm going to make French toast ASAP!
Thanks

(and I'm replacing that albers recipe with the one suggested)

Thank you

 

[stargazer021]

Perpetual,

I use Texas Toast bread when I make french toast. It works great.

 

[perpetual]

That sounds really good!

 

[QSis]

Pepperidge Farm makes a Cinnamon Swirl bread that is wonderful as French Toast.

As far as cornbread is concerned, I've never been a fan of it, because it's ALL too dry and crumbly, no matter where in the country I've tried it.

I LOVE the spoonbread recipe that BarbarainNc posted! Give this one a whirl. http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f23/spoonbread-oh-my-goodness-17944.html?highlight=spoonbread

Lee

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

A wonderfully flavorful french toast recipe; Makes 4 slices.

Ingredients;
2 jumbo eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs. sugar or sweetener of choice (maple syrup is very good, as is honey)
1 dash ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
4 slices whole wheat bread
cooking spray.

Heat flat skilelt until water will instantly boil away when dripped on the surface. While the pan in heating, mix together all ingredients, except the bread and cooking spray in a large bowl. Soak each piece of bread in teh egg mixture until it is saturated, placing each onto the pan, which has been covered with the cooking spray. Cook over medium heat until the first side is lightly browned. Flip and cook for an additional two to three minutes. Serve immediately with your favorite topping.

To turn this into something very rich and special, after flipping the first two slices, place w American cheese slices onto each cooked side. Top with the cooked side of the other two slices and complete cooking as with a grilled cheese sandwich. Drizzle pure maple syrup over the top and serve. It sounds strange but tastes incredible.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Poutine]

Here is my Mom's recipe for French Toast:

FRENCH TOAST
3 eggs
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¾ cup milk
8-10 bread slices (thick cut French bread is best)
Icing sugar for sprinkling
Mix together eggs, salt and milk. Dunk bread in mixture. Fry on greased med hot pan. Brown both sides.

And my recipe for cornbread with yummy extras:
CHILI CORN BAKE
2 cups corn kernels
2 eggs
½ cup margarine
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup cornmeal
4 oz diced green chilies
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Put corn, eggs, marg into blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into med size bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Stir to mix. Turn into greased 8”x8” pan. Bake uncovered in 350F oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (about 50-60min). Best served hot.

 

[bjcotton]

Cornbread is a much fought over concoction. Those of the Northern persuasion insist on putting sugar in it, but then it becomes Johnny [Journey] Cake. Those of the Southron persuasion generally know that for perfect cornbread you must use cast iron. The basic flavor of the cornbread can be varied by the cornmeal/flour mixture and then you can mix most anything you can think of into the batter. My family is of the Southron persuasion for many generations and this recipe has pleased most all of them...there's always some dissension in the ranks


* Exported from MasterCook *
Crusty Skillet Corn Bread
Recipe By :Bill Cotton
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:10
Categories : Breads-Biscuits-Rolls
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 stick butter (better if you use bacon grease)
Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix all dry ingredients together. Stir eggs into buttermilk and add to dry mixture. Mix thoroughly. Melt butter inside heavy cast iron skillet. Make sure sides of skillet are coated with butter. Pour remaining butter into the batter and mix thoroughly.
Pour the cornbread batter into the hot skillet and bake at 375F until golden brown (25-30 minutes). Test with a toothpick. If toothpick comes out clean, cornbread is done.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


* Exported from MasterCook *
Skillet Cornbread
Recipe By :Bill Cotton
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:10
Categories : Breads-Biscuits-Rolls
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder (heaping Tbs)
1/4 cup oil (bacon grease preferably) -- divided
2 large eggs
1 cup milk or buttermilk (more or less) -- as desired

Preheat oven to 400F.
Place cast iron skillet on a medium to medium-high heat burner. Add half of the oil and insure both the bottom and sides are greased.
Mix together all dry ingredients. Add your eggs and stir. Add the milk a little at a time until you have a medium thick (able to pour it, but it doesn't run) batter. If desired, you may add chiles, corn, onions, cheese, etc. to the batter. A jalapeño chile, seeded, ribbed and chopped tastes especially good.
When the skillet is hot, place one drop of batter in the oil. If it sizzles, your skillet is ready. Pour the batter into the skillet and then place in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Slide cornbread from the skillet onto a plate and serve.

Now I'll go hide before the arguing commences

 

[mudbug]

Hiya billy! welcome back!

 

[auntdot]

Glad this thread was resurrected.

I won't touch the cornbread controversy. Am partial to the sweeter type, and usually follow James Beard's recipe.

Started cooking French toast when I was a kid (my parents let us cook pretty much what we wanted to. No we did not cook all the time but when we felt the urge, they let us go). So have no recipe, but Poutine's sounds about right.

Or just look on the web or at the Joy or any other cookbook.

The only gimmic I can add to French toast is to use an egg bread. Portuguese or Hawaiian bread (Portuguese nuns went to Hawaii so the product is the same. Why the nuns went there I don't know but their bread is great) or Challah (about the same) are fantastic.

Challah is a Jewish bread I believe and have found it more available in many places than the Portuguese version of egg bread.

It always fascinates me that so many similar disheds can be found in very different cultures. But that could be a topic for another thread.

For the egg breads, which are very porous, just dip them briefly in the egg mixture, or they will fall apart. And the bread should be in fairly thick slices.

But there is nothing better than French toast with Portuguese or Hawaiian or Jewish bread.

Enjoy.

 

[Constance]

I am from the southern part of north. I know how to make both kinds of cornbread, but I like mine sweet. My husband does the honors, and we use Jiffy Cornbread Mix.
He also makes the French Toast, from a guideline that Kadesma gave us. He uses Texas toast, and uses a little sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in the milk/egg mix. We've also made it with French bread, which I like best.
As for your chicken, I don't know how you're fixing it, but I always find the breast a bit dry, no matter how it's prepared. That's why I prefer the thigh.

 

[Katie H]

Some of my family is from the north - Minnesota/Canada - and others are from the south. I've learned to love both styles of cornbread and enjoy it depending on my mood. However, one thing I always insist on...cook it in a cast-iron skillet. Another thing I "must" have is melted bacon grease in the skillet before adding the cornbread batter. There's nothing like it. I keep a container of bacon grease in my freezer for cornbread and other bacon-flavored dishes.

 

[perpetual]

Mom's from the south and has an old heavy iron skillet so I'll use it.
bjcotton that crusty cornbread looks to die for.
She's made what she calls mexican corn bread with corn and chiles etc... before so I'm writing it all down.

Also, the French toast tasted Sooooo much better thank you!! (need to get vanilla though) and will try cornbread tonight.

Thanks so much everyone =)

 

[Aria]

Phil, Thanks. I copied your recipe of your Scratch Corn Bread. Sounds great. Will try soon. And I teach Commercial Graphic Arts. How did I know.
Thanks again.