Pain Perdu Perfection

Posted on April 2, 2013 by mg

My Favorite Breakfast Dish: bread, eggs, brandy and heavy cream? Yes! That is the core of one of my favorite breakfast dishes in NYC. Thank you Chef Marc Murphy for creating such an awesome take on Pain Perdu. In my days at Gourmet we used to call a picture like this “food porn.” Thankfully this is a momentary thrill that I can enjoy again and again. And I will! To taste, go to Landmarc Time Warner or Tribeca. If you want to make this dish at home, here’s the recipe…

PAIN PERDU (serves 4)

Ingredients

4 1-inch thick slices country bread  
1 quart heavy cream
 9 eggs 
1 cup vanilla sugar (split vanilla bean and bury in 1 cup sugar. Let sit room temperature two days.) 
1/2 cup brandy
 2 teaspoons kosher salt
 1/4 cup unsalted butter

Place bread in a large bowl and set aside.  

Mix cream, eggs, sugar, brandy and salt in a blender.. Pour over bread slices.

  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, turning once to ensure proper absorption.   

Preheat oven to 350º F. Heat large oven proof saute pan over medium-high heat and add butter. When foam subsides, put soaked bread in pan and cook on one side, 5 minutes. Turn and place in oven, 10 to 15 minutes, until cooked through and custardy in the middle.

The Season calls for Eggnog!

Posted on December 9, 2012 by mg

Check your Lipitor at the door and try these two eggnog recipes. Definitely adds spirit to the holidays.

Easy – very easy: This straightforward and delicious recipes comes from my dear friend and colleague Sara Moulton:

Ingredients

• 2 pint(s) premium-quality vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup(s) rum, cognac, or bourbon (add more to taste)
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

1. Place the ice cream in a large covered glass or stainless-steel bowl in the refrigerator to thaw.
2. Once thawed, stir in the rum or desired flavoring and nutmeg. Blend well. Serve cold.

More intensive: I love this recipe from epicurean colleague Alton Brown. So many layers of flavor!

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pint whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 ounces bourbon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 egg whites

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.

Cook’s Note: For cooked eggnog, follow procedure below.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.

I Don’t Always Drink Beer, But When I Do…

Posted on September 22, 2012 by dtavares

Who hasn’t seen the Dos Equis man commercials? The most interesting man in the… yeah yeah… we know. He’s all that and a bag of tortilla chips.

Or is he?

I’m all for a good glass of Dos Equis when the occasion presents itself, but I venture to guess that the most interesting man in the “world” is drinking something a little more… um… interesting.

Enter the Michelada.

It’s a man’s man’s beer. The kind daddies tell their three year-olds will put hair on their chest. And it might.

If you’re going to drink a beer and actually be interesting to the people sitting down the bar, order a Michelada! I think I see more conversations sparked at a bar over a red-looking beer than pretty much anything else. Barring the cotton candy mojito (Magic Mojito) at Bazaar, in L.A.

And ask for it with Negro Modelo. Dos Equis is for beginners!
So here’s my take on the Michelada, the “Michaelada.” Be warned, I like it hot!

MICHAELADA
1 bottle Negro Modelo
1 oz. freshly-squeezed lime juice
5 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
1.5 oz. Spicy Tomato Juice (I prefer Clamato or Blood Mary Mix)
6 dashes of Tabasco Sauce

Rim the edge of a pint glass with chile limón or smoked salt.
Fill the pint glass with ice cubes, squeeze in the lime juice, top with the tomato juice, Worcestershire, and Tabasco. Pour beer until it reaches the top.

Garnish with a lime wedge. Sip with a straw so you can continue mixing as you add remaining beer.