When the doooog bites. When the beeeee stings.
What is it called when a thing that defines a thing actually is that thing? Put another way, if I were to say that The Sound of Music is one of my favorite things, what would you call that? I mean, besides incredibly predictable.
I’m also loving:
- Slipping back into bed after an early morning run.
- My makeshift fireplace: lighting the fire pit outside and opening the curtains.
- Date night with a man who doesn’t mind watching Love Actually and enjoys a box of Ghiradelli double chocolate brownies more than I do.
- Strategizing a vacation packing plan. Five weeks out.
- A Harry Potter marathon.
- The fact that we can’t find anywhere to volunteer on Thanksgiving because every organization in need has filled their open positions.
- A glass of syrah and a bowl of Sevillano olives.
- The nostalgia of holiday tradition.
- And the waft of warm butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. Specifically, before noon. Specifically, during months November and December. And specifically, enjoyed while still in pajamas.
A tradition for your consideration:
CINNAMON, BLUEBERRY, BAKED FRENCH TOAST
Ingredients
1 loaf crusty sourdough or french bread
8 whole eggs
2 + 1/4 cups whole milk
¾ cups sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
Topping
½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoons salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
fresh blueberries (apples would also be fantastic here)
Preparation
Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.
Mix together eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and combine with the dry mixture until it resembles fine pebbles. I use clean hands for this. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove from fridge and layer the blueberries and then the crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firm, more cake-like texture.
Top each warm portion with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.
Have a great week!
Yule (b)Log
I love the yuletide season and for the past five years I’ve indulged by hosting a party to share it with friends. It’s become a tradition that I look forward to more each year. Along with my circle of close girlfriends, there always seems to be a special guest or two. Someone’s parents or friends visiting from out of town. There are a few recurring themes; some variety of sparkling cocktail, a new play on gift’ing and loads of butter in many fattening and fabulous forms. This year managed to deliver on all three rituals. Most fun was the manifestation of the butter in my first attempt at a Buche de Noel.
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