Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Biscuiterie familliale depuis 1905. St. Michel is a family owned bakery in Commercy France. In 1755 a young French girl named “Madeleine” created a recipe for a sumptuous little cake. These legendary cakes so inspired Marcel Proust that he dedicated pages to describe his experience of first biting into them in his novel, Remembrance Of Things Past. The little cakes became so popular that the recipe has been a closely guarded family secret to this day.

They are irresistible and addictive, redolent of citrus and sweet butter. Dunked in tea or coffee or vin santo. Dunked into honey. Or simply on their own.

Or as French Toast! I just thought it would be delicious, and it was! I used a serrated knife and carefully sliced each one lengthwise into three equal pieces, then soaked them for a couple of minutes in an egg bath, then gently sauteed them in sweet butter until they were golden brown. Then I plated them, drizzled all with Maple Syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar. The resulting warm miniature French Toasts had intensified their citrus taste during cooking, which was a surprise, and which tasted absolutely etherial with the toppings.

I like to wake up early, while the house is really, really quiet and have a little “me” time.  Generally, I make myself a cup of tea, read the NY Times and the LA Times food and life style section (on line), read my emails and check out my favorite blogs.  I love that 1 hour in the a.m. right before all the turmoil and chatter begins.

Yesterday, I was reading Sprinkle Bites and she had posted a recipe for French Toast Muffins.  Before I had finished reading the post, I was on my way into the kitchen to make these for the family for breakfast.  I love, love, love one bowl recipes.  To not have to drag out my mixer and all its parts is truly a wonderful thing.  This is one of those recipes.  Easy, quick, pantry ingredients and scrumptious.

Am I the only weirdo who wakes up and immediately starts thinking of granola? I mean there are so many drool worthy foods out there to wrap my brain around but I rise from slumber contemplating granola. Lame I know.

However, here's the thing, I do not like granola in a bowl with milk. After two or three spoonfuls I am so done with the all the chewing. My gosh, it's so much chewing. I don't have that kind of time in the morning. It's like twenty chews a bite right?

I need something I can eat while I'm waking up kids, making their breakfast and lunches for school, searching for lost shoes, homework papers and jackets. You know, all the things my kids should probably be doing for themselves, but hey I'm a masochist.

"I love recipes that don’t require mixers, beaters and lots of bowls. These squares really should be called Date Nut Brownies because of their soft and chewy texture. The combination of dates, nuts and brown sugar make them reminiscent of Sticky Toffee Pudding. These moist bars will make anyone a fan of dates which are one of the best natural sources of potassium."

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour (4.5 ounces)
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F and adjust rack to middle position. Lightly butter a 9x13 pan and set aside.

Beat butter, sugar, salt, soda, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs, scraping the bowl and mixing until well combined.

Beat in flour, dates, and nuts. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Using wet hands, press the dough and smooth batter into an even thin layer.

Bake the squares until golden brown, about 22 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Cut into 2” squares and dust squares with confectioners’ sugar.

– Recipe courtesy of Cook Like James