French Toast

Found at: https://addapinch.com/perfect-french-toast-recipe/ Ingredients 2 large eggs 1 cup milk, half and half, coconut milk, or almond milk pinch salt 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, honey or maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 8 slices sandwich bread butter Directions Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon in a flat-bottomed pie plate or baking dish. Place bread slices, one or two at a time, into the egg mixture and flip to make sure both sides of bread are well-coated. Melt butter in a large skillet or on a griddle. Place bread slices in skillet or on griddle and cook on medium heat until golden brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately or keep warm in oven until ready to serve, but no longer than about 30 minutes. Notes You are simply dipping your bread slices into the egg mixture. If you leave your bread in the mixture for an extended amount of time, it will absorb more liquid and take longer to cook through. OR this Checf John recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/237140/chef-johns-french-toast/ Ingredients 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1 pinch salt 6 (1 inch thick) slices French bread 1 tablespoon butter, or as needed Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a large bowl. Place bread slices in egg mixture and soak, turning to coat, until bread is completely saturated. Melt butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, cook bread in hot butter until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer toasted bread to a baking sheet. Bake toast in the oven until outside is crisp and slightly puffed, 12 to 15 minutes.

Shortbread Cookies

2 cups butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 cups all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla; add flour and mix well. Put through cookie press and form cookies onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. from Allrecipes.com

From Alton Brown: Ingredients 3 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon milk Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough Directions Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Royal Icing

from Alton Brown: 

Ingredients 

3 ounces pasteurized egg whites 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

4 cups confectioners' sugar 

 Directions 

 In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy duty storage bag and pipe as desired. If using storage bag, clip corner. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days. ****Consumption of raw or undercooked eggs, shellfish and meat may increase the risk of foodborne illness.

From NY TIMES Cooking:

• 3 ¾ cups/1 pound/454 grams confectioners’ sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
•  Pinch kosher salt
•  Food coloring, as needed

Chickpea Meatballs

Sourced from: https://www.karissasvegankitchen.com/vegan-chickpea-meatballs/ This recipe pairs well with a sauce that features very jarred minced garlic — the over the top garlic balances with eh subtle flavors of these meatballs. Also, pair with pasta made from vegetables, squash spirals or spaghetti squash. INGREDIENTS 2 cups chickpeas - reserve chickpea liquid if using canned 2.5 tablespoons ground flax seed 6 tablespoons water 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder 2 teaspoons onion powder 1 teaspoon dried parsley 1 teaspoon marjoram 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/4 teaspoon black pepper INSTRUCTIONS If you're using dried chickpeas, soak for 4 hours. Boil them until they are splitting, about 45 minutes to an hour. Skip to Step 2 if using canned chickpeas! Drain the chickpeas & pinch the skin off as many as you have the patience for. Blend chickpeas in a blender until broken down. Make your flax seed "eggs" - mix 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons of water. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Mix together the chickpeas and flax seed eggs. Mix in the remaining ingredients. If the mixture is too sticky, add more breadcrumbs half a tablespoon at a time. If too dry, add a little chickpea liquid or oil. You want a consistency that will be easy to roll into balls without sticking to your hands or cracking. Taste it - does it need something? Add more of your favorite seasonings if you want! The perk of veggie meatballs is that you can taste test before cooking! Form the chickpea mixture into meatballs and place onto a greased or parchment-lined baking dish. In a 450 degree oven, bake the chickpea meatballs for 20-25 minutes, turning over halfway through. They will be golden and crispy on the outside when done!

Marzipan

From the Spruce: https://www.thespruce.com/marzipan-521098 What You'll Need 1 lb. almond paste 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten How to Make It Coarsely chop up the almond paste with a knife until it is in small quarter-size chunks, and place the almond paste in the bowl of a large stand mixer. Add the powdered sugar to the mixing bowl and mix them together on low speed with the paddle attachment until the almond paste has broken down and everything has a fine, sandy texture. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the egg whites until everything comes together in a ball in the mixer. You may find that you do not need to add all of the egg whites. Once the marzipan has formed a ball, take it out of the mixer, dust a workstation with powdered sugar, and knead the marzipan until it is completely smooth and has a nice, pliable texture. You can use the marzipan immediately, or wrap it up for later use. To store it, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then place it in a zip-top plastic bag. Marzipan will keep for 3 months in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. Make sure to bring marzipan to room temperature before using it.

Almond Paste

What You'll Need 1.5 cups whole blanched almonds 1.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted 1 large egg white, lightly beaten, at room temperature Almonds Almonds are sold in various states of preparation: whole, sliced, or slivered, blanched or natural. It is easy to find whole almonds that have been skinned, but these are typically more expensive than “natural” almonds, so if cost is a consideration, you might want to skin them yourself. To skin whole almonds, drop them in boiling water and let them cook for 1 minutes, then drain the nuts and let them cool. Once they are cool enough to touch, pinch the nuts between your fingers and the nuts will slide out of the skin. To toast almonds, spread them in a single layer on a baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees until they are light brown and fragrant, about 5-10 minutes, depending on the amount of nuts. Check the nuts frequently and stir them to ensure even toasting. How to Make It Place the whole blanched almonds and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar in a large food processor (at least 7 cups in volume) fitted with a steel blade. Process the nuts and sugar until the nuts are very finely ground, stopping periodically to scrape the sides of the processor bowl. The sugar will help prevent the nuts from turning into almond butter, but still be careful about overprocessing. Once the almonds are very finely ground, add the rest of the powdered sugar and pulse until it is completely mixed into the ground almonds. Stop the processor and add the egg white and the almond extract, if using. Turn the processor back on and process the almond paste until it comes together in a clump in the food processor. If it seems very sticky, add a little more powdered sugar, a spoonful at a time, until it is smooth. You can use the almond paste at once or wrap it to use at a later date. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then store it in a zip-top bag. Wrapped this way, the almond paste can be kept for up to 3 months in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Make sure to bring the almond paste to room temperature before using it in recipes.