It’s only Wednesday?! Here are a few links for your mouf that will help you get up and over the mid-week hump.

5 RABBIT INSPIRED DECONSTRUCTED LATIN-STYLE LOBSTER ROLL (theblueberrybison.com) – Yeah, that title is a mouthful, but after checking out this insanely creative dish (inspired by a craft brew from 5 Rabbit Cerveceria) you’ll wish your mouth was full. I mean the base of the dish has orange pork belly tortillas!
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PornBurger.me – Mat Ramsey’s site delivers exactly what you’d expect from something called “PornBurger,” glorious burger porn in the form of uniquely beautiful (and delicious) creations. Burgers include creative twists like the Sookie Monster (with a “bun” made from fried pimento cheese grits), a Game of Thrones inspired burger called The Kaleesi, and even a breakfast creation, the Wake-N-Bacon, which features a bun made from apple fritters, sharp cheddar cheese, caffeinated maple espresso syrup, and a bacon-wrapped burger patty. If you’re in the Washington, DC area, you can even score a chance to be served by Mat Ramsey himself, in his own kitchen, with his pop-up burger bar, Bar R.
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Mini Cherry Clafoutis with Chocolate Whipped Cream (climbinggriermountain.com) – Do you know what a clafoutis is? Until this week, I did not (and I probably would not have guessed that it was food). Lauren’s version of this french, flan-like baked dessert looks impressive and you can’t go wrong with fresh chocolate whipped cream! And let’s face it, it’s just fun to say “clafoutis” even though I’m pretty sure I’m not saying it correctly…
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Go Fork Yourself Podcast: Guy Fieri – If you haven’t already discovered the Go Fork Yourself podcast with Andrew Zimmern and Molly Mogren, you’re missing out on some great food talk. This particular episode was fascinating, as they interviewed the polarizing Guy Fieri. Guy gets a lot of hate for being a sell-out, catch-phrase injected cartoon character, but this interview addresses who the real Guy is and how he deals with all the antagonism. It was a quick interview and I actually wish they had time to delve deeper into the off-camera Guy a bit more, but it was sufficient enough give you his perspective and allow for some empathy for Mr. Fieri.
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Dizzy Pig BBQ Rubs – This is not a paid endorsement, I just really love this local spice rub company. And when I say “local” I mean their shop is literally less than a mile from our townhouse. It would be difficult for me to pick a favorite, as you can’t go wrong with any of the rubs, but I’ve been using the “Bayou-ish” to kick my sandwich up a notch (thanks, Emeril) and “Cow Lick” is a great deviled egg topper. Don’t just take my word for it.

Chef Barb’s B Sweet Hot Bread Pudding

It’s midnight, you’re wide awake and hungry. Possibly drunk, but there’s no way to confirm that…

For absolutely no reason, you start thinking about that trip to New Orleans that you took a few years ago. Normally gumbo is the primary focus of your memories, but this time you begin to fall into a paralyzed state where your only memory is of the bread pudding you had at one of the many great NOLA restaurants. Eggs, cream, butter, and an addictive Irish whiskey cream sauce turn already beautiful french bread into a dessert that could make a grown man squeal with joy.

Now you can’t sleep for fear of this bread pudding entering your dreams like a certain striped-shirt horror film character. There seems to be only one way out in order to fight this craving: YOU MUST EAT BREAD PUDDING.

You may or may not have all the ingredients to make the dish, but even if you do, it’s MIDNIGHT (and you might be drunk). Do you really want to spend all that time in the kitchen, in the middle of the night? WHICH, coincidentally, is the exact situation in which you’re most likely to be attacked by ninjas. So, you can either be killed by ancient warriors while trying to make bread pudding from scratch, or you can fall asleep and become trapped in a dreamworld, drowning in eggs and cream.

Luckily Chef Barb Batsiste has a third option for just this scenario. (You might know Chef Barb from her successful LA food truck and catering company. I’ve never eaten from the truck, but my sources in LA tell me it’s worth checking out.) Chef Barb’s B Sweet Hot Bread Pudding is a microwavable frozen bread pudding found in the freezer section of your local Target stores. Thanks to Chef Barb, you’re never more than six minutes away from this warm, rich dessert.

Of course this is a great idea in theory, but how good can frozen bread pudding be? Luckily, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to sample the goods. Flavors include Apple Pie, Glazed Donut, Cookies and Cream, and Fudge Brownie. Here’s what I thought of them, along with a few “grocery store hacks” to elevate this ready-to-eat treat:

Apple Pie with Caramel Drizzle

Aside from the fact that I’m a sucker for anything with “pie” in the name, there was nothing about the taste, texture, or appearance that would lead one to believe that this was ever frozen, let alone microwaved. What made this one stand out the most was the fact that the apples weren’t over-cooked mush that resembled apples–they were still al dente. Joining nine pints of random ice cream, the Apple Pie bread pudding will be a new staple for our freezer.

Grocery Store Hack: I haven’t tried this, yet…but I bet if you flatten any left-over bread pudding into patties, lightly coat in flour, and fry like pancakes it will taste awesome. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to complete the a la mode of your dreams. Yeah, that hack basically combines most of my favorite things (pancakes, bread pudding, and PIE), so I will probably be trying that soon… UPDATE: I finally got a chance to try this “bread pudding pancake” (check it out on Instagram) and I must say that it was fantastic (and I’m starting to realize that ALMOST ANYTHING can be made into a pancake or French toast). No, it will not win any “healthy eating” awards, but you’re not coming to this blog for tips on losing weight.

Glazed Donut with Icing Drizzle

If you love Krispy Kreme donuts and you have a sweet tooth, THIS is the bread pudding for you. Nearly as rich and decadent as my doughnut french toast, Chef Barb finds a way to make donuts even more fun. Although I love desserts, this one was a little sweet for my taste, but my Dad (who used to eat sugar out of the bag when he was a child) couldn’t get enough of it.

Grocery Store Hack: Add fresh berries to insert a touch of tartness to complement the sweet, rich deliciousness. I had a few blackberries lying around, so that’s what I used. A minimum “one berry per bite” rule typically applies in our house.

Cookies and Cream with Icing Drizzle

A quick confession… I generally don’t love cookies and cream things. Aside from an occasional milkshake, I won’t search out this flavor profile and I’m not a huge fan of Oreos (the original “cookie and cream”). BUT. I do like chocolate bread, which comprises half of the equation in this bread pudding. The icing drizzle ties it all together in a pleasantly sweet way. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll be scraping the sides for all the icing, as this bread pudding is probably the least sweet of the bunch (a good thing in my opinion).

Grocery Store Hack: I had some left-over Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to crush them up and sprinkle on top. The texture really helped sell the “cookie” part of the bread pudding.

Fudge Brownie with Chocolate Drizzle

The chocolate bread wasn’t overly rich and went well with the pockets of dark custard and chocolate sauce. It doesn’t beat out Apple Pie as my top choice, but it’s not really a fair fight, ’cause…well…PIE. If you’re prone to brownie cravings, keep this on hand for such emergencies (it might also work as a good diversion when being attacked by ninjas, but the container does not confirm this).

Grocery Store Hack: I like the way coffee enhances chocolate, so serving this “affogato” worked well. One hot scoop of bread pudding, splash of cold brewed coffee, all topped with melted vanilla ice cream. You won’t be adding a sprig of mint if it’s midnight, but you also won’t be taking pictures of your food.

So, now that your midnight bread pudding craving has been satisfied by B Sweet Hot Bread Pudding (ahem…found at local Target retail stores…ahem), you can worry about more important issues like climate change, the economy, or ninja attacks. Although, like I said, I’m pretty sure this bread pudding can help with the ninjas, too…

Legal blah blah blah: My fictional attorney, Bob Loblaw encourages me to mention that although I was provided samples of the product, I was not provided compensation for this review. All opinions expressed in this post are mine (with some strong influence from my wife).

Cooper's Corner, Recipes

Canine Sweet Potato Froyo

Remember the first time when two of your favorite foods were combined in a way that BLEW YOUR FREAKING MIND?

Bacon on a doughnut? Boom.
Fried egg on a burger? Boom.
Indian spiced pumpkin chicken enchiladas from Avatars in Sausalito, California. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM? (let me hear you say wayo)

Well, it’s only fair that my furry friend, Cooper, has that same experience. And yes, I realize that he’s a dog and probably has his mind blown every time I drop a potato chip on the floor, but let’s pretend for a second that his palate is sophisticated enough to appreciate the effort.

Essentially everything Cooper does is somehow tied to the hope that he will receive either a dried sweet potato or ice cream. If the freezer door is opened and a paper ice cream container hits the counter, he will wake from a solid REM sleep and sprint into the kitchen to stare at me until his bowl is filled with that sweet vanilla cream. And for the former, I never have to worry about him running away when he’s off-leash because a simple shout of “Sweet Potato” will bring him running away from even the coveted buffet of goose poop that is our backyard. (Unfortunately, if a burglar ever breaks into our house and he has one of those delicious treats, Cooper would likely help him carry out our television.)

So, with these two powers combined, I give you: Sweet Potato Froyo. Not super exciting, I know… But, it’s easy, cheaper than those over-priced “dog” ice cream cups, and your pup won’t know that it’s technically not ice cream.

I saw this recipe for Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats on the Two Barking Dogs blog and realized that making “ice cream” for dogs is as easy as freezing Greek yogurt.

You can taste it yourself if you want, but like the Peanut Butter PUPcakes, it doesn’t really taste all that great to us humans. Luckily your dog won’t care and he or she will love you forever into eternity.

If you’re wondering whether or not Cooper actually ate from the plate above, the answer is “no.” I did try, but he just couldn’t wrap his head around this weird “flat bowl” contraption and just walked away. Upon placing the froyo in a proper bowl, he devoured it so fast that he didn’t have time to realize that it wasn’t really ice cream.

CANINE SWEET POTATO FROYO

Makes 12 cupcake-sized treats

1 Cup Milk
1 15 oz can Sweet Potato Purée
2 cups Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your choice. I prefer glass for no particular reason at all.
Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners, fill each to the top with the froyo mixture, freeze, and enjoy.
Once fully frozen (about 3 hours), remove the froyo filled liners from the pan with a little warm water. Seal in a ziplock bag in your freezer for easy storage and quick access.*

*So here’s the thing about paper cupcake liners and frozen yogurt, they stick together. But, no worries. Just run the liners under warm water and they peel right off. Even if they didn’t, let’s be honest, your dog would eat them anyway.

Recipes

Coffee-Infused Doughnut French Toast

It was 6:30 A.M. on a Saturday when they started calling me.

The beckoning cries echoed from our kitchen, up the stairs and into our bedroom. Although I was sound asleep minutes ago, the haunting calls forced enough adrenaline into my veins to ensure that falling back asleep wouldn’t be an option.

The “they” in this situation was a few remaining Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Stale and past their peak by a few days, but far from moldy. They knew I had a choice to make on this Saturday morning – a choice that could potentially alter the course of breakfast for the weekend.

I could simply throw out the glazed rings of stale dough…OR…I could REVIVE them into one of the most delectable breakfast items known to man: Doughnut French Toast.

Before I had time to even consider my options, the decision was already made. Like a waking dream I looked down and saw that my mise en place was ready to go: Doughnuts, eggs, milk, butter, coffee, fresh oranges, and a hot griddle. This was it. I had a job to do. Clear eyes, empty stomach, can’t lose.

I covet this breakfast because the texture reminds me of crème brûlée. The outer doughnut glaze forms a sweet caramelized crust, which hides a gooey custard-ish doughnut flesh.

This isn’t the first time I’ve made French toast out of doughnuts, but it is the first time I’ve tried to elevate it a bit. I wanted to incorporate coffee flavor, but I don’t typically keep cold coffee on hand for serious emergencies like this. And adding hot coffee to the egg-milk mixture was sure to turn out poorly. I decided to blend whole coffee beans and milk to see if I could at least force some coffee flavor into the milk in a similar way that one might make homemade almond milk.

My original idea was to use my Aerobie Aeropress espresso maker to filter out the coffee grinds. Yes, that was the plan…

I love my Aeropress, but it turns out that milk is too thick to easily go through the paper filter. After almost breaking my beloved bong-shaped coffee maker and pulling a muscle, I ended up just using a standard strainer to filter out most of the coffee grinds. Sure some of the grinds broke through, but who doesn’t like a little texture? Yes, texture became the new plan.

Since the doughnuts come pre-sweetened with glaze, no additional syrup is necessary (unless you’re Leslie Knope). But there is one more thing I like to add: A squeeze of fresh orange juice.

So freaking simple. Does the orange really add that much? (Spoiler alert: Yes, it does.)

This is a sweet, rich dish. Not only does the orange juice complete a comforting “breakfast trifecta” of doughnuts, coffee, and orange juice, but it actually brings out the taste of coffee. Cool, huh? Oh, it also adds some much needed acid to the dish (I’ve always wanted to say that).

Despite the struggles with infusing milk with coffee, I was really happy with this dish. Which is good, because if I’m going to wake up at 6:30 A.M. on a Saturday, I damn well better be making something delicious.

Coffee-Infused Doughnut French Toast

6 Stale Glazed Doughnuts (Krispy Kreme works great)
1 Tablespoon Coffee Beans
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Orange
2 Extra Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Butter
Confectioner’s sugar (for garnish)

Blend milk and coffee beans in a blender until the beans are thoroughly ground and the milk has a light brown color from the beans. Use a separate cup to strain the coffee-milk twice. Most of the grounds shall be captured, but you do want a few to escape.
In a glass pan or shallow casserole dish, whisk the eggs until the yolk and whites have become one.
Stir the milk into the pan with the eggs.
Slice doughnuts in half, lengthwise and dip in the batter pan before frying in Step 5. You don’t need to let them sit for very long, as the un-glazed side will soak up the batter fairly quickly. (You can also use whole doughnuts, but you’ll need to let them sit a little longer to make sure it soaks up enough batter.)
Heat a griddle pan to medium heat (or around 300 degrees). Melt the butter on the pan, then fry up your doughnuts French toast style. It shouldn’t take more than 1-2 minutes per side. Keep an eye on them, as the glaze side will caramelize quickly and burn if you’re not careful. You want the sugar to brown and be a little bit crunchy, but not burnt.
Slice the orange into wedges, which can be used to squeeze juice onto the doughnut French toast. Since there is inherent sweetness from the glaze, no syrup necessary!

Get in my Mouf

Food Stories

Mouf Links

Chef Barb’s B Sweet Hot Bread Pudding

Canine Sweet Potato Froyo

Coffee-Infused Doughnut French Toast