Savory & Spicy French Toast

Around 5:30/6:00pm everyday I am reminded that I'm now an adult.  This revelation comes from the fact that I (not my mom) have to answer the question, "what's for dinner?" Last night I perused the web for an idea of what to make. I like to try new things as much as make things I've made a million times. This recipe for savory french toast seemed like a good mix of the two.

Chris loves breakfast for dinner so I thought I'd give it a try.  Note to self: when making french toast of any sort, make sure you have bread in the house. I'd like to give a special thanks to Chris for running out to get said bread last night to make this post possible. Thanks Chris!

I used the recipe I found on Food52.com (worth checking out if you haven't yet) as inspiration while improvising with the things I had on hand.  I served it with a salad for dinner. I think this is definitely a brunch worthy dish for the weekend as well so you have Saturday & Sunday coming at you why not give it a try? Check out my recipe after the jump.

Fusion Roasted Chicken & Kale

Since my post was, well, lack there of yesterday I'm dishing out an extra special one with a tasty dinner you can make at home!  I call this dish fusion roasted chicken & kale, mostly because I think it makes it sound more chi-chi but really it's more comfort food than anything.  Using some tasty hawaiian salt, garlic, honey, soy sauce & olive oil (read: a sauce that I stole from my sister-in-law, Dulcie) this speaks fusion-eese to me. 

Read on for my pics & the full recipe!

Disclaimer: Dulcie, I hope I didn't butcher what I remember to be in your sauce recipe too much :) xo

Six Survivor Ingredients

My NYC girlfriends always tell me that they just don't shop for or have room for ingredients & don't know what to buy, so they just don't cook.  Well I've got my ingredient guide down to the only six items that you'll ever need to make a successful dish (whether it's chicken, a simple salad or a pasta dish).  If you keep these six ingredients on hand you can't go wrong & you'll always have something fresh & tasty to enjoy.

My six survivor ingredients & why:

1. lemon - you can use the zest to add real flavor to any dish. The zest is even more flavorful than its juice but use it's juice too to squeeze over fish or seafood for a little extra (well) juice!
2. sea salt - try looking for unbleached salt - you wouldn't drink a bottle of bleach so why would you want to cook with/eat bleach. Not me anyway. The sea salt in the photo above is pink because it's unbleached, oh & from Hawaii!
3. black pepper - if you do nothing else to a piece of chicken or even a fried egg, please season with salt & pepper, it'll make all the difference from a bland-please-pass-the-salt dish & mmmmmm this is really good.
4. fresh herbs - always make it look like you tried. Buy what's in season but also buy what you like. Fresh herbs add freshness & look pretty too.
5. fresh garlic - shy away from the jarred stuff & spend the extra time to chop up some fresh, sticky garlic the taste is much stronger (read: better).
6. extra virgin olive oil - you can cook it into tomato sauce, use in in a marinade or do about a million other things with it. It's the light kind of fat that will add flavor to you dish & doubles as a skin moisturizer!

oh & there's one extra secret ingredient that you must have on hand when you cook.  Read on to find out!

Fresh Herb & Fruit Chicken Salad

 

Chicken can get kind of monotonous so I'm always looking for new ways to make it.  I had some leftover grilled chicken in the fridge, so on a whim I chopped it up & added a bunch of fresh ingredients for a fresh & simple dinner.  How do you make your chicken without getting bored of it? Please share!

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups grilled chicken (cut into cubes)
• 1/2 english cucumber (cut into cubes)
• 1 carrot (shred with a box grater or make curls with a veggie peeler)
• 1 clove garlic (mince)
• 1 mango (cut into cubes)
• 5 mint leaves (chiffonade) 
• 5 basil leaves (chiffonade)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 cups baby arugula

Dressing Ingredients:

• juice of 2 limes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

Make it:

1. Toss all salad ingredient together in a bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl or measuring cup mix all dressing ingredients together.
3. Toss salad with dressing & serve immediately.