Easy as Pie

For my editorial photography class, our first assignment was to create a magazine cover using the theme "Lost in America." I knew I wanted to shoot food, but I didn't know how I was going to fit it into the theme. (This was the first time that I had ever been assigned the concept for an image so I was kind of resenting it.) 
Luckily I came up with an "American" food that wasn't burgers and fries- apple pie-but then I still had to figure out how I was going to communicate the idea of being "lost" without being cheesy. Then one day while walking home from school the phrase "lost in a good book" came to mind and I decided to run with it. So my image is about getting lost in a good book while eating apple pie in America. Maybe it is cheesy after all.

The recipe comes from my great-aunt Mabel, what an amazing woman she was!

Mabel's Apple Pie

ingredients:
unbaked, double crust pie shell
6 cups sliced Granny Smith apples*
2 T. orange juice
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
3 T. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 T. butter or margarine
Glaze:
1-2 tsp. milk
1 tsp. sugar
 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400
2. For filling: toss apples and orange juice in large bowl. Combine the sugars, flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss with apples until coated. Spoon into unbaked crust, dot with butter.
3. Glaze: Brush top of unbaked crust with the milk, sprinkle with sugar. Make a few holes in the top to let the steam out. Cover top of pie with a sheet of tinfoil to prevent over browning. Bake pie at 400 for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 20 minutes longer or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cool pie to room temperature before serving.

*The original recipe calls for 6 cups sliced, peeled Jonathan apples. I wanted to use Granny Smith because I thought they were more attractive for the photos, and it ended up tasting good so you can choose which you'd rather use. I didn't peel them because I wanted to see what would happen and it was fine, but some people don't like the peels so that is up to your personal preference.

Tip: As far as pinching the pie crust, you can really do whatever you want, but I used the handle of a wooden spoon to make the indentations and I liked how it looked. 


Bon appétit!
Heather

Nostalgia

It is a scientific fact that taste and smell evoke early childhood memories more powerfully than any other sense. Typically, these memories are more vivid and emotional than those evoked by visual or auditory cues. 
 
If you don't believe me, you have probably never seen Ratatouille. (Which would be a shame.) Luckily I found a clip on YouTube to prove to you that I am not making this stuff up. Just pretend that there is sound, ok?

(If you are rolling your eyes at the fact that I just used a Disney movie as scientific evidence, you can go be boring and read a real article written by a legit psychologist here.)

 For me, the taste of poppy seed bread will always remind my of my Granny.

I remember going to Kentucky to visit my grandparents when I was a little girl. I would tag along with my brother and the other boys in the neighborhood when they went 'exploring' in the creek. When the sun went down, we would catch fireflies and then I would keep them in a jar by my bed while I slept. I learned how to ride a bike there when I was 5 (see picture below.) And I remember playing old maid in the kitchen with my Granny while waiting for the poppy seed bread to come out of the oven. 

gotta love the pink overalls :)

Last semester, for my still life photography class, I decided to recreate this memory for one of my assignments. I went prop hunting at the antiques mall and the fabric store, then made the muffins with a recipe I found online. The muffins were bitter and dry and the photo was a failure. 

The next week, I found the real recipe in my family cookbook. I reshot the image with the authentic muffins, taking a few suggestions from my teacher to adjust the lighting and composition. This is what I ended up with:

 And...here is the recipe.

Poppy Seed Bread

Ingredients:

3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds

Glaze:

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. orange juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla

 1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 teas. melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix sugar, milk, oil, eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and poppy seeds together. Add the flour mixture and blend for 2 minutes.

3. Pour into 5 small bread pans. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. For muffins, bake for 22 minutes at 350.
4. For glaze: Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Spoon over top of loaves and let sit in pans 30 minutes.

What tastes or smells bring back your childhood memories?

Banana Flambée French Toast

Happy Saturday everyone! In honor of the weekend, and to go along with my blog's name, today I am going to share one of my favorite breakfast recipes. 

This recipe is from a French toast cookbook that I bought in Paris. I can guarantee you have never tried this exact recipe because I translated, converted, and adapted it myself. Its easy and fun to make, and tastes amazing. So enjoy!

Banana Flambée French Toast

Ingredients:
4 slices of your choice of bread (if your bread is thinner, you can probably get more like 10-12)
2 large bananas, or 4 small
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
4 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp Rum extract
2 Tbsp lemon juice


Directions:
1. Peel the bananas and cut them in half lengthwise, then in half widthwise. (see image above)
2. Melt 2 Tbsp of the butter and cook the banana slices on medium heat for 5 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Add the lemon juice, powdered sugar, and rum extract. Mix and cook for another minute. Transfer the bananas to a bowl and cover to keep warm. Add the rest of the butter to the pan and heat.
3. Beat the eggs with the milk, add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture. Roast them in the pan with the hot butter.
4. Garnish with banana slices and serve with maple syrup and powdered sugar.


*Tip: if your bread is fresh, put it in the toaster on the lowest setting to dry it out a little bit before dipping it in the egg and milk mixture. If the bread is too soft, your French toast will be soggy. In French, the term for French toast, "pain perdu," literally means 'lost bread' because the French would make it as a way to save stale bread.
xo Heather

le pain n'est pas perdu

Hello friends!

Over Christmas break, my mom and I were talking about my plans to become a food photographer. We both agreed that in order to get my work out there, I needed to start a food blog. As I began to rack my brain for ideas, my brilliant mother pointed out that I was already halfway there--my study abroad blog, Pass the French Toast, could easily be revived as a food blog. (Isn't she so smart?)

So now, after a much needed makeover, Pass the French Toast is back! I have lots of things planned, and it's going to be really fun, so you may want to start following or something :)


and, guess what. I am getting started right away! Tonight's post is going to be some photos you may have already seen if we are facebook friends or if you follow my photography blog, BUT I am also going to include the recipes and some tips- so don't tune out just yet!

A Day in the Life of a Pumpkin Farmer

This was a project for my art direction class. The photos were shot in Moorpark, CA back in November, when pumpkins were actually in season, but you can use canned pumpkin purée for all the recipes so you don't need to wait until fall to try them out. And, as an added bonus, all of the recipes freeze well so don't worry about eating it all at once (since I am single, I have to freeze everything so it doesn't go to waste! This is probably not as big of a problem for anyone else.) The idea for this project came from a book I read when I was little about a poor family that ate potatoes for every meal. I came to the conclusion that I would much rather be a pumpkin farmer than a potato farmer.

Pumpkin Waffles

3 eggs
1 pound can of pumpkin
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 ¼ t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
pinch of ginger

1. Beat the eggs until fluffy. Add pumpkin, oil, milk, and vanilla.
2. Sift all dry ingredients together and add a little at a time to wet mixture, stirring until just moistened. Do not over mix.
3. Spray waffle iron lightly with nonstick spray. Pour scoopfuls of batter into waffle maker. Possible toppings include whipping cream, toasted walnuts, carmelized pears, maple syrup and cinnamon.




*Tip: For best results, use Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, available at Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table. It is a bit pricey, but tastes so much better than anything you can find at the grocery store.

Pumpkin Bread

15 oz pumpkin

2 2/3 c sugar

1/2 c water

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 c oil 

mix together until well combined.

3 c flour

1/4 tsp  salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp ground cloves

sift together. stir into pumpkin mixture, and mix well. 

1c chopped nuts

1/2 c raisins, craisins, or chocolate chips

add to mixture. pour into greased and floured pans. bake at 350 for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It could take an extra 15 to 30 minutes depending on the size of your pans. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then cool on a cooling rack. makes 2 loaves

For muffins: bake 20 minutes at 350

I definitely had one of these muffins for breakfast every day last semester. If you're storing them in the freezer, just microwave it for about 15 seconds, and then I like to top it with a little Nutella. 

 

Pumpkin and Pear Soup

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 chicken stock
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
2 1/2 cups half and half
1 3/4 cups pear nectar
1 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon rosemary or sage
2 ripe bosc pears, peeled, cored and sliced thin
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
optional: 1-2 sprigs fresh sage

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, sautée onion with canola oil. Add ginger and dried sage or rosemary as onions start to get soft.

2. Add chicken stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes or until onion is very tender; cool slightly. Do not drain.

3. Add pumpkin. Using an immersion blender, purée until smooth. Stir in half-and-half, pear nectar, and add salt and white pepper to taste. Cook and stir until heated through.

4. (optional) Separate fresh sage from stem. Gently wash and dry. Lightly oil a nonstick 10 inch sautée pan with extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the sage leaves. Stir and turn gently until they start to brown on both sides. Remove from heat and set aside.

5.  Using the same pan, sautée pear slices about 7 minutes, or until they start to soften. Add brown sugar. Keep stirring until brown sugar is dissolved and the pears start to carmelize, another 5 minutes. Remove from sautée pan and dice into 1/4 inch pieces. 

6. To serve, garnish the soup with diced pear and browned sage leaves or fresh chopped rosemary. Ladle into soup bowls.  Makes 6 servings.

The ice cream photographed above was store bought, but I am looking forward to trying this recipe from Williams Sonoma when its not 0 degrees outside! 

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh pumpkin puree or canned
  unsweetened pumpkin puree

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

5 egg yolks

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger 

1/4 tsp. salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours.

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 1/2 cups of the cream and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Cook until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. Whisk until smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 4 to 6 minutes. Do not allow the custard to boil. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.

Place the bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice water, stirring occasionally until cool. Whisk the pumpkin mixture into the custard. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.

 Enjoy, and bon appétit!
Heather