banana walnut french toast

Breakfast for dinner. Yum. This dish would have been perfect with a little sausage or bacon on the side but we never made it to the grocery. Plus, it was pouring all day... so aside from soup, breakfast for dinner was the next best thing! 

Ingredients

6 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 4 very ripe bananas, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I used cinnamon instead of nutmeg), 8 slices egg bread, 4 tablespoons butter, Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, Maple syrup or jam, for serving.

Directions

In a large shallow bowl, using a fork, beat the eggs until lightly frothy. Stir in the milk and set aside. Peel the bananas into a small bowl and mash them with a fork. Stir in the walnuts and the nutmeg.

Spread the banana mixture over the 1/2 of the bread slices, leaving a 1/4-inch border uncovered on all edges. Top with the remaining bread slices and press down gently to seal.

Place 2 sandwiches in the egg mixture and press down gently. Turn over and let soak for a moment until evenly saturated on both sides. Repeat with the other 2 remaining sandwiches.

In a frying pan or on a griddle, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Place the sandwiches on griddle and fry until the undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining butter, flip the sandwiches with a spatula and fry until golden brown.

To serve place the toast on plates and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve with maple syrup or jam.

le royal tour brasserie

Le Royal Tour Brasserie is just a few doors down from the apartment. This made our first morning in Paris complete... with crêpes, cafe au lait's, et chocolat chaud. Liz and Kristin had the chocolat et banane crêpe & I had the crêpe au miel. Since it was so good, we went back this morning for another late breakfast. Knowing little french I accidently ended up with two crêpes this morning. I asked for a strawberry crêpe with honey... Rather than honey drizzled on top, instead I was brought two crêpes... Ordering this morning and shopping on Rue de Cler at the markets for dinner, I have decided to take a French class. Well that is the plan as of now, at least. Our dinner will be posted tomorrow! 

jason's frittata

Yum yum yum!  This was the perfect start to my last day in Knoxville. If it wasn't for Jason Langston and his "world renowned" garden, this wouldn't have been possible!  Jason was nice enough to give our family fresh cherry & heirloom tomatoes, yellow squash, green peppers, habanero peppers, red chili peppers, & jalepenos.  I stayed away from the hots... I'm not one for spicy food. Thank you for being so generous -- this frittata sure beats Cheerios. Below is the recipe which was altered towards the amazing veggies we received! See you all in Paris! 

Ingredients:

6 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup milk or half and half

2T garlic

1/2t dried dill(you can also use more, fresh)

1/4 stick butter

salt and pepper

1 onion, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 medium/large tomato, sliced

fresh herbs(basil, parsley, etc)

fresh Mozzarella, sliced(can use smoked for this, as well)

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Melt butter in 10inch cast iron (or other oven proof) skillet and add garlic.

Cook a couple of minutes. Combine eggs with milk, dill, salt and pepper and add to skillet. Bake for about 10 minutes at 350, until eggs begin to set.

Remove from oven and arrange veggie(zucchini, onions, then tomatoes) over egg shell. Top tomatoes with a bit of salt and pepper and fresh herb.

Add Mozzarella slices then sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake another 10-15 minutes until eggs are set and cheese is melted.