Yia Yia's French Toast

I can't believe that I haven't blogged about our Yia Yia yet. The boys Yia Yia is my second mother. She was there for the birth of my sons, she's laughed and cried with me and shared her kitchen with me. I guess it started my first day of college. I was blessed to meet Meg. I won't call Meg my best friend because she's more like a sister to me now. She was that friend that I'd always wanted and she knows things about me that I haven't ever told anyone else. She's that special and loves me just the way I am. Meg told me lots of stories about her mom before I met her, mainly about her being Italian...Sicilian actually. Being 18 and not really knowing anything about Sicilian culture I had no idea what it meant when she would say things like, "well, ya know we're Sicilian" but I soon found out after my immersion into her family. Meg's family lives in the kitchen and Yia Yia's kitchen was the kitchen I had always wanted. Lots of people, music, wine, laughter, garlic, red pepper and lots of olive oil. EVERYTHING tastes better at Yia Yia's house and more importantly olive oil goes into everything so when I saw her FRY her french toast in olive I almost collapsed. I remember watching her thinking, "that stuff is going to nasty". I knew it was going to be a kitchen fail. Man, was I wrong. I remember eating her french toast for the first time and almost melting to the floors. It was crispy, soft inside and dusted with powdered sugar. It was was heaven. Although we don't get to see Meg and her family very often since we've moved they're always with us, especially when I pop open a bottle of wine, make zucchini sauce and of course make french toast.

French Toast

1 loaf of day old french or challah bread

olive oil for frying

3 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk (2% or whole)

1 TBS sugar

1 tsp. good vanilla

1 tsp. (scant) cinnamon

Have a prepared platter lined with paper towels ready for the french toast.  Combine eggs and milk then  whisk in sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and set aside. Cut bread into 1 in. slices (i like to use the ends for croutons) Add about 3 TBS of olive oil to a heated pan. Give the wet mixture another good whisk and dip a piece of bread into the mixture getting both sides a good soak. Immediately fry them in the pan browning them on both sides. Transfer to the lined platter and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately. I will tell you, depending on the size of your loaf you may have to make another bowl of wet ingredients. Enjoy friends! I usually top it with some fresh fruit or a fruit compote. Yummy Yummy!

The Perfect Sugar Cookie

Since the holidays are here I've been a busy baker. I usually try new cookie recipes to prepare for our annual cookie exchange that we do every year. Some are complete failures like this lemon drop cookie I didn't even finish making on Sat and some are perfect. My sugar cookies always turn out perfectly. I'm not sure how it happens but I'll share the recipe and let me know if they're as perfect as I think they are :). I love these cookies because you can freeze or fridge the dough and you don't have to cute them. I switched up the recipe a little but using high quality vanilla and rolling them in sugar before I bake them. If you're really adventurous you can buy some baking crystals and sprinkle them on top instead of rolling them in sugar. I really hope you try these. The recipe is SO simple and it's been my "go to" recipe for the past 5 years. Try 'em out! Happy Baking! ~Danielle

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3.Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks