Nutella Banana French Toast

In the midst of finals season and crazy holiday shopping, there are two things that undeniably offer salvation.

Nutella.

And Bananas.

During an especially stressful weekend, I decided to mix the two together. I've done this before (example: Nutella Banana crepes, Nutella Banana muffins), but this recipe was a play off of a Jamie Oliver original. In his cookbook Jamie's Dinners, which I highly recommend, by the way, he offers up a suggestion for an easy morning meal - turning basic French toast into a sandwich.

I took his suggestion and jumped it up another level.

This sandwich is delicious, comforting, and phenomenally easy. And it starts with these few ingredients:

2 slices good bread

1/2 banana

1 large egg

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon water

pad of butter

as much Nutella as your heart desires

Start by making your egg wash. Blend the egg, sugar, and water together in a shallow bowl (make sure it's big enough to fit your whole sandwich in). Set aside.

Then, place a pad of butter into a pan and heat to medium.

Next, mash up the 1/2 banana and spread it onto one piece of bread. Cover with the other slice and press down to form a solid sandwich.

This part is tricky - pick up your whole sandwich and dunk it into the egg wash, covering it from all sides. Then place your sandwich onto the sizzling skillet and cook until golden brown. Flip the sandwich once, and cook it on the other side until golden brown.

Finally, take whatever sized spoonful of Nutella you deem necessary to get you through the day, and scoop it into a bowl. Heat the Nutella in the microwave for 30-40 seconds, until softened. Drizzle your Nutella over your sandwich until it's covered with the perfect amount of chocolatey goodness.

Admire your creation momentarily before digging in.

Tweet

Pumpkin Butterscotch Scones

Since the leaves are starting to turn and the wind is getting chillier, it's time to unveil the perfect fall recipe.

These delightful beauties are from a joyofbaking.com recipe that I altered to fit the ingredients I had in my kitchen. Needless to say, waking up on a Sunday morning and whipping up a batch of these will sooth your soul with cinnamon and pumpkin (and make your house/apartment smell phenomenal).

To make a batch of 8, you will need:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup light or dark brownsugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup butterscotch baking chips

1/3 - 1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (no spices added)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 largeegg

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Start by combining all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl and mixing them together. Add your butter pieces.

Next, work the butter into the dry ingredients by mashing the two together with a fork. The effect will look something like this:

Continue doing this until all of your butter has been mixed in and the powdered mixture looks like crumbled pie crust.

Next, stir in your chips.

In a separate bowl, combine your pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla. 

When it turns into a smooth orange puree, you're ready to add it to your main bowl.

Stir the pumpkin mixture into your other ingredients until the dough just comes together. Transfer to a floured surface and knead it 4-5 times. Carefully pat your dough down into a circle. Next, turn your hand into a sword and slice your dough circle in half. Then, slice each of the halves in half. Finally, slice each of the quarters in half. This should give you 8 relatively uniform triangles.

Lay these out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. In a separate bowl, mix your egg and milk together. Using a pastry brush (or your fingers), cover the tops of your scones with the egg wash.

Heat for 20 minutes and make yourself a nice big mug of coffee. When your timer dings, take these beautiful golden treats out of the oven.

The proper thing to do would be to let them cool for 10-15 minutes before digging in. But let's be real - they look WAY too good to wait.

Pair with your hot mug of coffee, a thick sweater, and falling leaves.

Happy autumn!

Tweet

Bologna, Day 2

The next day in Bologna, Emily headed off to one of the churches while I made my way down to the piazza to explore. Apparently, the entire town was out for a run that day. It was also sponsored by Parmigiano reggiano, which I found ironic.

Naturally, I took this as an opportunity to explore the city a bit. If I followed the runners, I'd never get lost.

I meandered along in search of some caffeine when I found a rather popular caffe at the edge of this smaller piazza. I quickly ordered myself an espresso macchiato at the bar.

I looked back up at the menu and saw something listed that I'd been meaning to try for awhile, but hadn't found in any cafes yet (mainly because most cafes don't have menus on the wall). It's called a spremuta d'arancia, which is a really eloquent way of saying freshly squeezed orange juice. I quickly ordered one along with my macchiato and snapped a shot of it being made.

I was then served the freshest and most delicious cup of orange juice I've ever had. It literally felt like eating an orange.

After another hour of exploring, I met back up with emily and we continued meandering around the city. When we decided to stop for lunch, in the interest of saving money, we chose to grab some sandwiches from one of the many caffes around the city. Brown bags in hand, we stopped at a small monument with benches to dig in.

Emily opted for a piadina, a.k.a. a flatbread sandwich stuffed with prosciutto and cheese. This specific sandwich is native to the northern-ish region of Italy, so don't expect to find it in Rome.

I decided to try something new. It was called an erbazzone, and it looked a bit like a really large spinach puff to me. I looked up the recipe later, and it seemed to be a mixture of mixed greens, sometimes spinach, depending on the chef's decision. Regardless, it was delicious.

We had to catch a 4 pm train, so we didn't have time for another fabulous dinner in Bologna. Fortunately, we did have time for another gelato...

Caffe amaro will always hold a special place in my heart...

Tweet

To The Bar!

While in Paderno del Grappa, my friend Emily and I made a near daily routine of heading to the local bar at 8 am every morning.
And before you think that Europe turned us into raging alcoholics, let me explain a little further.
In Italy, a 'bar' is the equivalent to an American 'cafe.' Although they do serve alcohol, Italian bars are mainly coffee bars, pastry, and sandwich shops. And since the coffee machine in the CIMBA cafeteria churned out less-than-desirable  cups of jo, I was incredibly thankful that there was a local bar just down the road.

The shop is owned by a woman and her husband. He speaks some English, she doesn't speak any. But the language barrier didn't bother her one bit. In-between me and Emily's orders, she would keep talking to us in Italian about anything and everything (the weather, our lives, etc.), well aware that we could only understand parts of what she was saying. We spoke back in broken Italian phrases (probably sounding like two year-olds) as she whipped up some deliciously steaming cappuccinos and delivered them with a huge smile. For a mere 1.3 euros, this little beauty was worth every penny.

While our usual order was two cappuccinos, one day we decided to skip the dorm breakfast and try some of her homemade croissants.

Which was one of the best decisions I ever made, simply because they were each filled with delectable chocolate cream...

My apologies for the blur, but really, did you expect me to stop eating for long enough to take a decent picture?

Nope. No way.

On our last day, she made me and Emily cappuccinos with cocoa, a delicious treat that I've been missing since my time at home.

And now I'm certain: if there's one thing that will draw me back to Italy in the future, it's the bars. 

Tweet

Sunrise Melt

I've been neglecting this blog, and I apologize.
Let's just chalk it up to the fact that finals will forevermore suck up my life for at least 2 weeks out of the year.
Grades will be coming out soon, so fingers crossed that my time away was worthwhile!
Hopefully this recipe will make up for it.
In one of my classes, my friends Haley and Nikki had a morning routine. Halfway through our class together, we had a 15 minute break, during which time Haley and Nikki walked down the street to a local shop and grabbed a hot breakfast quesadilla. It always looked crispy and delicious - and someone overpriced. So, I decided to try my hand at making my own.
Introducing my super-sized and super-healthy sunrise melt!

Delicious, tangy, and filled with nutritious avocado, this sandwich is sunshine on a plate. Super-easy and incredibly delicious, it's become a new staple of mine.

To make this super-easy melt, grab these ingredients:

1 avocado
2-3 eggs
milk
salt and pepper
small block fresh feta cheese
2 masa corn tortillas

Start by mixing your eggs with milk, salt, and pepper. Beat well. Add your cheese, breaking it into chunks with a fork. Pour your eggs into a pan and scramble.
Slice up an avocado. Grab your tortillas, and grill them if you can for an extra crisp and charred flavor. Layer your eggs and avocado onto the tortillas. If you really want an extra burst of crispiness, throw the sandwich onto a panini press. Slice in half and serve with a huge glass of orange juice.

Then sit back, relax, and watch the sunrise. FINALS ARE OVER!!! WOOO!

Tweet

The Wafel Shop

For once, one of my blog posts was completely unplanned.
It was Saturday evening, and my boyfriend and I were strolling around downtown. We popped into an old record store, and while he flipped through the musty racks I sipped on a cup of cherry coffee and browsed. 
I wasn't even hungry at that point. But then I remembered that The Wafel Shop was just around the corner.
For those of you who don't know, The Wafel Shop is a new establishment in Ann Arbor that makes some of the best breakfast-style comfort food EVER.
They have two different kinds of waffles, Brussels and Liege, that start at $5 each. You can top your waffle with free syrup, butter, chocolate shavings, or powdered sugar, or you can upgrade to $1 and $2 toppings like Nutella, bacon, and chocolate sauce.

I went traditional with a Brussels waffle topped with butter, chocolate shavings, and Nutella. Because it's criminal to not get Nutella when getting Nutella is a possibility.

Light, fluffy, but packed full of flavor, this waffle is definitely one that you'd want to top with some sweet and chocolatey options. It was a hybrid between a dessert and a scrumptious breakfast item.
My boyfriend went for the Liege waffle topped with syrup, butter, and bananas. He also grabbed a large coffee, which I immediately regretted not doing because The Wafel Shop serves Zingerman's brand coffee.

Scrumptious, buttery, and a bit nutty in flavor, this waffle was definitely unique.
Not that I didn't enjoy my chocolate mountain or anything.... 

Needless to say, I'm already planning my next trip. Maybe caramel sauce next time? Who knows....

Tweet

Chicago - Yolk

As you've seen from my other posts, I love breakfast.
And what do I love more than breakfast?
Brunch.
Because brunch is just an excuse to have a triple-sized breakfast after 11 am.
What's there to dislike?
And several weeks ago, my good friends and fabulous cosplayers CourtoonXIII and Sirene told me that one of the best breakfast places in the world is Yolk.
Seeing as all three of their locations are in downtown Chicago, I made a point of dragging my family there during our trip.
And despite the wait at the door, I don't think they were disappointed.

Sunny sky blues and yolky yellows covered every surface and were enough to brighten up anyone's morning. 

As an avid follower of Restaurant Impossible, I can honestly say that Chef Robert Irvine and his designer Tanya would certainly approve of this sharp interior design.

Coffee and tea were plopped down promptly while we finalized our menu decisions.

Yolk literally has EVERYTHING on their menu - scrambles, crepes, omelettes, and every style of egg you could imagine. And almost every dish comes with a side of breakfast potatoes or fruit and toast or pancakes.
I had plenty of time to decided, but still found it hard to choose. Especially after looking at the pounds of delicious food being plopped down at tables nearby.

YUM.
Finally, we all decided, and the eggs came churning out.
First dish of choice - two eggs sunny side up over sausage biscuits and gravy with breakfast potatoes.

Can I just say - HOLY YOLK. I can see where this place gets its name - look at the size of those!
Then there was the meat-filled crepes with a side of potatoes and pancakes.

And my carnivorous choice: scrambled eggs with applewood smoked bacon, a side of breakfast potatoes, and a side of pancakes.

And now, a bacon close-up:

Delicious. Thick. Crispy edges. Perfection.
And, of course, the side of pancakes (which Yolk is famous for).

The entire meal was absolutely fantastic. Fresh, delicious, and just downright good. They didn't try to jazz up old classics with new spice blends or cooking methods - they used basic ingredients to make basic things really well.

And clearly, judging by their popularity, it's worked out pretty well so far.

So well, in fact, that my mom insisted on buying a tin of their pancake mix.

Just add water and you get a thick and frothy batter in seconds.

They fry up into extremely thick and fluffy cakes that cook to a golden-brown perfection.

Sweet, delicious, and totally easy.
Unfortunately, Yolk doesn't have an online store yet, but you MUST pop in if you find yourself in Chicago. It's definitely one of the best breakfasts you can ever eat.

Tweet