Laurel's French Toast

 

Laurel's French Toast

So I started reading Jason F. Wright's "The Wednesday Letters" the other day and the book is wonderful!  One of the main characters, Samantha was reminiscing about her mom's French toast. "Soaking fat pieces of Texas toast in her syrup batter all night."  That sounded so good to me.  Last night I noticed I had half a loaf of French bread sitting in the fridge and thought, "hmmmm...."  Well, I came up with this recipe idea and served it to my husband, Larry, this morning.  He ate four pieces!   Here is the recipe I put together with the help of Samantha Cooper's description.  If you are reading this and you already have (a) the recipe, please share it in a comment.  I would LOVE to try it!  I just wish I had some of the Virgina ham to go with the French toast. 

8 slices of French bread or Texas toast (I sliced the French bread to 1/2 inch thick)

1 cup of your favorite pancake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 cup of your favorite maple syrup

In a large bowl with a tight fitting lid, combine the pancake mix through the maple syrup.  Mix well.  Add more milk if the batter is too thick.  Place the bread slices into the mix and stir gently to coat.  Place the lid on the bowl and make sure it fits tight.  Turn the bowl upside down to coat the bread well.  Turn the bowl right side up.  Place in the fridge overnight.  In the morning, spray a non-stick frying pan with cooking spray.  (I did this to keep the dish a little lighter, but you can use a skillet with oil or butter if you prefer.)  Heat the pan to a medium-high heat.  Once the pan is hot, place the slices of bread in and cook on each side for a few minutes or until golden.  Turn just once.  Place the heat to medium-low to finish cooking.  It took mine about 15 minutes to get it to where the middle of the bread was not runny.  You can judge by your own stove.  Serve immediately with butter and syrup.  And if you have it, Virgina ham.  

Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken

 

There was a Chinese restaurant in Yuma, Arizona back in the early eighties that served the best tasting Lemon Chicken.  We loved it and enjoyed spending time with family at the restaurant.  I can't remember the name of the restaurant as we left for Okinawa in 1982 and when we returned, it was no longer there.  I was happy that one day before we left, the restaurant had put their Lemon Chicken recipe in the newspaper.  I want to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  

1 package of four boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup of cornstarch

3 cups of vegetable oil for frying

Sauce:

1/4 cup of butter or half a stick of butter

2 lemons, juiced and rinds sliced or 1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of water

1 and 1/2 tbs cornstarch

1 cup of sugar to taste

In a large bowl, combine the chicken with the salt, egg and cornstarch.  Mix well.  Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok on high.  Deep fry several pieces of the coated chicken at a time for one minute or until golden, stirring to separate.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Place the chicken in a serving bowl and keep warm.  You can add stir fried broccoli, onion or any of your favorite veggies if you desire. 

In a medium saucepan, add all of the sauce ingredients except for the lemon rind. Heat over medium high heat.  Let it come to a boil, stirring.  Once it has thickened, add the lemon rind and stir.  Pour over the chicken pieces.  Serve with steamed or fried rice.