Monday, April 20, 2020

Monte Cristo Bread Pudding #LeftoversChallenge

We're big fans of Binging With Babish here at The Devilish Dish.  His videos are informative and entertaining and hilarious at the same time.  He's also a big supporter of the restaurant industry and so are we!  My brother-in-law just took a chef gig at a restaurant in New Orleans.  But of course sadly, he along with so many others in the industry aren't working right now.   In his latest Binging with Babish video, Andrew Rea (aka Oliver Babish) along with other chefs, encourages viewers to support their local restaurants by ordering take out and to show support:  create a recipe using the hashtag #LeftoversChallenge.  We had just enjoyed an Easter Feast from our favorite local Italian restaurant, Benvenuti's.  We had ham, scalloped potatoes, carrots, snap peas, salad, Italian mac and cheese, carrot cake and lots of homemade rolls with butter.  By the time the family feasted for a couple of days all we really had leftover was ham and rolls and after watching the #LeftoversChallenge Episode, my quarantine creative wheels started turning.  Leftover ham and rolls have lots of potential.  Ham sandwiches, Ham Salad sandwiches, Ham and cheese sandwiches.  Never one to go with the obvious I thought about a variation on Eggs Benedict.  Which got me thinking about my Benedict Strata breakfast casserole.  Which then got me thinking about Monte Cristo Sandwiches,  and I decided I would blend the two ideas and Monte Cristo Bread Pudding was born.  We had everything on hand for a traditional Monte Cristo Sandwich (which consists of ham, turkey, Swiss cheese and Dijon mustard, on bread, then dipped and griddled in a slightly sweet French Toast-like batter and served with powdered sugar and jam for dipping.) We were lacking the turkey and Swiss cheese so I improvised with A LOT of ham, and a combination of grated Cheddar, Mozzarella and a little Gruyere.  Hey it's quarantine, get creative with what you have!  I also tried to be fancy ala Babish and make mine in large souffle-style dishes. In hindsight I should have baked it in a shallow baking dish or smaller ramekins to allow the bread cubes to get extra toasty, but I was going for a fancy presentation.  It actually turned out quite lovely, and we had a brand new jar of raspberry jam in our pantry that we warmed up to pour on top.  A terrific brunch treat.  I encourage you to support your local restaurants during this time.  Grab some carry out and cocktails and if you happen to have leftovers, get creative and share your ideas in the comments! #LeftoversChallenge.

We took the Binging with Babish #LeftoversChallenge!
Monte Cristo Bread Pudding 
Everything you need for a Monte Cristo
(with a little quarantine creativity)
Ham and Rolls from Benvenuti's
We didn't have turkey or the traditional Swiss cheese
on hand so we used our quarantine creativity.
Cheddar, mozzarella and a little Gruyere.

It's not a Monte Cristo without
Dijon mustard, and a little sweetness from
vanilla and raspberry jam.
Combine the custard mixture, cubed leftover rolls,
chopped leftover ham and cheeses.  Allow to rest
on the counter for 15-20 minutes before baking.
Garnish with powdered sugar and serve with
warmed raspberry jam.
Just like a traditional Monte Cristo Sandwich.
Bake until the mixture is puffed,
the custard has set and you have a lovely
golden brown top.
Monte Cristo Bread Pudding
Quarantine Creativity
#LeftoversChallenge
Serve with warmed raspberry jam.
Support your local restaurants!
(Tip Generously)

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

{Gluten Free} Strawberry Shortcakes

Easter celebrations were different for everyone this year.  One thing that doesn't change around here is family, and gluten allergy.  We had a lovely meal that my father-in-law ordered from a local restaurant.  It was pretty traditional: ham, scalloped potatoes, carrots, peas, and salad.  The dessert was carrot cake and while I'm sure it was delicious I didn't partake because I don't like carrot cake and I don't eat gluten.  We almost always have Strawberry Shortcake as our Easter dessert, and Mr. Devilish Dish and Little Devil both agree the gluten free version is tasty.  Growing up, Strawberry Shortcake for me was pound cake or angel food cake with strawberries and whipped topping.  I never knew that is was really more like a biscuit until my friend Amy introduced me to the Southern version.  She lives part of the year in Georgia so she's in the know when it comes to down home treats.  She made a peach shortcake once and I was (pleasantly) surprised that the "cake" part was really a little drop biscuit.  This style of biscuit translates well to gluten-free baking as you aren't expecting a high rise or fluffy layers.  I've adapted this recipe to give it a slightly sweet top which adds just a little bit more flavor.  It is a cute little bite and we've even eaten the leftover shortcakes with jam for breakfast. It's strawberry season, so whip up an easy batch of these shortcakes and enjoy those big, beautiful berries!
It's Strawberry Season!  Even gluten free folks can enjoy.
The traditional biscuit-style shortcakes
in gluten-free form!
Look at the big berry...It's bigger than the shortcake.
Top the shortcakes with generous spoonfuls of
sliced strawberries and whipped cream.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Make Your Own Pizza Night

A while back Little Devil asked if her BFF could come over for dinner.  She's from an Italian family and they enjoy cooking just as much as we do.  When they were younger, the girls would make homemade pizzelle cookies when Little Devil spent the night at her house.  I figured rather than just making dinner and all of us sitting down to the table, it would be more fun to do something interactive where we could all be in the kitchen.  Several years ago Little Devil took a Sushi Making Class.  She got quite good at it, and we bought her all of the tools to make it.  (Which was an economic decision on our part because we could not afford to buy enough sushi to fill that kid up.)  She even had her own sushi knife that she purchased herself.  That she was quite proud of.  So proud she felt the need to take it in and out of the sheath to show it off.  I think you know where this is going.  ME:  Put that up, you're going to cut yourself.  LITTLE DEVIL:  Ouch!!!!!  Followed by tears, panic, bloodshed, a trip to the E.R. and stitches.  That knife has not been out of the drawer since.  When I asked if she and Missy would like to make sushi, her reply was, "How about homemade pizza?"  (The sushi making days are over I guess.)  That's what we did.  Homemade Pizza.  Make Your Own Pizza Night.  It was delicious and a blast and we all came up with some pretty creative combinations.  My Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe is super easy.  From there the sky was the limit on toppings.  So much fun.  You definitely need to have a Make Your Own Pizza Night as soon as possible!

So much fun and safer than sushi...
I started with my Homemade Pizza Dough
It makes 4 thin crust medium-sized pizzas.
A huge variety of toppings....
Pepperoni, prosciutto and green chiles...
Spinach, mushroom and pork sausage...
Words to live by lol
We had a blast!