Receta Childhood Memories....Christmas Bread and French Toast
As the Christmas Holidays get closer and closer (I swear every year, they come quicker and quicker) I start to reminisce about "the old days". Growing up, Christmas in our home was always magical. To say my parents love Christmas is putting it mildly. There is not a mantle, or table or shelf, or stair, or...you get the gist that is not decorated. They have a Santa collection, a nutcracker collection, a snowman collection.... Christmas is everywhere and of course, has continued into our home. I have all the above, except a nutcracker collection (and no, I do not want to start one!) Last count, I had over 300 Santas, anywhere from a tiny 3 inch Santa to a life sized 6 foot+ Santa. Most of my Santa hold some special memory, a gift from a dear friend, handmade ones from friends and family or a wild shopping spree the day after Christmas.
There are memories all over our home, but some of the best memories are the ones in my heart. My mom finishing my Christmas outfit in the car on the way to midnight mass, Christmas morning waking up and all the lights magically on in the house (did Sana do that), magic snow from the North Pole that did not melt and one memory that still brings back the aroma of my grandmom's kitchen. Christmas Bread. Not a holiday has gone by, that we have not had Christmas Bread. First my grandmother, then my mom made it and now I am making it. It is one of those no fail recipes that I have been making for years. I must admit though, I now cheat and use my KitchenAid Mixer to do 4 minutes of the kneading, then I just knead it by hand for about one minute. Interested in winning a KitchenAid Mixer, visit Amanda's Cookin'. It is so loved in our family, that while my brother was at West Point, one of his Christmas wishes was to have 2 loaves of bread all to his self, so he could take it back with him to NY. Then as our family grew, my children and my nephews would always remind their grandmother to make extra, so everyone could have as much as they wanted. Our traditional Christmas Dinner has always been on Christmas Eve, and it was not unusual for both loaves of the bread to disappear that evening and my mom would be back in the kitchen the next morning making more.
Not too long ago, I decided to try something different with the bread. Unbelievably we had a whole loaf left one Christmas morning, French Toast came to mind, stuffed French Toast to be exact. It is so yummy and so easy to do and can even be done the night before! I take 2 slices of bread, spread one with softened cream cheese and the other with any type of preserves, raspberry or cherry are great for Christmas, but this summer I may experiment with peach or pineapple. Then sandwich the two together. I whisk a couple of eggs with some milk and vanilla extract, heat some butter in a skillet, dip the bread in the egg mixture, making sure I coat all sides, then fry them up in the pan. It is delicious served with powdered sugar or any type of syrup! And it is decedent served with a Cherry-Orange Maple Syrup. The recipe below for the bread is from my grandmother, known to all as Baba. The recipe for the French Toast is a make ahead version.
Baba's Christmas Bread
- 2 packages dry yeast
- 6 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 eggs -- beaten
- 1/2 stick butter
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 11 teaspoons salt
- Mix well 2 cups flour with dry yeast. Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt till warm. Mix with yeast, beat. Add beaten eggs, beat. Add remaining flour. Mix till smooth. Knead for 5 minutes. Place in well greased bowl, turning over to grease top, cover with a clean dish cloth and allow to raise about 1 1/2 hours. Divide dough in half, then divide each half into thirds. Make 2 braids, place each on a well greased baking sheet, cover with a clean dish towel and raise for about 1 1/2 hours. Bake 350for about 20 minutes, or until lightly brown. I always bake both loaves at the same time. To keep them evenly browned, top and bottom, I switch the loaves on the oven racks about 1/2 way through.
- Christmas Morning Stuffed French Toast with Cherry, Orange, Maple Syrup
- butter -- for greasing the pan
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated orange zest
- 4 ounces cream cheese -- softened
- 1 jar cherry preserves
- 8 slices Christmas Braided Bread or Challah Bread
- Cherry-Orange Sauce:
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherries -- pitted and halved
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Grease a large 13×9-inch baking pan with a generous layer of butter.
Whisk together the eggs in a medium bowl with the milk, vanilla and orange zest until well blended. Pour into the baking pan and set aside.
Spread 4 slices of bread with cream cheese and 4 slices with cherry preserves. Sandwich together.
Place the "sandwiches" in the egg mixture. Let stand on each side for 5 minutes to absorb the egg mixture, and sprinkle the almonds over one side. At this point you can bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 10 minutes, turn over the slices to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Or you can cover the baking pan with foil and refridgerate overnight. In the morning, while the oven is preheating, remove the french toast from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
To make the cherry-orange sauce, bring the orange juice to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the cherries and bring to a boil again. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup, cornstarch and cinnamon, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another couple of minutes or until the sauce thickens. Reduce to a simmer until the French Toast is baked.
Serve the French Toast warm covered with hot cherry-orange sauce.