Fare Exchange: Pumpkin spice gets French toast treatment

bakery background
bakery background

Welcome to November, cooking companions.

One of you was looking for green tomatoes for pickling. "I found them," he relayed, "in fact, way more than I needed. Now, what do I make with green tomatoes besides the pickle? They are keeping well in our refrigerator and hopefully will still be green when your readers send some ideas. Please share a recipe for easy fried green tomatoes."

photo Jane Henegar

T.G.G. is thinking sauces and such with this request. "I would like a recipe for lemon vinaigrette and for two things I tasted in my first visit to Puleo's Grille in Ooltewah. Everything was delicious in our meal, but we especially liked the Dill Caper Remoulade served with fish and Tasso Gravy served with shrimp and grits. Please share their recipes if you are able." Next best, we would guess, would be anyone's favorite version of each of these sauces.

DINNER ROLLS

Glenna Johnson sent some fluffy dinner rolls that sound ideal for a Thanksgiving table. She wrote, "A few weeks ago a couple wrote to Fare Exchange hoping to find a recipe for dinner rolls they could keep in the refrigerator and use as needed. This is the recipe I use; however, it must be frozen after a few days. I keep the rolls in the freezer."

Easy Make-Ahead Butter Rolls

1 cup milk

2 sticks butter, divided

1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)

1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon table salt

5 cups bread flour (I recommend White Lily)

Vegetable cooking spray

Heat milk and 1 stick butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat just until butter is melted. Remove from heat and cool mixture until a thermometer registers 100 to 110 degrees (about 10 minutes).

Stir together yeast, cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees) and 1 teaspoon sugar in a glass measuring cup, and let stand 5 minutes to proof.

Beat eggs at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer; add cup sugar and 1 teaspoon salt, beating to combine.

Add milk mixture and yeast mixture, beating until combined. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour, beating until blended.

Place dough in a large lightly greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill 8 hours to 5 days.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times. Gently shape dough into 72 (1-inch) balls. Place 3 dough balls in each cup of 2 lightly greased muffin pans. Microwave remaining 1 stick butter in a microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup until melted. Brush rolls with half of melted butter. Cover muffin pans with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (80 to 85 degrees), free from drafts, for 45 minutes to 1 hour until doubled in bulk.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Bake rolls for 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with remaining butter.

To freeze rolls for later use: After chilling for 8 hours to 5 days, shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a baking sheet. I line my cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with Pam. Put baking sheet in freezer, and freeze completely. Transfer frozen balls to a large zip-top gallon freezer bag.

The day before baking, place 3 dough balls in each cup of a lightly greased muffin pan, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until ready to bake as directed. I have one of these with my dinner occasionally. I put 3 balls into a sprayed ramekin, turn my oven to lowest setting and turn it off at about 120 degrees. I cover my roll with plastic wrap and put it in the warm oven until the roll is doubled, take it out of the oven and heat oven to 425 degrees, then bake. The aroma is heavenly. These are always in my freezer. You can pinch off what you need each day of the refrigerated dough for about five days, if you would like to do that before freezing. Just don't let them sour, unless you enjoy sourdough rolls. These work great for the holidays.

BRUNCH CASSEROLE

Here's another autumn treat from Rosemary Palmer, printed first in her newly branded blog, myhomeandtravels.com. She described it as "a rich casserole perfect for any holiday breakfast or brunch."

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

1 loaf brioche or French bread, cubed

6 eggs

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, canned or fresh

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice blend (or a little more to taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel topping (recipe follows)

Spray a 13- by 9-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. Add cubed bread. Set aside for now. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until foamy. Add the milk, cream, sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Pour this pumpkin mixture over bread cubes. Press lightly on bread to distribute pumpkin mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Sprinkle streusel topping on refrigerated Pumpkin French Toast Casserole right before baking. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes. After 30 minutes, you can make a tent of aluminum foil and place on top to prevent overbrowning. Remove from oven, and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cold butter, diced, salted or unsalted

1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk brown sugar and flour together. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or your fingers until there are small chunks of butter, about pea size. Stir in chopped pecans to combine.

Serving suggestions:

» Warm maple syrup before serving.

» Sprinkle confectioners sugar on top.

» Top with fresh whipped cream with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.

» If bread is too fresh, it won't cut as well. Refrigerate a couple of hours. You can let it sit out a few hours after cubing to dry a bit more.

» Most loaves of bread are about 1 pound, which is a little more than enough. Don't pack bread cubes into dish.

» If you don't have time to refrigerate overnight, try to at least 4 to 6 hours so the bread has time to soak in all of the pumpkin goodness.

» Pumpkin pie spice could be added to streusel mixture for even more flavor. Make the pumpkin and streusel mixture a day ahead or early in the day, and refrigerate. Using real maple syrup and vanilla makes such a difference in taste.

That's it for today. Thank you for your company, and please come again.

Requests

» Fried green tomatoes

» Lemon vinaigrette

» Puleo Grille's dill caper remoulade and tasso gravy

To Reach Us

Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send.

» Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750

» E-mail: chattfare@gmail.com

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