Day 6- Stuffed French Toast with Cherry Bourbon sauce

Day six -“The Week Of Eating In Challenge”

For today I thought I’d do a brunch item, it being the weekend and all. And who doesn’t love French toast. So, I decided to make it even better and stuff it with some delicious sweet creamy cheeses and then serve it with a fruit sauce with some bourbon in it. Yum! Savor and enjoy the pleasure it brings to your palate.

Stuffed French toast with cherry bourbon sauce

Serves 4

Batter:

2 eggs

1 c milk

1 t ground cinnamon

1 t pure vanilla extract

Filling:

8 oz (1 package) cream cheese

4 oz Mascarpone cheese

1/4 c powered sugar

1 T orange zest

1 t bourbon

Sauce:

1 c water

½ c bourbon

¼ c orange juice

1 c dried tart cherries
½ c sugar
1 T cornstarch

Dash of water to mix the cornstarch with

1.Butter, as needed 6 -8 (2-inch thick) pieces Italian or French bread (regular sandwich bread can be used in a pinch)

2.Batter: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk, mixing well until incorporated. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

3.Filling: Fold all ingredients together in a bowl until well incorporated but not completely smooth.

4.Syrup: Combine all ingredients (except cornstarch) in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. On the side mix cornstarch with a dash of water, just to make it a liquid. Add to the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and let reduce by 1/3.

5. French Toast: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a large sauté pan and then add butter. Dredge the bread in the batter and place in the pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool. Divide filling between 2 pieces of the bread top with the remaining 2 pieces of bread. Transfer French toast to oven and bake for 8 minutes.

6. Cut each French toast in half and serve with the cherry bourbon sauce and, if desired, a large dollop of fresh whipped cream (or whipped cream in a can).

Recipe guide:

T= Tablespoons

t=  teaspoons

c=  cup/s

And I thought since you already have the bourbon for the french toast recipe, why not have a tasty bourbon brunch cocktail to go with it. I found this on the internet, so I can't take credit for the recipe. But I plan to try it very soon. It sounds really fantastic AND a great way to use up that bourbon : )

Bourbon and Blood Orange Blast

Ingredients

       1 1/2  ounces  bourbon

       1/2  cup  blood orange juice

       8  fresh mint leaves, plus sprig for mint

       1  orange wedge

·      Turbinado sugar for garnish

Preparation

In a shaker, mix together the bourbon, blood orange juice, and mint leaves. Serve over ice in a low glass and garnish with a sprig of mint. Rub the rim of the glass with the orange wedge, then dip the edge in a dish of turbinado sugar (also called sugar in the raw).

Now there is only one more day of the challenge. I hope all of you are enjoying all of the recipes that I have put up. It has been a fun challenge for me to keep up with all of the blog posts. But this is just the start of something really big. Someday in the not so distant future, you will be seeing me doing all of this cooking on TV, on the internet and in person doing cooking demos at celebrity chef events (it’s nice the think BIG). Take care and get ready for the final and seventh day of the challenge.

Till then live, love and eat some fantastic food.