Obviously I didn’t invent the dish, but in an attempt to make a creative and tasty breakfast one Sunday morning, I borrowed a page from the former Sugar Magnolia restaurant (in New Orleans) to make one of their most popular brunch dishes, Cream Cheese-Stuffed French Toast with Strawberry Coulis.  After a couple of calls to my friend Tom and some piecing together of the recipe, I gathered all of the ingredients and recreated the dish perfectly.  I now make it every Christmas morning, as it is one of my wife’s favorites.

If you are looking for a great brunch dish for friends, family or even your kids, this is it.  Serve it as an appetizer before a savory brunch, or save it for dessert.  It is a bit time consuming, but don’t let all of the work scare you, the end result is worth it.

I originally published this recipe on NolaFoodie.com on June 28, 2006.  Yea, the photograph was taken back then and isn’t all that great.  So sue me

Makes three to four pieces of stuffed French toast.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 to 8 slices of bread, dried
• 3 Eggs (beaten)
• Cinnamon
• Brown Sugar
• Butter
• Vegetable Oil

French Toast Stuffing:

• 1 package Philadelphia cream cheese (8 oz.)
• Honey
• Brown Sugar
• Powdered White Sugar
• Cinnamon

METHOD
For stuffing, combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix with a large spoon.  Add each ingredient to taste.

To make the stuffed French toast, spread the stuffing mixture between two slices of dried (or stale) sliced bread, just as if you were making a peanut butter sandwich.  Repeat until all of the mixture is used, for a total of three or four “sandwiches.”  The thicker the bread, the better off you are with the stuffing.  However, I have made it before with regular white sliced bread, but recently used the Sweet Buttermilk bread from Pepperidge Farm.

On a plate with slanted edges, make the French toast egg-wash by combining eggs, cinnamon and brown sugar.

In a non-stick fry pan, heat vegetable oil and butter.  Place the first French toast sandwich face down in the egg-wash for several seconds, then turn over to coat the second side.  Then place it in the heated pan to cook, this may take several minutes per side.  Make sure to keep the heat on medium, as a high heat can burn the butter.  Cook the French toast until it is golden brown.  Remove and let it drain on paper towels.

For plating, slice the French Toast diagonally, then dust with powdered sugar and top with seasonal berries or the seasonal berry coulis.

Fresh Seasonal Berry Coulis

• 1 pint of berries (strawberries, blueberries or raspberries)
• 2 tbsp White Sugar
• Juice of 1 Lemon

METHOD
Heat a small saucepan and add berries, 2 tbsp of white sugar and squeeze in the juice of one lemon; stir all ingredients together.  The berries will cook down and render juices that will combine with the sugar to make a thick sauce.  Add extra lemon juice if necessary.  Continue to cook until your sauce is to its desired consistency, the longer it cooks, fewer whole berries will be present; 10 minutes should be adequate.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Cans Tomato Juice (46 oz. each – from Sysco)
• 3 Tbsp Prepared Horseradish
• 3 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 3 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 3 Tbsp Cumin
• 3 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 2 Tsp Course Black Pepper
• 6 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
• Fresh Lime Juice

METHOD
Mix all ingredients in a large container.  Keep refrigerated.  Pour each individual drink in a tall glass, filled with ice and 2 oz. of Absolut Peppar vodka.

GARNISH
In the drink

• 2 Spicy pickled green beans
• 1 Lemon wedge
• 1 Lime Wedge
• 2 Large Olives
• 2 Cocktail Onions (optional)
• 1 Celery Stalk (optional)

NOTE

• I personally feel like the onions and celery are a bit over-kill.  There is a fine line between a “party in a glass” and a ridiculous concoction.  Use what you like.

On the rim

• 1 Cucumber Slice
• 1 Large spicy boiled shrimp
• Seasoning mix on the rim (combination of blackened seasoning, kosher salt & black pepper)

NOTES

• The seasoning mix for the rim is easy… mix up a bunch and put it in a plastic container for later.
• The boiled shrimp was added at my suggestion.  Although it was my idea, I “borrowed” it from Cafe Rani (on Magazine St.), they did it long before I copied it at the restaurant.  Though ours was better!  The slice of cucumber was also my suggestion, but of course I borrowed that one from Pat O’Briens.  See a trend?

courtesy of Kevin Lacassin
NolaFoodie.com

• 2 ounces Vodka
• 6 ounces V8 Juice (Spicy V8)
• 1 teaspoon Prepared Horseradish
• Celery Salt
• 2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 dashes Hot Sauce (Tabasco, Crystal or Louisiana Brand)
• Wedge of Fresh Lime
• Wedge of Fresh Lemon

Method

Fill a glass with ice.  Pour in about (I stress the word “about”) 2 oz. of vodka.  I use Taaka (or Smirnoff), because that’s what the locals drink (or so the advertisement says), it’s cheap, and when you cover it up with all of the seasonings, you couldn’t tell it from Grey Goose.

Next, start adding ingredients.  Toss in some celery salt, shake in some Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, hot sauce and using a fork, add some prepared horseradish.  Last, squeeze in a lemon and lime wedge and drop them in the drink and fill the rest of the glass with V8 juice.  Have an extra big cup ready to roll the drink (roll just means to pour from cup to cup a couple of times to mix the drink).

Finally, add your garnishes.  No New Orleans Bloody Mary is complete without spicy green beans.  You can use celery stalks, olives, cucumbers or even spicy boiled shrimp to garnish your drink.  Do whatever looks pretty.  Mine has a spicy green bean, a spear of pickled spicy okra and an onion-stuffed olive.

Note: If you insist on using a mix, my favorite is by Zing Zang.

courtesy of Kevin Lacassin
www.NolaFoodie.com