French Toast

Way back when I made my last baking post about white bread, I used that bread to make French toast. There's really no recipe to put here, but I'll describe it with pictures.

I sliced the bread about an inch thick, dipped it in a mixture of egg, milk and vanilla and grilled it in a little butter. 

I made a filling with cream cheese, cinnamon and powdered sugar. The end result was something between grilled cheese and stuffed French toast. 

I highly recommend using home-baked bread for French toast whenever possible. It is so good!

Buttermilk Waffles

I finally used the mystery waffle iron that I mentioned a while ago. I think these waffles were made with this recipe, but I have since tried this one (omitting the cinnamon and using half whole wheat/half all-purpose flour) . I'm still getting the hang of the waffle iron, especially filling it correctly.

Golden brown!

I'm not a fan of syrup so I topped them with butter and powdered sugar. Although, my favorite way to eat waffles is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Day and Night Baked Goods

It seems that I forgot to post these pictures of my Easter baked goods. The first is Sour Cream Coffee Cake, from the KitchenAid cookbook. The second is one of the cupcakes that I decorated to look like an Easter basket with jellybeans as colored eggs and green-tinted coconut for grass. The cupcakes were basic yellow cake with buttercream frosting.

The coffee cake was served after brunch and the cupcakes were dessert after dinner. Both were delicious and pretty.

I separated the pictures as much as I could because they just looked weird next to each other. Either the cupcake looked giant or the bundt cake looked miniature.

Pancakes

Gridlin'

Delicious stack of pancakes

I was in the mood for pancakes this morning. Well, I was actually in the mood for pancakes from the Inn on Coventry, but I wanted to stay home. I used the KitchenAid recipe with a few substitutions. 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of self-rising flour that I'm trying to use up, 1 teaspoon of baking powder because of the flour substitution and no salt because of the flour substitution. I used canola oil because melted shortening sounded gross. It really only took about 45 seconds of actual mixing to make the batter.

I've always been good at the cooking of pancakes and the first was just as tasty as the last. I guess I don't need Aunt Jemima Complete. Maybe I'll make waffles next time with the mystery waffle iron in my kitchen.

Irv's Sandwich Shop

Irv's Sandwich Shop
2164 S. Taylor Road
Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
(216) 321-6812
Brunch?; June 18, 2008
Party of Four

Barnyard Omelet with Home Fries and Raisin Toast

(My) Barnyard Omelet with Home Fries and Raisin Toast

Pancakes with Bacon

Corned Beef Sandwich with Seasoned Fries

Irv's is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday and serves breakfast until about an hour before closing. It might be called a sandwich shop, but you should try the omelets. Unfortunately, it has a storefront that is easy to drive by.

Don't miss it!

I'm not the biggest fan of eggs. I do like a good omelet though. And the omelets at Irv's are so much better than good. I told one of my fellow brunchers about Irv's awhile ago, and she wanted to try it for herself while in Ohio.

If you are in town for a week and only have time for one omelet you should get the Barnyard Omelet because it's stuffed with bacon, ham, sausage, green peppers, onions and American cheese. The egg part of the omelet is thin and rolled around the filling in such a way that you never get too much egg in any bite.

Omelets come with your choice of either home fries or grits, but they are always out of grits when I go. The potatoes were nicely breakfasty, and I managed to eat most of them even if they were my second choice. The raisin toast was awesome and makes me wonder why more restaurants don't offer raisin as a toast choice.

I sampled the pancakes and found them not-too-sweet, which is how I like them. I didn't taste the corned beef sandwich but was told it was good. The seasoned fries had a kick that complimented their extreme crunchiness and would make a good substitute next time they are out of grits.

In case you can't tell from the picture (taken on a camera with an enviable "food" setting), the Barnyard Omelet is huge! My fellow bruncher finished hers and I ate all but a couple bites of mine. The cook grinned as we left and asked, "Did you finish the Barnyard?" "Just about" I said. I think he was impressed. So was I.

fire

fire food and drink
13220 Shaker Square
Cleveland, OH 44120
216-921-3473
Brunch; June 8, 2008
Party of Two

Pictures!*

Clay Oven Bread with Cinnamon Sugar

Diver Scallops with Local Greens, Strawberries and Cucumber Salad

Braised Pork Crepes with Créme Fraîche, Argentinian Pepper Relish and Fried Egg

Lemon Beignets with Vanilla Ice Cream

*(Not pictured, Housemade Sausage, Yukon Gold Home Fries and Applewood Smoked Bacon)

The bread was such a great start. It was crunchy and sweet and held us over until the rest of our food arrived. The entrees were perfect portions for brunch time and left us a little room for dessert.

The pork crepes were described by the waitress as "rich" but would have been more accurately described as heavy. They had loads of pork and gooey cheese. I'm not sure my fellow bruncher needed to order bacon as a side dish, but she did and it was yummy.

The scallops were exquisitely cooked and seasoned. They were delightfully paired with the salad that had some fun elements. The greens tasted freshly picked and the strawberries were beautiful (and tasty.) The cucumber didn't add or subtract anything, but its pale green looked sweet next to the bright red berries.

The sausage patties had a good spiciness and while small, were worth the high price. The potatoes were standard, but I like home fries for brunch and would order them again.

The beignets were a grand conclusion to the meal. Light, crispy, sweet and chewy. If I had to guess, I'd say the honey in the sauce was lavender honey because it couldn't have been ordinary clover. The ice cream was creamy and flavorful but didn't overwhelm the beignets.

My one complaint was that the descriptions on the seasonal menu didn't quite match the meals we were served. For example, the scallop entree was supposed to have pistachios, which it didn't, but there appeared to be dabs of créme fraîche on the plate that were not in the description. I appreciate that fire tries to use local ingredients and meals are subject to change, but that's not exactly a one-for-one swap. It was scrumptious nonetheless, but a word or two from the waitress would have been nice. Also something crunchy on the plate would have added a new textural element.

Thanks to my dining companion for the excellent pictures. I'm extremely jealous of her camera's "food" setting.