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IMBB 25: Pain Perdu Panino

Originally uploaded by kerner.

As my return to IMBB with the Give Us This Day Yesterday's Bread theme I decided to try combining pain perdu (french toast) and the panini - two things I am very fond of  eating. I didn't think to let any bread go stale, so I stuck pieces in a warm oven (about 225° F) for 10 minutes then let them cool. I used a bread from Bakers Inn (which is the bread we buy for daily use). The filling is shaved, smoked ham and pepper jack cheese. This is a savory french toast. The bread is slightly crisp on the outside and custardy on the inside. The ham and melted cheese make for a nice spicy sandwich.

I should have cooked mine slightly longer, the bread was not quite as crisp as I would have liked. Also note that this might be an equipment intensive recipe. I prepared mine using the Griddler  that Sarah got me for Christmas - I used the flat plate on the bottom and the ridged plate on the top. You could also do this with some combination of a griddle, grill pan, nonstick skillet, and panini maker. 

Pain Perdu Panino (serves 2)

• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 slices of stale/dry bread
  
• 8 very thin (shaved) slices of ham
• 1  cup grated pepper jack cheese

Warm griddle/sandwich press to medium-high heat.Whisk together milk and egg to combine. Dip slices of bread on each side so they soak up a sufficient amount of the batter. Use slightly less than you would normally use for french toast as you have to move the bread around before it is fully cooked.  Cook one side of the bread to normal french toast doneness (3-4 minutes) - this is the  middle of the  sandwich. Turn and cook other side until set, but not browned(2-3 minutes) - this is the outside of the sandwich. Assemble sandwiches with the fully cooked sides of the bread inward - bread, cheese, ham, bread. Toast in panini maker until outsides of sandwich show grill marks and are fully cooked. Slice, enjoy.

Leaving for DC Tomorrow

 Sarah and I leave for DC tomorrow. We're flying out of Kansas City on Midwest Airlines - I love Midwest, not only because the service is better than other airlines these days, but also because of the cookies. I'm going to the Buzz Conference at NCC. I'm very excited about it. Sarah's taking a week of vacation, and I've slid some of my days off around to get the extra days around the conference free.

I'm hoping to have some good food while we're there as well. The list includes Capitol City Brewing, The Oval Table, Zaytinya, Jaleo, Booeymonger, and if we get a chance Brickskeller and the Amsterdam Falafelshop. We rented an apartment for the week so we're going to try to keep meals as affordable as possible, but we certainly can't avoid DC restaurants.

We're also meeting a friend of mine from college who works in DC for dinner one night. We've decided to get sushi and I've narrowed it down to either Dragonfly or Momoyama.

 

Galloway Station: Never Again

We went to Galloway Station tonight for a beer and some food. First let me say I've always liked Galloway Station. Writing this post makes me sad, but I'm so angry that this is the only decision I can rightfully make. I know the service is slow, we expect that. We don't expect it to be bad and inconsiderate. We got there about 8:45, ordered drinks (three beers), one sandwich, and an appetizer by 9:00. It's important to note that the appetizer was the chili dip - it's chili and tortilla chips. We got our drinks, then the sandwich showed up. At 10:00 our waiter came back for  the third time to explain that he wasn't sure where our appetizer was, or when we could expect to get it. IT IS CHILI AND CHIPS - POUR IT IN A FRICKIN' BOWL! Rebecca was mostly done with her sandwich so we  told him we no longer wanted  the dip, and that we wanted our drinks free. Our  waiter left, came back, and told us that we could get our food for free -- the food we never got. We asked to speak to the manager, who came and explained that because we drank the beer he couldn't give it to us. This is the biggest crock I have ever heard. We tried  to argue, but the language barrier seemed to be an issue and customer service was not a concern of his. Rebecca got her sandwich for free, but Sarah and I (who were supposed to be on a  separate check) paid for our beer and didn't get our food.

We can walk to Galloway Station from our house, they have one of the best patios in town, the food is good and I never cared that the service was a bit slow, but that changed tonight. I was so angry that we put our $10.50 on the table and left. So I guess the news of the night is that Eric (Patton Alley Pub) now gets all of my bar going budget.

Rock'n Ribs 2006

Rock'n Ribs, Springfield's local bbq competition, is this weekend. Sarah is the head cook for the Rotaract team (young Rotary) and she'll be up all night in the Bass Pro parking lot cooking ribs, pork, brisket, and chicken. We worked last night on the super-secret rub and homemade bbq sauce for the competition. I think it's going to taste great. They asked me to be the head cook, but I have another committment this weekend, so Sarah got stuck with it. I think she'll do a great job, she's been around my smoking long enough to pick a few things up. She also knows what good BBQ tastes like – her dad had her teething on ribs when she was a baby. It's funny how she doesn't like to gnaw things off bones now. If you're in Springfield stop by Bass Pro this weekend, enjoy some BBQ, music, and help out the children's charities.