Book Club Saturday: Banana Puffs and Pecan Brandy French Toast

Today my little circle of close girlfriends got together and talked about our kids, our lives, our jobs, and this month's book: The Lucky One (Nicholas Sparks.) Trust me when I say I did not WANT to like Nicholas Sparks on principle (get outta my genre, dude!) but I begrudgingly have to admit the man can spin a yarn.

Our conversations wander often, and sometimes I forget we are there for a book club in the first place, but it gives me a chance to see my friends (who happen to be adults who enjoy adult, non-Spongebob conversations) and I get to bake/cook. Works for me.

I was stumped for a bit yesterday when I thought about what to bring to the potluck-style get together. The book was Sparks' typical romance ('cept minus the cancer or tragic hero death!) and set in North Carolina. Hmmm. North Carolina... 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning seemed a little early for pulled pork (though I'm perfectly fine with 24-hour-a-day barbecue), so a friend suggested something with pecans or southern comfort.

Nice. I got the basic idea for the baked french toast from Smitten Kitchen. (Have you been there yet? You should go check her out. No, really. I can wait!) The process for the french toast was painless, really. Last night, I combined the ingredients and set the baking dish for the morning--took me about the entire 5 minutes that P was loading our DVD player with "Robin Hood."  Let the bread and goop mix soak up over night. Bake for about a half hour in the morning, and presto!


Pecan Brandy French Toast

1 loaf bread (I used the sweet Hawaiian bread and sliced it)
3 cups milk
3 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar (I used more than the original recipe)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Crushed pecans (I had a bag from my trip to Texas last month)
4 tablespoons Brandy (or Southern Comfort, or Whiskey, or whatever. Nothing, if that's what you like.)
3 tablespoons butter, sliced
Brown sugar

I sliced the bread pretty thin and had enough for my 9X13 baking pan and another smaller (single layer casserole dish) for my husband.  Put one layer of bread down, sprinkle tops with pecans, brown sugar, and a pat of butter. Top with second later and repeat. Wrap tightly and keep in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake 20-30 minutes, until golden brown. I served mine with Maple Syrup, but powdered sugar might have been just as nice.



Round two: 

These little beauties were like little miniature banana beignets. They were fantastic and I ate so many before the book club that I nearly gave myself a tummy ache. I used a deep fryer and no thermometer, and as a result, a few left unattended while I peeled the baby out of the dishwasher ended up a little dark and crispy.  This recipe was an exercise in creative substitution. It calls for cake flour and I have none. Instead, I followed Baking Bits advice and used the following equation: 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tablespoons cornstarch = 1 cup cake flour. Be sure to sift sift sift, as cake flour is finer in texture generally. I sifted my dry ingredients about three times before moving on.

Banana Puffs (Beignets)

1.5 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar (plus more for rolling)
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
2 overripe bananas mashed (recipe calls for about one, I think they needed more "banana-ness")

Sift dry ingredients together. And then do it again. Once more for good measure--nothing's worse than a clump of baking powder dissolving in your mouth. (Ick!)

Combine wet ingredients in another bowl. Add to dry, do not over mix. Drop by rounded spoonfuls into hot oil and fry until golden brown and puffy. Roll them in a bowl of 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Do your best not to eat them all in one sitting. Seriously.

The boys helped me make the treats this morning, despite the fact that they were forbidden from imbibing the brandy french toast and neither is a huge fan of banana anything. They were cute and such happy little helpers. Too bad they're only interested in stirring and not emptying the dishwasher. Just sayin'.