A couple of weeks ago I was asked to help assist the head cook at a weekend church retreat. This was the first time I had helped in that way and I have a new respect for the cooks at a retreat/camp. We got up early to be in the kitchen by 5Am. After breakfast was served we ate then headed back into the kitchen to prepare for lunch. After eating lunch you go back to the kitchen for supper preparation. After supper you head back to the kitchen again to prepare for snacks and to get ready for breakfast. I realized cooking for such a large crew has a new set of rules and ways to get things done versus in a home kitchen. It was neat to learn some new tips on cooking and baking. The head cook Shelia didn’t have room in the ovens for baked potatoes. She wrapped the potatoes individually in foil and boiled them in a pot on the stove. Those potatoes ended up tasting like they had been baked in the oven. I wanted to post a few of the recipes I wrote down from the weekend. This Blueberry French Toast was a big hit! One of the cooks got up at 3:30 Am Sunday morning to make Cinnamon Rolls. I didn’t know there could be a specific technique to cinnamon rolls but there was. These were some of the best cinnamon rolls I have had so I’ll post those later.
Blueberry French Toast from Shelia E.
9x13 pan
12 slices white bread, crust removed
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
Sauce:
1 cup sugar
2 Tb cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 Tb butter
Cut bread into 1” cubes and place in greased baking pan. Cut cream cheese into 1” cubes-place over bread. Top with blueberries and remaining bread. In a large bowl beat eggs, add milk and maple syrup or honey, then mix well. Pour over bread mixture. Cover & chill 8 hours or overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover. Bake 25-30 minutes more until set.
In a saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch –add water. Bring to a boil over med. Heat, boil for 3 min, stirring constantly. Stir in blueberries, reduce heat. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until berries burst. Stir in butter until melted. Serve over French Toast.
Rolls from Valerie P.
9 cups flour (can mix whole wheat and white bread flour)
2 ½ cups scalded milk (scalded 120 degrees) or use warm water and instant milk powder. If you use the instant milk powder you don’t need to scald it.
1 cup honey
2 eggs
½ cup oil
Dry-3 TB instant yeast
1 Tb sea salt
If using the wheat and white flour add the wheat flour first (due to gluten). A variation to this is to add some crushed corn flakes or soak Grape Nuts in water, when soaked add as part of the 9 cups flour. This will give your rolls added texture. Valerie used some crushed cinnamon cereal in her rolls and they tasted great.
Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees or if using a convection oven 325 degrees at 12-15 minutes.
