beautiful tasty foods

It may be a little embarrassing to admit how often my family eats at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Bowling Green. Let's just say there is always a nod of "of course" from the server when my dad orders the chicken chimichanga. And when I order my chicken whatever-I'm-in- the-mood-for and request that they hold the lechuga one server always smiles and jokes, "okay, no pollo". Last Sunday I noticed a new special on the board as we entered Peppers - pineapple fajita. It far exceeded my expectations. They had me at pineapple boat. How gorgeous is that? And these pictures were even taken with the camera on my phone. I couldn't wait to eat my leftovers for lunch the following day. Now I understand that some people are not big on fruit in their savory, but it's something I especially enjoy with chicken. And with the peppers, tomatoes, onions, cheese...so tasty!
I was pretty amused this morning when my pastor, in his sermon, made references to the Food Network and the fashion industry in the span of about 90 seconds. I was thinking of how I recently wrote about my love of Project Runway and The Next Food Network Star. So, of course, I was inspired to come home and prepare Lisa Garza's French Toast Crostini with Honey Creme Fraiche for about the third time this week!

As promised... (see Honey It's Too Hot To Do Anything But Watch TV)

I followed Lisa's recipe pretty closely. I did reduce it to half a loaf of the bread when making the French Toast. It was my first time to make creme fraiche-which Lisa Garza uses in just about every episode. And now that I've made it I totally see why! Cool Whip Smmmmoooooooolll whip. (And by-the-way, the whisk in the photo is probably just about as old as I am.)

I used about a tablespoon (or less) of orange blossom honey. I like how the creme fraiche was lightly sweetened by the honey. I'm not big on lots of syrup on my pancakes or French toast. You know how Cracker Barrel will bring you about two or three of those little bottles of of maple syrup? I use maybe 1/3 of one of those bottles with my Mama's French toast breakfast.

I drizzled a bit of honey on the plate before placing the toast, then added some creme fraiche and another light drizzle of honey. I opted not to garnish with the almonds.

Today's batch was probably the best I've made so far. I think I got the bread sliced just so and browned just golden and crispy.

Using French bread for the French toast is just brilliant. You get a nice bounce back when you bite into it. The smaller slices make it easier to maneuver in the skillet and cook evenly. My family has enjoyed this recipe, too. I am definitely putting this one in the quick and easy favorites of my recipe box. And will continue to channel my inner Lisa Garza.