The Breakfast Club

My mother and I conquered brunch last weekend at the Viking Cooking School.  She drove about 6 hours west to Greenwood, MS, on Friday afternoon.  After impromptu meetings, last minutes tasks, and slamming my finger in a drawer, I finally got out of the office around 4:30.  I drove south for about 2 hours watching a gorgeous sunset over huge fields of cotton.  I was too anxious to see my mom to stop and take pictures but it looked a lot like this…

Photo Credit: Janice Person

We ate dinner at an artsy and eclectic café called the Delta Bistro in downtown Greenwood.  After a long day and drive, I was looking forward to a glass of wine and, naturally, Mom picks the only restaurant in town that is BYOB.  Luckily, they did have beer, so I enjoyed the local brew Lazy Magnolia, Southern Pecan.  

We had salmon, crab cakes, polenta, veggies, and local artisan bread.  We ate our fill and stayed up till 11 (way past both our bedtimes) chatting like best friends at a sleepover. 

If you know my mother, you won’t be surprised at all that we were at the hotel gym working out at 7am Saturday morning.  After a sweat session and a continental breakfast (plus last night's leftovers because I can't stand to see them go to waste) we headed downtown.  We wandered around in the quaint downtown  shops before our class started and stumbled upon this lost critter.

We attended the Celebration Brunch class at the Viking Cooking School, where we made Almond-Crusted French Toast with Blueberry Maple Syrup, Baked Eggs Florentine in Crispy Ham Cups, Apple Turkey Sausage, Sweet Bell Pepper “Hash Browns”, and Fresh Fruit Tart.

We learned some neat chopping tricks, drank some wine, and had a blast!

We were on a team with two other women, and in three hours, with the help of our wonderful instructors, we had prepared a feast.

Mom preparing the eggs in ham cups.  This was super easy and delicious

...although a bit messy.

I had never made sausage, so this was new to me.  You can really add whatever seasonings you like to your meat, make a log, refrigerate, slice, and fry.  We used ground turkey, onion, apple, parsley, sage, basil, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, garlic, salt, and pepper.  It was really good!

The fruit tart was made with a sheet of frozen puff pastry (thawed), an egg wash, lemon curd and fruit.  This one was simple but beautiful. 

The proud chef.

Our feast!

The whole class enjoying the fruits of our labor.

I think the French toast was the best so I've included the recipe at the bottom of this post.  They're a bit lengthy; I didn't type them all, but if you'd like specific one, I'll type it up and post it as well.
After our class, we decided there wasn't much left to see in Greenwood, so we headed to Memphis because, well, no girls' weekend would be complete without some shopping.  We raced through the PB and Williams Sonoma outlets and then the mall in record time.  To end a wonderful but long day, Holt picked us up and drove us downtown where we sat out on Main Street, people-watched, and enjoyed some Bluefin sushi.

Viking Cooking School’s Almond-Crusted French Toast with Blueberry Maple Syrup

Golden brown and crispy French toast is always a popular choice for brunch.  Because this version is baked in the oven, everyone’s portion is ready to eat at the same time.  For a special treat, splurge on real maple syrup blended with fresh blueberries.

French Toast:

1 ½ cups whole milk

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)

¼ cup granulated sugar, divided

1 (13 to 14-inch-long) soft-crust Italian or French bread

½ cup sliced almonds

Vegetable oil cooking spray, as needed

Confectioners’ sugar, to taste

Syrup:

1 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup fresh blueberries, divided

1. For the French Toast: Whisk together the milk, eggs, cinnamon, almond extract, vanilla paste, and 3 tablespoons of the granulated sugar.
2. Slice the bread on a sharp diagonal into 8 slices, each about 1-inch thick; reserve the ends for another use.  Place the bread slices in a shallow dish large enough to accommodate them in a single layer.  Pour the egg mixture evenly over the slices.  Cover and refrigerate until the custard is completely absorbed, about 30 minutes; turn the bread slices over when about half of the custard has been absorbed.*
3. When the custard is nearly all absorbed, preheat the oven to 400 F. Place a baking sheet in the center of the oven while it is preheating.
4. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar over the bread slices.  Cover each slice with a layer of almonds, pressing light onto the surface of the bread.
5. Remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven, and spray it lightly with cooking spray.  Quickly place the bread slices on the baking sheet, almond-side up, and return to the oven.  Bake until the French toast is crisp and golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
6. For the Syrup: Combine the syrup and half of the berries in a medium sauce pan.  Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until all of the berries have burst, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer, pressing firmly on the solids.  Stir in the remaining berries.
7. To Serve: Place the French toast slices on a warmed platter or individual plates, and dust with confectioners’ sugar.**  Serve the warm blueberry syrup on the side.

*The softer the bread, the more quickly it will absorb the custard.  Check after 15 minutes to see how quickly the bread is absorbing the custard.
**We skipped this step.  The syrup was so good and sweet, we slathered it on and left off the extra sugar.