A Sweet Breakfast Treat

French toast is one of those special breakfast treats.Imagine amping it up wit fruit, sour dough and a variety of spices. It turns into a perfect breakfast or brunch treat that's easy to make and wonderful to eat - even on a hot day.

Great chef and baker Yotam Ottolenghi created this for yesterday's New York Times Food section. French toast in Britain is called eggy bread and its savory instead of sweet. Chef Ottolenghi creates a fruity version with the addition of Braeburn or Gala apples and mixed berries. You could even add fresh peaches, this being peach season. He uses star anise and cinnamon but you can just use cinnamon if that's all you have. (star anise can be found in your grocery's spice section). As for the bread. Chef Ottolenghi uses crustless sourdough which produced a wonderfully chewy and tangy mouthfeel. As a sub try a boule of French bread or even a loaf of Italian as long as it equals two cups. There's also rolled oats for texture  and vanilla bean paste or extract for flavor. You will need superfine or caster sugar. However if  you can't find it, then grind granulated sugar in a food processor.It's topped with refrigerated cream with vanilla flavoring but again you could use Greek yogurt for some bite.

As far ass assembling and cooking, it's peeling and coring the apples.They're then baked to soften but not baked enough that they're mush. The butter is also browned at this time in a skillet , then placed in a heat proof bowl. Use the skillet to toast the sour dough. Add it to the butter. Then add the oats to the skillet until they're lightly basted. The flavorings are then added, the sugar, star anise and  flaky sea salt. The oats mixture is then added to the bread.It's then adding in the cooked apples, berries and two tablespoons of water evenly over the sourdough pieces and oats. All this is then baked in a 350 F degree oven for thirty minutes until it's golden and bubbling. Leave it to cool for ten to fifteen minutes. Add the cold cream and remaining three quarters teaspoon of vanilla in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Serve this crumbly French toast with the cream on top. You could easily turn it into a bread pudding dessert with the addition of vanilla or strawberry ice cream.

There's nothing like French toast. Try this version whether for breakfast, brunch or even dessert. It sweet, crumbly eggy and butteryv- all the best flavors rolled into one.

When Ocean Meets Grain

Pasta on its' own is a treat. Pair it with seafood, from tuna to shrimp and it becomes a special meal. It's a simple no brainer match. The flavors complement each other, with the strong brininess mellowing thanks to the grain's mild flavor.

Master chef and cookbook writer Yotem Ottolenghi wrote about this pairing in yesterday's New York Times Food section. He was inspired by his latest cookbook, Ottolenghi Simple published last week.It features recipes that are multilayered yet comforting along with tasting good.It's  easy cooking yet sophisticated enough to serve it for a dinner party.One such dish is pearl couscous with shrimp and clams. He combines seafood with such aromatic herbs and vegetables like tarragon and fennel. cherry tomatoes are added as is tomato paste. The grain is pearl or Israeli couscous. The grains are bigger in size than the regular one but cooks up the same way. Its' mild taste is a perfect foil for the variety of flavors and it balances out the shrimp and aromatics.Chef Ottolenghi stirs it into the mix of  charred cherry tomatoes,  lemon ,cooked fennel, and chili flakes Pernod, an anise flavored liqueur is added.As he describes it ,it 's sort of like a paella made with barley grains instead of rice. Could a home chef make this with rice or orzo?What about regular couscous? I don't see why not . Cook it separately and add it later as with any grain dish.

Chef Ottolenghi also offers up a more traditional pasta and seafood recipe.His is a shrimp Bolognese, a riff on the classic Italian meat sauce.It's first mixing the peeling king prawns -you can use shrimp - since their flavors are the same - with fennel, onion, garlic and chili flakes.All of this are pulsed in a food processor until the fish are chunks As with the other recipe, tarragon leaves and lemon are fried with the spiced, cut shrimp.Tomato paste, cherry tomatoes and Pernod are also added for flavor.wait until the tomato paste is brown and stick before pouring in the alcohol Again be careful with the Pernod ,carefully pouring it in. It may flame so be careful. Chicken or vegetable stock is added ( this is a personal preference but vegetable stock is more in line flavor wise with the other ingredients) Chef Ottolenghi uses tagliatelli, a thickly cut ribbon pasta but you could use fettuccine or the drinking straw like bucatini.

Mix seafood with grains for a great flavor combination. The brininess is tamed by the couscous and pasta's mildness. The result is an interesting flavor, heightened by tomatoes , herbs and Pernod liqueur.