back in the kitchen: french toast with raspberry syrup

there's nothing like spending a week and a half without being able to cook that will inspire me to get back in the kitchen. a trip to the farmer's market for the first csa pickup of the season certainly also helps. as does being resolved to hang out at home on a saturday afternoon to watch some world cup soccer...

so, to whet my appetite for a day of cooking and futbol watching, I decided to start with some french toast. the catch was that i decided whatever i cooked needed to include at least one piece of csa bounty. for the french toast? raspberry syrup, of course!


french toast with raspberry syrup
serves 1

• 2 slices of your preferred bread (or more if it's small!)
  
• 1 egg
• some milk (or soymilk)
• dash of vanilla
• dash of cinnamon
• 1/2-1 cup raspberries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• dash lemon juice
• about 1/2 cup water

• combine egg and some milk to create a slightly thick mixture. add vanilla and cinnamon, stir. dip bread in egg mixture and allow to soak.
• meanwhile, combine water and sugar in a saucepan. cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture thickens slightly.
  
• stir in the raspberries, and stir occasionally (the more you stir, the more the berries will break down). bring to a boil and continue cooking until mixture thickens slightly more about 5-10 minutes. add lemon juice towards the end of the cooking time and stir.
• cook toast in a buttered pan over medium high heat until golden brown on both sides.
  
• top with syrup!
  

go go zo's best of chicago

my first time in chicago means a hit list is in order. so without further adieu, a list of my favorite dishes at a number of chicago restaurants. all were in the north river area and were absolutely fabulous.

crispy rice with spicy tuna and jalapenos at sunda. perfect texture combination: the crispy rice with the soft and smooth spicy tuna. also a great spicy and sweet combo: there was a sweet glaze on the rice that went well with the heat of the tuna and jalapeno.

french fries with white truffle oil and asiago cheese at primehouse. please, just let your imagination run wild, there's really not much i need to say. except perhaps that these fries were perfectly crispy, not too thin or thick and absolutely some of the best fries i've ever had. the truffle oil didn't make the fries greasy at all, just added that amazing truffle essence, and the cheese added an additional layer of flavor without making them at all cheese-fry like. we ordered a second helping. and ate them all.

you probably can't see this but it's the only photographic evidence i have of lobster deviled eggs at eve. genius! especially with giant chunks of lobster meat and caviar.