Julie Van Rosendaal - Holiday cooking

On Tuesday's Eyeopener, Julie Van Rosendaal stopped by with some fantastic holiday baking ideas.

Crme Brle French Toast

adapted from Gourmet, July 1998

1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. maple or Roger's Golden syrup
1 large day-old loaf unsliced bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk or half & half
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar and syrup, stirring until smooth. Pour into a 9"x13" pan that has been buttered or sprayed with nonstick spray, tilting it to let it coat the bottom.

Cut the bread into 1" thick slices - a large loaf of bread, the kind that looks like a chef's hat when sliced, will produce 6 thick slices if you remove the ends. Fit them snugly into the pan, laying them down flat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk or cream, vanilla and salt. Pour over the bread, coating it completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for up to a day.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F and bring bread to room temperature. Bake until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

Milk Punch

Adapted from Canal House, v.2

5 cups whole milk and half-and-half (4:1 is suggested, but I went with half 1% and half half & half)
1 1/2 cups bourbon, another whiskey or brandy, or Jack Daniels honey liqueur
1 cup icing sugar
2-3 tsp. vanilla
Freshly grated nutmeg

Whisk everything together in a pitcher and freeze until slushy, which will take 3 to 4 hours, but you can leave it in there up to a day. Serve topped with freshly grated nutmeg.

Fig & Walnut No-Knead Bread

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting

1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. salt

In a large bowl stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Add the figs, walnuts and cinnamon and stir to sort of combine - the cinnamon will be streaky. That's OK. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and let it rest on the countertop for 18-24 hours at room temperature.

The dough is ready when its surface is wet looking and bubbly. Put a piece of parchment on the countertop and scrape the dough out onto it; dust the surface generously with flour and fold the dough over itself a couple times; sprinkle again with flour and cover with a tea towel. (Make sure it's not terry cloth, which will stick.) Let it sit for another hour or two, or even three or four.

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450. Put a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. Pull the pot out of the oven, lift up the dough on the sheet of parchment and drop it into the pot. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until crusty and golden. Remove from the pot and cool on a wire rack, or eat warm.