About This Episode

It’s our very first cooking episode! That’s right we’re diving in and cooking on the set of Mommy In Chief  to celebrate Moms on Mother’s Day. Instead of taking Mom out to a fancy restaurant this Mother’s Day, we’re demonstrating how to prepare a tasty brunch for her right at home. Chef Mark McLean of Remarkable Cuisine  is showing us all how to make Cereal Crusted French Toast. 

About Chef Mark McLean

Mark McLean is a personal chef and owner of Remarkable Cuisine, LLC.  Remarkable Cuisine is the culmination of Chef Marks 4 years of private chef services and experience in catering over 200  events. Through Remarkable Cuisine, Chef Mark displays his skill set and passion in the kitchen.  ”I am not here to present a standard or ordinary fare that is “good” or a “decent option”. I attack an ingredient, menu, and dish like the rest of things in my life — with a strong knowledge base and hard work that will make that dish shine,” as quoted by Chef Mark on his company’s website.  Chef Mark is committed to creating a unique and tasty experience in all his dishes, so you’re definitely in for a treat with his Cereal Crusted French Toast.

Cereal Crusted French Toast With Berry Compote

Ingredients:

1 Loaf French bread

3 cups cereal, crushed fine

3 dashes cinnamon

3 cups raspberries (or another berry) fresh or frozen

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp. butter

2 eggs

1 cup cream (light if available)

2 cups milk

2 cups water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

Berry Compote

In a medium saucepan, add half the water and bring to a boil. Stir in the raspberries and sugar and reduce heat. Simmer until berries break and release their juices, about 7 minutes or so. Taste. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat, taste again and cover to keep warm.

French Toast
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, and add the cream and milk. Mix well, and then sprinkle in the cinnamon.  Add egg/cream mixture to a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, add the ground cereal. Slice load bread on a bias in half inch to inch pieces.

Let’s cook:
Place a sauté pan over medium heat. Add half tbsp. butter and a tbsp. of oil.

Place a slice of bread in the egg mixture, saturating both sides, then in the ground cereal, then to the pan.
Repeat with another piece, but be careful not to crowd the pan. Cook on one side until golden brown,
about 3 minutes, then flip and repeat with the other side. Remove from pan to paper towel lined plate and
place in oven on warm until remaining pieces are finished.

Serve French toast with berry compote drizzled on top and whip cream. Take a picture and enjoy.

About Karyn Parsons

theprayingwoman.com

In Finding the Right Path for You I wrote about my first time learning how to ride a bike.  I had a bad habit of looking behind myself to see if my father was still holding on to the back.  My habit was so bad that my aunt told me that Medusa was behind me (I was really big in Greek Mythology at the time… which is still going on now…) and if I were to look behind me I would turn into stone.  However, that made me want to look back even more.  Finally, I’m riding, my father let’s go, the wind is blowing through my hair, and for some reason, I look behind myself.  Before I could comprehend the cries of:  ”LOOK OUT!”  I run right into my father’s car.

Now, that would have been fine if I learned my lesson and that was the last time that it happened, but it wasn’t.  By looking behind me while riding my bike with my sisters and friends I have successfully crashed into glass doors, people’s pets, and other people.  But, the crash that made me finally decide to start looking forward was when I was riding my bike with my two older sisters, and I was in front.  Afraid that I was being left out of the loop I looked behind, and before I knew it I was catapulted from my bike.  After landing and skidding for what seemed like twenty minutes (though it was only like… five seconds), I got up to find that someone parked their car at the base of someone’s driveway, so their car’s butt was sticking out and that’s what I hit.  I had large scrapes over my body that were filled up with dirt, rocks, and other street nitty gritty, my clothes were torn, and I had an inability to ride my bike.  Even though I couldn’t ride, I hightailed it out of  there before the owner of the car could see the large dent I caused. (I limped away from the scene of the crime like I was on the Olympic limping team.  I definitely would have won the gold that day!)

Now, you might not be a bike rider, but anytime that you spend too much time looking behind yourself while you’re trying to move forward, you risk the danger of hurting yourself or someone else.  Your past is there as a learning tool to help shape your future.  But when you spend too much time looking back, that’s when you put yourself in “danger” by repeating the same mistakes over or by keeping yourself immobilized by not progressing.  I realized that every time I looked behind myself was the moment that I would hurt myself.

After a while I realized that my fear was that I was going to be left behind, or left out of something fun.  But that crash is what led me to being left out and being left behind.  I had to wait until I fully healed before heading back out on my bike, while my sisters were cruising on their ten speeds.

The same principle is true now.  If you spend too much time obsessing over your past, you’re going to miss out on opportunities that are happening right now.  Too busy thinking about that ex who cheated on you three years ago?  What about that cute tenderoni who’s showing  you interest now, or did you not notice?  Are you stressing about that old frenemey who did you bogus?  What about the person who’s showing you unconditional love and friendship now?  Still talking about that crazy boss you had?  Can you still talk about that old boss while putting in job applications, please?

I’m not saying to ignore your past, but instead of obsessing over it, learn from it.  Take a glance, not a step back, because honestly, there are things you can crash into everywhere!

Kendra Koger has been avoiding parked cars since 1992.  Follow her on twitter @kkoger.

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