There are times, like yesterday, when not knowing what to do, we could actually come up with a real winner. A bit ago we bought two lobster tails (on sale) for a special occasion. We also had a couple of croissants in the freezer. When the plaintive cry comes up “what’s for lunch”, we came up with this one.
- 2 lobster tails (should actually be 3 to make a really good sandwich)
- 2 croissants
- 1 stick celery
- mayo
- 1 mango
- pinch of paprika
- 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
Cook the tails in salted water for 10 minutes and immediately cool down with cold water to prevent further cooking. Crack shells, remove the meat and coarsely chop. Set aside.
In a bowl, slice crosshatch pattern in each half of the mango and remove small cubes to bowl. Peel and thinly slice celery. Add lots of mayo (not salad dressing), a pinch of paprika and the lobster meat. Stir to mix well.
In a frypan, melt a tablespoon (or more) of butter, place the croissants in for about 1 minute, turn over and again, cook for a minute. (This is for the outside of croissants, not open face).
Open up the bun and fill with the lobster mixture. Pour a glass of wine or beer, take a bite and roll your eyes to heaven and say, thank you!.
These, my friends, are delightful.
* we also thought that halved seedless grapes would be just as awesome.
Orange Croissant French Toast
A funny thing just happened. I have a cookbook that was printed back in 2009. In it are recipes that received the greatest number of kudos from guests and family alike. Don and I are doing a cooking class demonstration on Thursday and, you guessed, while preparing everything and, of course, sampling the fare before we go, Don said I should print off this recipe so everyone can follow through. Yea, I said….then I tried to find it. HA! I never did post it.
Here it is….it is an elegant, exceptionally fine cuisine and a real WOW factor.
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 – 3 tsp. Grand Marnier
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- grated zest of one orange
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 2 tbsp. icing sugar
- 4 croissants, one day old
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp. Crisco oil
- orange syrup (recipe follows)
- 2 segmented oranges
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Whisk together the eggs, cream, Grand Marnier, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and zest in a medium bowl. Stir together the cream cheese and icing sugar in a small bowl.
Cut the croissant in half lengthwise and spread the outside bottom with cream cheese mixture and the outside top with the marmalade. Place back together (they will be inverted with cut side out) to seal. (they will look inside out)
Place the stuffed croissants in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Pour the egg mixture over them and soak for 5 minutes. Turn over and soak for another 5 minutes or until soaked through.
Heat 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. Crisco oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Fry each side until golden brown. Place on a wire rack and place in the oven while cooking the remaining croissants.
Wipe out the frypan and repeat with the oil, butter and croissants.
Orange Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Combine juice and cornstarch in a bowl and then mix into the sugar syrup. Simmer gently until thick. (About 6-8 minutes). Add butter and stir until it melts. Serve warm over the croissants.
Peachy French Toast
This is the time for peaches and why not use them in every way possible. Try this recipe. It serves 2, so if more mouths to feed than that, add accordingly all the ingredients.
- 2 croissants (day old is best)
- 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
- 2 large, ripe peaches
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup half and half cream
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- butter for frying
- icing sugar
Slice the croissant in half, lengthwise and spread 1 tbsp. of the cream cheese on each half.
Slice the peaches and place most of the slices on one half of each croissant. Put the tops back on each one.
Beat together in your electric mixer the eggs, cream, sugar and vanilla. Soak each croissant in this mixture but not to get them soggy. Melt the butter and cook each one until they become a golden brown and warm in the middle.
Place on a pretty plate, add the remaining peach slices and sprinkle a generous amount of icing sugar. If you JUST happen to have on hand, a dollop of whipped cream, it will just take this one over the top. Place a couple of mint leaves on the side (for colour).
I told you it was yummy…..and I didn’t lie.
Croissant Bread Pudding
Who knew there were a zillion recipes for Bread Pudding? Well, if you are looking for a rich tasting one, this is it. If you shop at Costco, then it is a breeze to make. They have the best croissants…..
- 10 large croissants
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 9 large eggs
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp. rum extract
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 3-3 1/2 cups half and half cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove top rack from the oven.
On two baking trays, place the croissants that have been cut in half lengthwise and bake for 3 minutes until lightly crisp.
Stir brown sugar, butter, pecans and cinnamon is a bowl. This will be moist. In a large bowl whisk the eggs until frothy and add the sugar, rum and vanilla, nutmeg and salt and mix until well blended. Now whisk in the cream and blend well.
Now it gets a little tricky…not hard, just tricky. Take the bottom halves of the croissants and make two rows on the bottom of the pan by standing them up slightly in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Scatter half of the sugar/nut mixture over the top and ladle half of the custard over the top .
Now lay the tops of the croissants, cut side up, over the top making two rows. This is now extremely full. Scatter the remaining nut mixture over the top and add the remaining custard. Almost too full now. With your clean hands, press the tops of the buns down until they are all covered with custard. Let this sit for about 5-6 minutes to soak up all the liquid.
Carefully place the pan inside a larger roasting pan in the center of the oven. Add hot water until it is halfway up the sides of the pan. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for about 35-40 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the baking dish out of the waterbath and cool on a rack. When serving sprinkle with icing sugar. I told you this was beyond yummy.
Divine Croissants
This is a savory breakfast and a nice change fromthe usual sweet fare.
- 4 large croissants, cut 3/4 through, lengthwise
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 – 3/4 cups cream
- 1 tbsp. minced fresh dill
- 1/2 cup finely chopped button mushrooms
- 1/3 cup finely chopped salmon
- 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Preheat oven to 225 degrees and warm the croissants for about 5 minutes. Melt the butter in a skillet. In a bowl beat the eggs and cream together. Add the dill, mushrooms and salmon.
Pour into the skillet and scramble until almost dry. Fill the croissants with the egg mixture and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Broil the croissants open-faced until the cheese is bubbly.
Serve immediately with a slice or two of fresh fruit and a fresh, hot cup of coffee and the world looks all anew.