First Friday Art Walks

Art Galleries of St Augustine (AGOSA) open for First Friday Artwalks, so be sure to catch one when you visit the Inn. St. Augustine is a mecca for talented artists, and galleries abound. The atmosphere is festive, as visitors stroll the city streets for these FREE self-guided tours, from 5 to 9 pm. The participating galleries present shows, complimentary refreshments, live music, new exhibits, and opportunities to meet the artists. There is one FREE Artwalk Train and one FREE Artwalk Trolley on First Friday, and you can hop on starting at 6pm on King Street, making a loop around town every 15 minutes or so. You can also catch the train at San Sebastian Winery or Rembrandtz Gallery. You can get a pdf map of the Artwalk galleries at the AGOSA website.

Pumpkin Crunch French Toast

Pumpkin Crunch French Toast

6 large eggs
2 cups canned pure pumpkin puree
4 cups half & half
1 1/2 Tblsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, crushed
2 loaves French bread - Sliced into 3/4 inch slices

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, half & half, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar.

2. In a flat bowl, place crushed cereal.

3. Heat griddle or skillet to medium-heat, brush with butter. Quickly dip bread on both sides into the egg mixture, then cover one side of the bread with the crushed cereal. Place in hot skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining bread.

4. Serve immediately with maple syrup.

Servings: 12
Yield: 2 slices per person

Tropical Pear French Toast

Tropical Pear French Toast

Pear Sauce:

3 tablespoons Butter

½ cup Brown Sugar, packed

½ cup Orange Juice

½ cup Pineapple Juice

¼ teaspoon Ground Ginger

2 ripe Pears, cored and thinly sliced

½ cup Chopped Pecans

Melt butter in skillet; add sugar and stir until melted. Stir in orange juice, pineapple juice and ginger; boil until slightly syrupy. Add pears; turn to coat; boil until slightly syrupy. Cook on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes or just until pears are tender. Serve over prepared French Toast, garnish with chopped pecans.

French Toast:

½ cup Milk

3 Eggs

½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract

½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ground

6 slices French Bread or Texas Toast

Combine milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon, beat well. Dip bread into egg mixture, coat both sides, cook in buttered skillet or griddle until golden brown on both sides.

Place the French Toast on a plate and top with the Pear Sauce.

Enjoy......

Chef Gary

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Gingerbread Men

Grandma’s Chocolate Gingerbread Men

3½ cups all-purpose flour, divided

¾ cup cocoa powder, sifted

1½ tablespoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2/3 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup molasses

1/8 cup raisins, for garnish (optional)

1/8 cup red-hot candies, for garnish (optional)

1 cup vanilla icing

Position racks in the top & bottom thirds of the oven, then preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease several large baking sheets and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking pow- der & cloves until spices & coca are evenly distributed, then set aside.

In a 2nd large bowl, cream shortening & brown sugar until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in egg & then the molas- ses. Turn off mixer & add flour mixture, then slowly combine, just until crumbly bits of dough form, but not until the mass begins to cohere into a ball.

Lightly flour a clean, dry work surface as well as your hands. Turn dough out & knead just until it forms a smooth mass, about 30 seconds. Divide into thirds & cover them with a clean kitchen towel.

Lightly dust the work surface again & roll one of the thirds to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Flour the dough & a rolling pin only as necessary. Use a gingerbread-man cookie cutter to cut the dough into the desired shapes, then carefully transfer to the prepared baking sheet(s).

Gather any scraps, lightly dust again with flour & roll out a 2nd time, creating additional gingerbread men. Decorate the cookies with the raisins & red hots, if desired, or decorate with the icing after they cool.

Bake for 4 minutes, then rotate sheets top to bottom & front to back. Bake another 4 minutes, or until cookies feel dry but still are a little soft. Remove from oven & cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal - YUM!

Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal

2/3 cup Cooking Oil

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

3 cups Oatmeal

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 cup Milk

2 cups Apples, chopped

1 cup Cranberries, dried

1. Cream oil, sugar, egg, baking powder and salt together until smooth.
2. Add in oatmeal and milk and mix until combined.
3. Spray a 9x13 pan and layer in apples & cranberries.
4. Add oatmeal mixture over fruit.
5. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Serve with milk.

Recipe adapted from Swiss Woods B&B, Lititz, PA

I had the honor of uniting Pasquale & Cindy in marriage

on Saturday, June 20, 2009.