I was out last night until about 4. Woke up at ten (later than I do....ever....these days anyway). Fed the animals, let the dog out for his first outside run. Went back to bed until a little after noon.
Called Jake as soon as I was awake. Made plans to head to Sam's Club, because, apparently, that is the only place in town that sells the only bones my dog will eat.
Got on Facebook whilst brushing my teeth, and noticed --via my local newspaper's status update-- that I had won tickets to the Taste of Greeley, a cooking school hosted by Taste of Home. I was so shocked; I never win anything.
Jake and I go to Sam's. Get the pet supplies. Come back to the house. The dog and the kitties are happy when they see the packages come in through the door. (I think they are learning to read. Or they recognize the sounds that kibble makes when it is in a certain bag / box. Whatever story works for you.)
I throw laundry in the washer. Mom and dad finally get home. (They've been gone to Missouri for the past week.) I am going through my groups on Flickr, multitasking in several tabs on the Internet like I always do. Mom shows me the stuff they bought in Missouri and betwixt here and there. She bought Jake and I a stuffed Toto (in a basket, of course) during their drive in Kansas, and she also bought me an apron to wear in Ceramics class. (It's cute; it may become my cooking apron instead!)
Jake and I go to the cooking class. We listen to the presentations and get hungrier as the night goes on. (To make it worse, the show was from 6:30 until 9, so it covered the timeslot for dinner.)
They gave away different random prizes as door prizes: cookbooks, a traveling wine case, cookbooks, a newspaper subscription, cookbooks, kitchen utensils...have I mentioned cookbooks yet? No? Well, they gave a lot of those away.
At the end of the evening, they gave away each dish that our cook, Jamie, prepared. Each dish comes with its own baking dish. I was the first lucky winner this time!
The dish is white and ceramic, and huge. (Perfect for lasagnas!)
I can't wait to cook more stuff in it. =)
Anyway, here is the recipe!
UPSIDE DOWN BANANA PECAN FRENCH TOAST
(feel free to omit the pecans or substitute with walnuts)
Yield: 10 servings | Prep Time: 15 minutes + chilling | Bake: 45 minutes
2 packages wheat pull-apart dinner rolls
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melterd
1/4 cup corn syrup
4 medium, ripe bananas
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Maple syrup
Fresh sliced strawberries
1. Butter (or spray) bottom and sides of a 13-in. by 9-in. baking dish. Slice rolls in half and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup and mix until smooth. Spread mixture into an even layer in bottome of prepared baking dish. Slice bananas thinly and place over brown sugar mixture. Scatter pecans over bananas. Place sliced rolls on top, cut part down. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, and vanilla. Pour mixture over rolls. Cover lightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake 45-50 minutes or until golden.
4. Cool slightly. Run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen sides and carefully invert pan onto a large platter, or slice and serve as is. serve with warm maple syrup and sliced strawberries.
Jake and I had been wondering what to have for dinner. Guess we didn't need to!
This was delicous.
...now, the thing is, there were strawberries on this when I received it, but we took them off before reheating, and kinda forgot to put them back on. You can see the strawberries in the bottom pic.
(If you look on the top pic, on the left side you can see the red rim where a strawberry had lain.)
If you try this, let me know what you think!
