French Toast with Mushrooms and Bacon

Method

Cut rounds (± 9 ½ cm) out of the bread.

Whisk the eggs, cream and Garlic Pepper Seasoning together and pour over the bread rounds. Turn once or twice to allow maximum absorption. Allow to stand.
Bacon and mushrooms

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lay the bacon strips on baking paper, to fit an oven tray. Don’t overlap the bacon.

French toast with mushrooms and bacon bacon prep shot

Lay a second sheet of baking paper (cut to size) over the bacon and roll with a rolling pin over the top sheet to stretch the bacon lengthways. Bake between sheets of paper for 10 -12 minutes until bacon is crispy. At the same time bake the french bread in ± 10 cm individual buttered ovenproof dishes.

French toast with mushrooms and bacon pre bake french toast

Stir-fry the mushrooms in the oil/butter mix briefly, add undiluted Beef Stock. Remove from the heat and season to taste.
To assemble

Spread the baked french toast with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto. Top with stir-fried mushrooms, bacon, flash fried tomatoes and finish off with a sprig of basil

Chicken Schnitzels with Parmesan Crumbs and Cheese Sauce

Method

Butterfly the breasts and cut each in half.

Place one chicken breast half in a sturdy plastic bag (medium freezer bag size) and with the flat side of a meat mallet, beat the chicken out to no more than ½ cm thickness, it must be quite thin. The funkier the shape the better, it gives that homemade look.

Cut the bread into cubes with crust, and feed into the processor while running, to make fine, fresh breadcrumbs. You should end up with ± 2 cups of breadcrumbs.

Add the Chicken Spice and grated cheese. Blend again to mix well.

Decant crumb mixture onto a large dinner plate. Measure the cornflour onto some baking or greaseproof paper to save washing up.

Beat the eggs in a large soup plate. Line the coating ingredients up:
1) cornflour
2) eggs
3) crumbs

Dip flattened schnitzel first in cornflour, dust off excess. Using a small pair of tongs to swipe schnitzel through egg. Drop into the breadcrumbs. Turn and pat until crumbs adhere nicely.

Put coated schnitzels onto a plate and separate layers with greaseproof or baking paper. Freeze for 15 minutes before cooking, or refrigerate for 30 minutes.

The real secret here is to cook schnitzels in a cool pan. If the meat shrinks too fast, the crumb coating tends to come away.

Melt the butter until it foams over medium heat, add oil and then add the schnitzels, cooking in batches. Keep the heat down so that the crumbs don’t overbrown before the meat is cooked.

Serve with our gently warmed Cheese Sauce, lemon wedges and chives.

Our Caesar Dressing would be an excellent choice to dress a salad.