Holm Family Cookbook

Apple French Toast Casserole with apple syrup spooned over the top

If you are like me and like to entertain, you are probably always looking for the perfect recipe to feed to guests. Last week I found the perfect breakfast/brunch recipe on the Tasty Kitchen Website (you should check out the Tasty Kitchen Website, there are a lot of great looking recipes there). The ingredients, description, and photo of this Apple French Toast casserole made the recipe sound and look fantastic, so I made two batches of it the Wednesday before Thanksgiving just to make sure it was as good as it looked. I took one batch to work and left the other for my kids and their friends to eat. I received rave reviews from both groups. We were leaving on Thanksgiving Day to stay at my cousin Becky's house in Yuba City for a couple of days, so I made another batch before we left. I figured we could pop it into the oven when we got back from our early morning shopping escapade on Black Friday. 

The two batches that I made the day before Thanksgiving were made with pre-sliced Texas toast. The batch I prepped on Thanksgiving was made with sourdough bread. While the casserole was good with the Texas toast bread, it was exquisite with sourdough bread.

Now about the surprise ingredient . . . It's Jack Daniels Whiskey. The original recipe called for bourbon, which I did not have, so I used the closest thing to bourbon that I had on hand. Just in case you're thinking Jack Daniels is bourbon whiskey, it's not. The Jack Daniels website set me straight: Jack Daniel's is not a bourbon - it's a Tennessee Whiskey.  Anyway, about the Jack Daniels in this recipe--it complements the butter and adds richness to the flavor. However, if you don't have or can't have whiskey or bourbon, I think the recipe would be fine without it.

Jack Daniels is the surprise ingredient in this decadent French toast casserole

This dish can be made the day before and refrigerated overnight or you can make it the day you plan to serve it. You do not need to serve it with syrup; the apples and brown sugar make a syrup that you can spoon over the top of each serving.

On Black Friday when we returned from shopping we did pop the casserole into the oven and it sure hit the spot for us hungry shoppers! By the way, I want to set the record straight about the shopping--Becky, Laina, and I were not some of the bad shoppers you might have seen in the news on Black Friday. We were on our best behavior and did not shoot, pepper spray, push or shove, or rip anything out of the hands of any of the other shoppers . . .

Apple French Toast Casserole - Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

½ cup butter (one stick)

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Jack Daniels Whiskey

4 to 6  baking apples (e.g., Granny Smith), cored, peeled, and sliced

1 loaf sour dough or French bread, cut into 1 inch slices

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Dash of salt

Directions

If you are making this dish the day you are serving it, preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Melt the butter and sugar together over medium heat in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Cook until slightly thickened. Add the whiskey and whisk again. Continue to cook for about 1 minute.

Spray a 9″ x13″ pan with cooking spray. Pour the butter and whiskey mixture into the bottom of the pan. Arrange the sliced apples on top.

The butter, brown sugar, and whiskey mixture covering the bottom of the pan

Sliced apples arranged in the pan

In a medium or large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Dip each side of the bread into the egg mixture and arrange the bread on top of the apples. Pour the leftover egg mixture over the bread. 

Sour dough cut into 1-inch slices works best for this recipe

Dip both sides of the bread into the milk and egg mixture

If you plan to serve this dish the following day, cover the dish and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place the uncovered casserole dish in the heated oven. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until apple slices have softened and bread is golden brown (one of my casseroles took about 70 minutes to cook). 

The casserole is cooked until the bread is browned and apples soft

To serve, use a large serving spoon or spatula to remove a slice of the bread and the apples below. Flip it over onto a plate and spoon some of the apple syrup from the casserole over the top.

I'm planning on serving this Christmas morning.

~merry

The last time I turned down a whisky, I didn’t understand the question.  ~Unknown

In preparation for National Ice Cream Day on July 17th, we wanted to share our Granny’s famous ice cream recipe. Our cousin Lori and her family came out from Texas this 4th of July and she whipped up a batch of the strawberry ice cream for the family reunion on the Circle H Ranch.

A good time was had by all, and the ice cream was quickly inhaled.

Taking a dip in the cement pond - holding water since 1938!

Granny saved ice cream making for special summer occasions—such as birthdays, Father’s Day, or the Fourth of July.

Before she got an electric ice cream maker, the cousins would all get to take turns turning the crank on the old ice cream machine. I can remember all the cousins fighting over who would get to lick the dasher from inside the ice cream machine.

The famous ice cream dasher

Here are my favorites from Granny’s ice cream recipes.

Granny’s Strawberry Ice Cream

6 pints ripe strawberries, cleaned and hulled

2 pints heavy whipping cream

1 pint half-and-half

3/4 cup sugar

11/2 teaspoons vanilla

In a food processor or blender, process 5 pints of the berries until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the fruit with the cream, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Mash the remaining pint of strawberries with a potato masher and stir into the cream mixture. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Makes 5 quarts.

Granny’s Peach Ice Cream

8 ripe medium-size peaches

2 pints heavy whipping cream

1 pint half-and-half

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons amaretto

Drop the peaches into a large pot of boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and cool. Slip the skins off of the peaches, cut in half, and remove the pits. Process 6 of the peaches in a food processor or blender until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the fruit with the cream, half-and-half, sugar, and amaretto and mix well. Cut the remaining 2 peaches into 1/4-inch dice; stir them into the cream mixture. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Makes 4 quarts.

~ Lori Neely South

A flat of peaches from The Fruit Bowl fruit stand

I am so fortunate to live and eat in California! Having moved to San Joaquin County in 1999, I was excited to be amongst the agriculture, which supplies all the fresh fruits and vegetables one could want. Among the top ten commodities in San Joaquin County are: grapes – both table and wine, milk, cherries, tomatoes, walnuts, almonds, apples and asparagus.

Along many of the country roads and highways in San Joaquin County you can find fruit stands. Some of the stands are specific to one crop, but others have many fruits, vegetables, baked goods, and preserves. Fruit stands have been in existence long before Farmer’s Markets.

The Fruit Bowl fruit stand

One of my favorite fruit stands is The Fruit Bowl on Highway 88, between Stockton and Waterloo. This one has been in business over 60 years! Today I volunteered to bring fresh baked pies to our family’s Father Day gathering. Those of you that know me realize pies are not my forte, but they do have the VERY best pies at The Fruit Bowl, and it is right on my way to Livermore.

Boysenberry Pie

Peach Pie

I ordered a boysenberry pie, which tastes just like Granny used to make, and a peach pie. When I arrived at the Fruit Bowl, the counter was full of pie orders. The peach pie had just come out of the oven and remained warm until it was time for dessert. As I was purchasing the pies, my husband Troy was perusing the fruit stand. He found a flat of peaches, picked fresh this morning that we could not pass up. They were beautiful!

The Fruit Bowl Bakery

Should you happen to be driving along Highway 88, stop by! The Fruit Bowl offers a light lunch, delicious quiche, and gelato among a host of other baked goods. Some of the local wines and olive oils are featured. They have picnic tables in the shade and an air conditioned bake shop where you can eat. This is their 64th year in business – I encourage you to help them celebrate and support San Joaquin County’s largest industry – agriculture. Buy Fresh, Buy Local! I’ve included one of the Fruit Bowl recipes for Peach Salsa that you may find refreshing.

Fresh Peach Salsa

This salsa is a good accompaniment to grilled chicken, pork or shrimp; or mixed with crab meat; or as a topping on bruschetta spread with brie.

Ingredients

2 cups firm diced peaches

3/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced green onion

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, or to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Dash cayenne pepper

Salt, to taste

Directions

In a bowl, gently toss together all ingredients.  Best if used the day salsa is prepared.  Keep refrigerated.  Yield:  Approx. 3 cups.

-Susie Calhoun

"An apple is an excellent thing -- until you have tried a peach."  ~George du Maurier (1834-1896)

For the last few years, my daughters and I have seen pummelos at our local grocery store during the winter months and have marveled at the size of them. Last weekend I finally bought one and we were all pleasantly surprised by the sweet fragrance and taste of the fruit.

So what is a pummelo? According to essortment.com, the pummelo is a large exotic citrus fruit that is an ancestor of the grapefruit. It originated in Asia and is now grown in eastern countries, the Caribbean and United States. The pummelo tree can grow up to heights of 50 feet and produces very attractive white, fragrant flowers. When purchasing a pummelo, select only those that have a fragrant scent, is firm to the touch, and do not have any bruises. Pummelos can be safely stored in the refrigerator for about a week.

The pummelo is much sweeter than grapefruit and does not have that bitter taste that I find with most grapefruit. Even though the pummelo can reach 12 inches in diameter, the fruit inside is much smaller in diameter. Under the rind is a thick spongy pith. The spongy pith in my pummelos probably averaged 1 inch in thickness, but were much thicker in some areas.

To help illustrate the size of the pummelo, on the left of the pummelo is an orange, and on the right is a grapefruit

The inside of the pummelo. Notice the thick spongy pith between the rind and fruit.

A citrus salad I made with a pummelo and other citrus fruit

We really enjoyed the pummelo that we bought last week, so I bought another one this week and made a very refreshing citrus salad with a few other citrus fruits.

Pummelo Salad - Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pummelo

1 ruby red grapefruit

2 mandarin oranges

2 naval oranges

2 tangelos

(any combination of tangarines, mandarine, blood, naval oranges will do)

Dressing

Reserve excess juice from the fruit

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

Peel the fruit. Cut the fruit in to bite size wedges. While cutting the fruit, reserve the excess juice from the fruit. Remove the membranes from between the pummelo segments. Put the reserved fruit juice, lemon juice, honey, and ground ginger into a small saucepan. On medium high heat, bring juice mixture to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer to reduce the liquid for about 7 to 10 minutes. Allow the dressing to cool. Once the dressing is cool, mix into the fruit salad and serve.

~merry~