Santa Fe Trail Restaurant Recipes

SANTA FE (RAILROAD) FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Position rack in middle of the oven.
• Arrange bread in a single layer in a baking dish.
• Whisk together cream, eggs and salt and pour over the bread.
• Soak bread, turning once, until most of liquid is absorbed but bread is not falling apart, about 2 minutes.
• With a slotted spatula, carefully transfer soaked bread to tray.
• Heat 1/2 inch oil in a heavy skillet over moderate heat until registers 325 degrees.
• Fry bread 3 or 4 pices at a time, turning once, until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes per batch, maintaining 325 degrees.
• Transfer to paper towel to drain briefly then arrange in a single lager on baking sheet.
• Once all bread is fried, bake toast until puffed, about 4 minutes.
• Dust with confectioners sugar and serve with syrup or honey.

SANTA FE TRAIL MIX

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F Line 14x11 baking sheet with foil and set aside.
• Combine pecans, cashews, pistachios, pine nuts and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
• Combine butter, cumin and garlic powder in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave on high 45-50 seconds or until butter is melted and foamy. Stir to blend.
• Place butter mixture, chile sauce, chipotle chile and orange juice concentrate in food processor or blender; process until smooth. Pour sauce over nut mixture; stir to coat evenly. Spread mixture in a single layer on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake about 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and spray mixture evenly with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp dried cilantro over mixture. Stir mixture with a spatula and repeat with additional cooking spray and remaining dried cilantro. Set baking sheet on wire rack to cool.
• Leave uncovered at least 1 hour before storing in airtight container or resealable plastic food storage bag.

SANTA FE FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• 1. The night before, whip together the cream, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until frothy.
• 2. If the bread is not pre-sliced, then slice the bread into 3/4-inch slices. Then cut each bread slice diagonally from bottom corner to opposite top corner, to make triangle-shaped pieces.
• 3. Soak bread in the cream mixture overnight. (If the bread is really soft, reduce the soaking time to 2 hours.) If slices float to the top, push them down with another slice of bread, until all slices are completely covered by the cream mixture. Cover bowl and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
• 4. When ready to cook, lightly brown both sides of each bread slice in a skillet. Then place the browned slices on a lightly buttered baking sheet.
• 5. Bake in a 350° oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle the tops with ground cinnamon and a light dusting of powdered sugar. Serve immediately with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or your favorite fruit preserves.
• 6. TIP - the original recipe calls for pain perdu, or "lost bread" in French which suggests making use of last night's leftover bread. Day-old, thick-sliced bread works best and holds up to soaking much better than thinly-sliced fresh, soft breads.