Oven Puffed Pan-Toast

This recipe is SO simple and comes out SO beautifully it makes an elegant presentation with very little hassle. But the best part is it's versatility. It can be made sweet or savory like a crepe, and can be covered with jam and syrup, fresh fruit, gruyere and caramelized onions, or virtually anything you can think of. It's consistency is that of a thin french toast, definitely egg-y but crisp and crunchy rather than spongy. Buttermilk gives this dish a richness, but regular milk may be substituted for a lighter version. The version shown here was dusted with cinnamon and allspice.

This recipe will yield 1 10" toast, enough for 4 large servings or 6-8 smaller servings.

Pumpkin Pie with Salted Caramel Pecan Topping

Our friends Lori and Jason love Thanksgiving more than anyone I know. Tragically one year both of them became violently ill and had to call off the seasonal feast, postponing it to a later date that came to be known as faux-thanksgiving. Faux-thanksgiving has developed into a regular holiday with our group of friends, and even though this years soiree was held closer to Easter than Thanksgiving, nonetheless fun (and ungodly amounts of food) was had by all.

For this faux-thanksgiving I baked a silky smooth pumpkin pie with a salted caramel pecan topping. Though there were no less than 5 (5!) desserts, this pie was still a hit and received plenty of damage.

I always prefer my pumpkin pie to have a graham cracker crust. For this recipe I used a prepared crust. The crust is not the star of this dish, and not having the time to whip one up I have not included a recipe for one here.

Thanks to our hosts Mikey and Anthony for this years faux-thanksgiving!