Three Star Michelin Le Pain Perdu with Cranberry Maple Syrup

Le Pain Perdu with Cranberry Maple Syrup

One of our simple pleasures in life is navigating the blogging community and participating where we can. Our group has now passed the halfway point on the list of Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers. The past six months have flown by as we experiment with dishes from each of the 50 influential women on "the list." Whether you agree or disagree with the authors chosen fifty and their order it has been an enjoyable and creative outlet to cook from the masters and those we admire. There have even a few bloggers on the list. We have checked out books from the library, borrowed cookbooks from friends, surfed the Internet and browsed our own cookbook collections seeking that one recipe that will highlight that weeks outstanding woman. This group is spearheaded by my favourite well-travelled blogger Mary of One Perfect Bite who back in June invited bloggers to travel along on a culinary journey throughout the year. It is still not too late to join in in 2012, so if you would like to learn new techniques and be creative in the kitchen please contact Mary.

Anne-Sophie Pic is number 28 on "the list" and the last woman to be featured in 2011. Our group is taking a little break to be with our families and celebrate the holidays. True to form Anne-Sophie grew up around the family restaurant. Her bedroom was above the kitchen. Both her grandfather, famous for his crayfish gratin, and her father had three Michelin stars in their time. As with many of us in her teens she rebelled against the family business by shunning cuisine to study management overseas. At 23, she accepted her calling, resolving to train under her father who died shortly after her decision. Five years later, the self-taught chef took over the restaurant, shaking up the staff and the menu to reflect her devotion to plain, natural ingredients. Although she came late to haute cuisine, the chef, who prefers to mix textures and flavours rather than radically alter ingredients, continues on her gastronomic dynasty.

 "My cuisine, I would say, is simple and sophisticated. I attach supreme importance to getting the flavours just right," Anne-Sophie Pic.

Anne-Sophie Pic is a petite, softly spoken and revered chef who has headed the kitchen at La Maison Pic in the south-eastern French town of Valence for more than a decade. The French Michelin guide, the influential "little red book" of gastronomy, awarded its top three-star accolade to the first female chef in more than 50 years. Ms. Pic is only the fourth woman to win the top award. A specialist in fish, her signature dishes include sea bass caught in coastal waters and steamed over wakame kelp, served with gillardeau oyster bonbons, cucumber chutney and vodka and lemon butter sauce.

What have we been up to for our 28th Game Changer......

 Mary of One Perfect Bite - Nuggets de volaille "trois étoiles"

Val of More Than Burnt Toast - Le Pain Perdu with Cranberry Maple Syrup
Susan of The Spice Garden 
Taryn of Have Kitchen, Will Feed  Grapefruit Confit.
Heather of Girlichef  - Le Pain Perdu
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette at Jeanette's Healthy Living  - Chocolate Mousse with Pomegranate Gelee
Kathleen Van Bruinisse at Bake Away with Me - Gingerbread
Barbara of Moveable Feasts - Creamy Carambar
Martha of Lines from Linderhof
Nancy of Picadillo - Veal Piccata with Pecans, Spring Vegetables and Ham.
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits - Ann-Sophie Pic
Veronica of My Catholic Kitchen
Claudia of Journey of an Italian Cook Tomato Chutney

The holiday season has arrived here at More Than Burnt Toast. There is a nip in the air and we have to recharge our batteries for all the impending hustle and bustle. It is the season of excess where the old adage "Waste not want not" can still hold true. You can turn your stale bread into a kitchen masterpiece. Beyond croutons and crumbs, many cultures have a revered dish made from stale bread, from soup to salad to pudding. Yesterday's baguette or pita isn't just for the birds! In Middle Eastern countries they have Fattoush, in Italy Panzanella, in Greece Dakos, in India Papri Chat, the British have Bread Pudding and the French...Pain Perdu. Yes, this is French toast, but a superior one. Unlike normal French toast this batter cooks into a custardy, crispy coating that leaves the bread creamy and....oh so good!!!

"Pain Perdu" means "lost bread," and this recipe is a scrumptious solution for what to do with those stale loaves of bread that were about to be "lost." Brioche bread is the perfect choice but you can use any bread of your choice to make this in your own kitchen. Ms. Pic serves this classic up with a homemade jam but I gave it a Canadian holiday twist with a delicious mixture of maple syrup and any leftover cranberry sauce you may have lying around.

 **Le Pain Perdu**

Coupez 8 morceaux de pain en tranches épaisses. Dans un saladier, mélangez 4 œufs et 20g de sucre au fouet, puis ajoutez 10cl de lait et 1 gousse de vanille. Faites tremper quelques minutes les morceaux de pain dans le mélange. Egouttez rapidement puis cuire dans une poêle chaude avec un peu de beurre jusqu’à coloration. Retournez les tranches une ou deux fois, avant de les servir chaudes à l’assiette, accompagnées d’une confiture de fruits de saison.

**Cut 8 pieces of bread into thick slices. In a bowl, mix 4 eggs 20g sugar and whisk, then add 10cl of milk and a vanilla bean. Soak a few minutes the pieces of bread in the mixture. Drain and cook quickly in a hot pan with a little butter until browned. Turn the slices once or twice, before serving hot plate.

**Cranberry Maple Syrup**

Syrup

• 2 cups pure maple syrup
• ½ cup cranberry sauce

1. Heat maple syrup until warm; add the cranberry sauce and mix together, serve warm.

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