Coconut Toast

I read about Coconut Toast on this blog called Laugh With Us Blog. It reminded me of this Filipino coconut dessert we ate all the time growing up. It was called “bukayo.” Bukayo is a native coconut “candy” made by cooking fresh grated coconut and sugar together. One of these days, I’ll have to post a recipe for you guys so you can see what it’s like. Our cusinera (cook) — yes, we had a cook when I was growing up — used to make it for us for an afternoon snack all the time. It’s usually shaped into little balls or little flat patties, but Manang Francisca used to just pile it all into a bowl and we each got to have a tablespoon or two of it. Saved her the work of rolling it into balls, I guess.

Anyway, the coconut in this recipe is prepared a bit differently as it has egg in it, but it reminded me a lot of bukayo. Of course, piling it onto bread takes it up a notch. How clever is that? Then you actually get to eat it with your fingers! No spoon needed. And eat it you will! Esther from Laugh With Us Blog wasn’t kidding when she said this was a must try. OMG! You’ll not only eat it with your fingers, but you’ll lick every little crumb off said fingers, too! It’s that good!

COCONUT TOAST

• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 9-12 slices of bread

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and coconut together.
3. Spread the mixture onto each slice of bread.
4. Arrange bread on an ungreased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until toast is lightly browned.

NOTE:  The original recipe is supposed to make enough mixture to cover 12 slices of bread. Apparently, we slather it on a lot thicker than that because we only get 9 slices of bread per recipe. LOL! Just spread the mixture on as thickly as you like. You’ll get anywhere from 9 to 12 pieces of toast.

Also, for those of you looking to cut down on your sugar intake, I’ve made this recipe with only 3/4 cup of sugar. It’s just as delicious as it is with the full amount.

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Cheese Crostini

This recipe for cheese crostini is so simple to make and takes hardly any time. If you’re looking for a nice accompaniment to a crisp salad or a hearty bowl of soup, you need look no further than this recipe.

These crostinis are great served warm from the oven. But let them cool down for a few minutes before serving so you don’t burn the roof of your mouth. When I pull these out of the oven, the family can hardly wait for them to get to the table. I have to slap away the hands trying to sneak one off the baking sheet!

CHEESE CROSTINI

• 1 loaf (1 lb.) Italian or french bread, sliced
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 packet (.7 ozs.) Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix
• 1½ cups shredded mozzarella (or other white cheese like monterey jack)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, salad dressing mix and cheese together in a medium bowl.
3. Spread over bread slices.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until tops begin to brown

NOTE:  I like Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix, but you really could use any brand you like.

Shrimp Toast

Somehow, I’d forgotten all about this recipe until now. I was looking through my recipe box for an appetizer to make and came across my recipe for these crispy little nuggets of seafoody goodness. I used to make Shrimp Toast for parties all the time when I was newly married. Finding this recipe instantly brought back memories of parties past….. a baby shower for my first born….. a birthday party where we danced all night….. lots of good times.

The name “Shrimp Toast” usually brings to mind those little triangles of fried bread with a shrimp mixture mounded on top. This recipe is different in that the bread is flattened with a rolling pin, spread with the shrimp mixture, then rolled into logs. The logs are fried until golden brown and then each log is cut into four little bite-sized rolls. One loaf of bread makes a lot of little shrimp rolls. For example, if your loaf has 15 slices of bread, you’ll end up with 60 little appetizers. It sounds like a lot, but believe me, they go fast! Everytime I make these, the little rolls are completely wiped out!

SHRIMP TOAST

• 1¼ lb. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 2 stalks green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp. minced ginger
• 3 large egg whites
• 4 tsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground white pepper
• 1 loaf day-old white sandwich bread
• canola oil for deep-frying

1. Place shrimp, green onion, ginger, egg whites, rice wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, salt, and pepper into the workbowl of a food processor.
2. Process until the mixture forms a paste, stopping a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Trim the crusts from the bread.
4. With a rolling pin, roll each bread slice to a little less than ¼-inch thick.
5. Spread a layer of the shrimp mixture about ⅛-inch thick on each slice of bread, leaving about a half-inch of one side free.
6. Roll each bread slice into a little log and place seam side down on a plate. The shrimp mixture should squeeze out to reach the free edge as you roll. If the mixture doesn’t reach the free edge, just smear a thin layer of shrimp mixture on it and press it closed to seal.
7. Pour about 2 inches of oil into a wok or high-sided frying pan and heat to 350ºF.
8. Working with 3 or 4 rolls at a time, slide rolls into the oil and fry until golden brown.
   
9. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
10. Cut each roll into 4 bite-sized pieces using a serrated knife.
    
11. Serve warm with sweet-and-sour sauce or with a sweet chili sauce like Mae Ploy.

NOTE:  This recipe can be prepared a day or two in advance. Just follow the recipe all the way to Step 6, then stack the rolls in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to fry. I have never tried freezing the rolls, but I can’t imagine why that wouldn’t work if you needed to make them a week or two ahead of time for some reason. If you try freezing them, post a comment and let me know how they turned out.

Buttered Seasoned Toast

I found another use for my isot pepper! I’ve been trying to think what else I could use it for ever since I bought it to make the pork stir fry. Well, I made chorizo con papas (Mexican chorizo with potatoes) for breakfast a few days ago and wanted to serve it with some toast. We often make buttered toast simply seasoned with salt and pepper. I use a good quality salt and fresh cracked black pepper to season the toast. So I thought, why not try the isot pepper? Delicious!

I don’t have any measurements for this recipe. Just slice however many slices of toast you want to serve, butter them with as much butter as you want, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

BUTTERED SEASONED TOAST

• 1 loaf french or italian bread
• unsalted butter
• good salt (I like Maldon sea salt)
• isot pepper (or any fresh cracked black pepper)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Slice the loaf of bread into slices as thick or thin as you want.
3. Butter each slice and place on a cookie sheet.
4. Sprinkle lightly with salt; then sprinkle with pepper to taste.
5. Bake until the slices are golden brown. How long this takes depends on your oven.
6. Serve hot.