#Review of Kitchen Confidence by @KelseyNixon

Host of Cooking Channel's Kelsey's Essentials and fan favorite on season four of The Next Food Network Star, Kelsey Nixon shares the essential recipes, techniques, and tools that new home cooks need in their back pocket.
A young food star and new mom, Kelsey is an invaluable friend in the kitchen to everyone settling into their first kitchen of their own. Her recipes, which are broken down into simple steps, teach readers how to cook, highlighting key tools and basic techniques everyone should know. And yet her flavors are anything but basic; Kelsey gives everyone the confidence to start with the 2.0 version of a recipe instead of the boring standards. For example, she makes her house pilaf with quinoa instead of rice, and her addictive fruit salad is a savory first course instead of a lackluster dessert. 
     With 100 recipes and 60 color photographs, Kitchen Confidence brings home all of the energy and spirit of the Cooking Channel show of the same name, making it an excellent handbook for newlyweds, recent college graduates, and those discovering their kitchens for the first time.

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About the Author

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KELSEY NIXON is the host of Kelsey's Essentials on Cooking Channel. She got her start in food media in college when she created 100 episodes of Kelsey's Kitchen, a cooking show that aired at Brigham Young University. Upon graduation, she trained at Le Cordon Bleu and the French Culinary Institute, and held internships at Martha Stewart Living and Food Network's Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. In 2008, Kelsey was a finalist and voted fan favorite on The Next Food Network Star. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their son. This is her first cookbook.

My Review 

Cooking with 5 Stars

I have to say that this has got to be my fav. cookbook.  The first recipe we have used since I got this book.  Which was the Stuffed French Toast.  We have been living off of that stuff.  Now we did make a few changes to it.  (Might do a video later) But its so yummy!!  We have also made some of the other items in this book and so far they are all yummy as well.  

This cook book gives you a very easy step by step how to guide to makes some of the best food I've had/made in a while!  With easy to find ingredients this is sure to be a staple in your kitchen.  

Go Into This One Knowing

All items in the book are easy to find at your local store.

"All opinions are 100% honest and my own."

Buy The Book

Stuffed French Toast with Fresh Strawberry Jam and Blue Berries 

Link to website

Now I changed a few things.  If you don't want to deal with having to stuffing the bread you can just have it sliced. And then smear the cream cheese onto two pieces and make a little sandwich then cook  like below.  I also use the cream cheese that already has stuff in it.  Like the strawberry, blue berry, or Brown Sugar Cinnamon.  And it comes out just as good. And I don't have to wait for it to be at room temperature. 

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf braided challah bread, cut into 6 (1 1/2-inch thick) slices
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Strawberry Jam, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons not melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Maple syrup, for serving

STRAWBERRY JAM:

3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced (about 1 pound)
1 cup sugar
1 medium lemon, juiced (about 2 to 3 tablespoons)

DIRECTIONS

Using a paring knife, cut through the bottom crust of each slice of bread horizontally, to create a pocket that your fruit filling can be stuffed into.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, Strawberry Jam and lemon zest. Fold in the blueberries. Place the mixture into a re-sealable bag. When you are ready to stuff the bread you will snip off a corner of the bag and pipe the filling in.

In a baking dish, whisk together the milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs.

In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet melt the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat.

Using the re-sealable bag as a pastry bag, stuff each slice of bread with about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture. Once the slices are stuffed, place each slice into the milk and egg mixture for about 10 seconds per side. Once the slices are coated with the custard base, place them into the skillet to brown. Work in batches. Cook each slice of stuffed French toast until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes per side. If cooking a large batch, transfer the cooked French toast to a baking sheet and keep warm in a 200 degree F oven while you cook the rest of the slices. Repeat the process with the remaining French toast. Serve warm, topped with extra berries, powdered sugar and maple syrup.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir often until the fruit thickens and becomes syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes.

Fill a large bowl with ice and a little water. Have a smaller mixing bowl that can sit within the larger bowl of ice. Once the fruit has cooked, add it to the smaller bowl and set it in the ice bath to cool. As the fruit cools it should become gel-like. Once the jam has cooled it can be stored.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information.

Posted in: 5 Stars, Adult, Review