[1] Dulce De Leche French Toast with macerated fresh berries, dulce de leche drizzle and a hand-whipped cream (photo © Chica | Las Vegas).

[2] French toast sandwich with jam. Here’s the recipe (photo © Zulka Sugar).

[3] Apple Pecan French Toast. Here’s the recipe (photo © Zulka Sugar).

[4] Pumpkin-batter French Toast with a sauteed apple topping. Here’s the recipe (photo © Domesticate Me | Peapod).

[5] Savory French Toast topped with tomatoes and cheese. Here’s the recipe (photo © Castello Cheese).

[6] Peach & Banana Stuffed French Toast (photo © Mackenzie Ltd.)

November 28th is National French Toast Day, but this year it fell on Thanksgiving.

So think of this tip not as being a day late, but as inspiration for Thanksgiving Weekend brunch. Thanks to Flavor & The Menu for the list.

While these ideas are for pan-fried French toast, you can also bake French Toast: equally delicious!

You can also make French Toast sandwiches like the Monte Cristo, an evolution of the Croque-Monsieur, a French sandwich of ham and Gruyère cheese, buttered and lightly browned on both sides in a skillet or under a broiler.

Here’s the recipe so you can try it for lunch—although probably not on the same day you have French Toast for breakfast.

Now, to the mix-and-match ingredients list. Try different combinations to find your signature French Toast recipe.
 
 
PICK YOUR BREAD

There are no limits on bread varieties, shapes, thickness.
 
Traditional French Toast Breads

 
Non-Traditional French Toast Breads

 
 
BATTERS

You can dip the bread into the batter right before cooking, or soak it overnight.

Here’s the classic custard dip, plus special batters that a surprise of flavor.

 
 
FILLINGS

Plain French Toast is great comfort food. But why not add an element of excitement with fillings between the layers of bread?

 
 
TOPPINGS

Sweet, savory, indulgent, healthful, fun/whimsical and premium: Take your choice.

 
 
SAUCE/SYRUP

Classic and/or modern finishes complete your French Toast delight.

 
 
THE HISTORY OF FRENCH TOAST

In Mexico, “lucha libre” is freestyle wrestling (literally, “free fight”).

It has developed into a stylish form of the professional wrestling, characterized by colorful masks, rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers, and “high-flying” maneuvers, some of which have been adopted into U.S. wrestling.

Gearharts Chocolates has ported the colorful spirit of wresting into a scrumptious chocolate crunch bar, which has become our new favorite candy.

The Lucha Crunch Bar is a 5″ x 2.5″ delight that is not to be missed.

The enticing packaging has artwork in Lucha Libre style, including a mask!

The luscious, nut-free candy bar inside is filled with Mexican-inspired flavors:

 
We can’t adequately describe the bodacious blend of flavors, except to say:

All hail the Heavyweight Champion! Lucha Crunch Bar is our favorite chocolate find of the year.
 
We’re buying a dozen as stocking stuffers, and another dozen to feed our chocolate fix.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to limit our consumption to one bar per week.

Get yours at GearhartsChocolates.com.

Get yours at GearhartsChocolate.com.

[1] A bite of Lucha Crunch Bar is a bite of heaven (both photos © Gearharts Chocolates).

[2] The package is designed in the bright colors of Mexico and the mask of a Lucha Libre wrestler.

To see photos of the bars, click here.

 
Company ownership may have changed, but all of these bars are still made today!
  

[1] Baked Brie with cranberries and olives. The recipe is below (photo © DeLallo).

[2] Caramelized onion baked Brie (photo © Paul Binet | iStock).

[3] The simplest topping: jam or preserves. Add chopped nuts or snipped herbs (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[4] Here, the honey and rosemary were added before the Brie was baked (photo © Urban Accents).

[5] Cranberry-pecan baked Brie. Here’s the recipe © Damn Delicious).

[6] A dessert Brie topped with caramel and pecans (photo © McCormick).

We have a certain warm anticipation to having guests in the fall and winter: Baked Brie.

We first discovered the concept in college, thanks to our friend Lesley.

She served us a plain baked brie with Triscuits. We had eaten many a slice of Brie with wine; but the simple act of briefly baking put the creamy, oozy cheese in a new light: a party light.

We have lots of ideas below, but let’s start with some tips.
 
 
BAKED BRIE TIPS

 
ANOTHER TIP, which we embrace: If you have the right size baking dish or ramekin, bake the Brie in it and serve it that way. It’s the non-messy solution: Nothing oozes all over a plate or platter.

We’re starting with a recipe for a savory Baked Brie with olives, but we have 30 recipe combinations below, for:

 
RECIPE: BAKED BRIE WITH OLIVES & POMEGRANATE

This recipe from DeLallo was originally made with fresh cranberries instead of pomegranate arils.

We found the fresh cranberries to be too tart, so we substituted the arils. Alternatively, you can use dried cranberries, which sweetly offset the saltiness of the olives.
 
Ingredients

 
 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350˚F. Place the Brie on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake until softened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. TOP the Brie with the olives, walnuts and cranberries. Drizzle with honey. Serve with bread, crackers or toasts of choice.

 
MORE BAKED BRIE TOPPINGS:

SWEET BRIE TOPPINGS

The best way to get the toppings to stay on the brie is to cover the top with a think spread of honey (regular or creamed) or jelly when it comes out of the oven.

Then, quickly add the topping(s) and serve.

Sticky toppings such as jam and similar textures don’t need any extra help.

 
When you have nothing else in the house but the Brie and the basics:

 
 
SWEET-AND-SAVORY BRIE TOPPINGS

If you want only savory toppings, here are three of our favorites:

 
 
DESSERT BRIE TOPPINGS

Some people like to turn baked Brie into a dessert cheese course, with caramel or spiced caramel sauce, toasted or candied pecans and other sweet toppings of choice.

Serve a dessert brie with graham crackers, toasted raisin bread or wheatmeal biscuits.

 
Consider adding a dessert wine: a sweet Muscat/Moscato, a sparkling red Italian Brachetto, or anything your wine store clerk recommends.

A tea-of-the-moment, which happens to be thousands of years old, is turmeric tea, a highly antioxidant, anti-inflammatory herbal tea.

Revered as a ‘golden spice’ in Ayurvedic medicine for more than 5000 years, it has long been drunk as a tea.

When brewing black tea, you can add ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric to the cup before pouring in the hot water. For a simple tisane, ground turmeric or fresh root slices with hot water is popular.

But for a most impressive healthful gift, Vahdam’s Turmeric Tea Tales (photos #1 and #2) is the way to gift it in style.

An elegant golden gift box contains vials of six turmeric teas that, the company notes, are not only healthful year-round, but are ideal to combat holiday stress and travel.

And, we say, a fine way to usher in all those “healthier lifestyle” resolutions for the new year.

Vahdam’s turmeric teas are flavored to add variety:

 
There are also individual tins of Turmeric Lattes (photo #3). Just add hot water or milk.

Varieties include:
li>Turmeric Ashwagandha Tea

 
And there are even more options for everyday: tea bags and pouches of loose tea.

Head To VahdamTeas.com to see all the options.
 
 
WHAT IS TURMERIC

Turmeric (TER-muh-ric) is a rhizome, an edible root of a flowering plant.

A relative of ginger, turmeric may look like ginger root from the outside (photo #4). But inside is a vivid yellow-orange flesh, that is dried and ground into a spice (you can find it in just about any grocery store).

Common in Indian, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern cuisines, turmeric has a sharp, slightly bitter flavor that adds interest to foods.

Because of recent focus of turmeric as a superfood, fresh turmeric root is now available in health food and other food stores in the U.S. We have friends who brew tea from the fresh root daily.

There’s more about the potential health benefits of turmeric below.
 
 
TURMERIC IN THE KITCHEN

In addition to brewed tea, turmeric is an ingredient in curry powder and garam masala spice mixes. It also has a place in American cuisine:

 
Use the freshly-grated root in:

 
Here’s more on how to cook with turmeric.

 
TURMERIC & HEALTH

Turmeric has been touted as a superfood that can fight cancer and diabetes, ease depression, and more.

Several compounds in turmeric may contribute to better health. The most well-known of these is curcumin.

We turned to Web MD for advice on what turmeric can, and can’t do.

While there has been much lab testing, the Web MD notes that scientific testing on humans is limited, and more is needed.

Research is ongoing.

[1] Deck the halls with this healthful gift: Turmeric Tea Tales (photos #1, #2 and #3 © Vahdam Teas).

[2] The inside of the gift box. And surprise: It’s one of Oprah’s favorite things!

[3] Turmeric latte.

[4] Turmeric root (photo © Malaysian Kitchen).

[5] Turmeric root and ground spice (photo © Silk Road Spices).

[1] Pumpkin spice hummus (both photos © Hatherleigh Press).

[2] Love hummus? Beyond a dip and spread, there are many recipes in this hummus cookbook. Get your copy here.

As a frequent purchaser or flavored hummus, we often look at the eight-ounce containers as one serving, possibly 1.5.

In terms of the “serving size” of two tablespoons—well, sure, if you’re five years old.

While our friend Jerry uses a mortar and pestle to grind his chickpeas and tahini into an authentic, rustic, consistency, we prefer the smooth-as-silk textures of commercial brands.

It’s so easy to make silky hummus. Just throw everything into a food processor.

Make this batch of Pumpkin Spice Hummus for Thanksgiving Week.

 
Thanks to Catherine Gill and her hot-off-the-presses The Complete Hummus Cookbook for this recipe.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN SPICE HUMMUS

Ingredients For 8 Servings

1. ADD all ingredients to a food processor, and blend until the desired consistency is reached.

2. TASTE and add more water if a thinner hummus is desired. Add more salt to taste.

3. GARNISH and refrigerate until ready to serve.
 
 
RELATED RECIPE: SWEET POTATO DIP
 
 
CHECK OUT THE HISTORY OF HUMMUS