Honey Butter French Toast

I'm not what you'd call a history buff, but I appreciate the fact that so much of the food we eat actually has an interesting history. We love eating French Toast and recently wondered where this popular breakfast dish got its name. Turns out, it was created by medieval European cooks who had to use every bit of food they could find to feed their families. They knew that old, stale bread could be revived when moistened and heated. The French term for their recipe using old bread is known as "pain perdu," which literally means "lost bread."

So, stale or lost bread can be "revived" into a delicious breakfast treat; one that I like to enjoy on the occasional Sunday morning.

Okay, history lesson is over. This oven-baked version of French Toast is has a hint of apple and is toasty on one side/syrupy on the other. It's one of our new favorites from the Joy of Cooking Kitchen Cookbook 1997 version (throwin' it wayyyy back). This recipe is milk-free, scrumptious, and easy to prepare.

Melt together honey and butter in a 12x9-inch glass baking pan in the oven until the butter is liquid and the honey is bubbling. Already off to a great start, right?

Remove the pan from the oven, stir to mix the honey and butter, and sprinkle chopped pecans over the surface.

Whisk together apple cider, eggs, cinnamon, salt and allspice together in a bowl.

One or two at a time, dip the bread into the mixture. We used Texas Toast, but you could use any white or egg bread. Turn the slices in the egg mixture until thoroughly saturated, but not falling apart.

Arrange soaked bread over the nuts in the baking pan, sprinkle with more cinnamon and bake until the top is golden brown and the bottom is bubbly, 15-20 minutes.

Easy as pie, right? French toast is not rocket science, just pure deliciousness.

Make this breakfast your own by mixing up the nuts, adding fresh fruit, or whipped cream.

PS - if you want an even sweeter French Toast recipe, try Mascarpone French Toast Bake.

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Honey Butter French Toast

• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• ⅔ cup apple cider
• 4 large eggs
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• pinch of ground allspice (optional)
• 6 thick slices white or egg bread, with or without crusts

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Place butter and honey in a 12x9-inch glass baking pan. Heat in the oven until the butter is melted and the honey is bubbling. Do not allow the mixture to take on any color. Remove pan from the oven, stir to mix the honey and butter, sprinkle pecans over the surface.

2. While the butter and honey are melting, whisk cider, eggs, cinnamon, salt and allspice together in a shallow bowl.

3. One or two at a time, add bread. Turn the slices in the egg mixture until thoroughly saturated, but not falling apart. 

4. Arrange soaked bread over the nuts in the baking pan.

5. Bake until the top is golden brown and the bottom is bubbly, 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately with honey or pure maple syrup

For a festive touch, garnish with fresh berries, peach or nectarine slices, sliced bananas, toasted almonds or powdered sugar.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs & Blue Cheese Dressing

From chicken wings to chicken dip to chicken sandwiches, there are plenty of us out there who can't get enough buffalo sauce flavor in our lives. If you're a Buffalo-holic like me, when that craving sets in, there's no stopping it until at least a dozen spicy wings have been demolished or half the pan of buffalo chicken dip magically disappeared. Basically, it's hard for me to maintain self-control around this favorite spicy flavor.

Making buffalo wings can be labor intensive and eating them can be extremely messy. That's where the beauty of these mini buffalo chicken meatballs comes in. Ain't no thang but a chicken waaang.

They're little meatballs packed with lots of flavor and ridiculously easy to make. You won't be able to resist my Schweddy Bevy Balls (sorry, couldn't resist going back to that classic SNL sketch).  Look how they glisten!

Simply melt butter and hot sauce together and combine with ground chicken, an egg, minced celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Tip: use Frank's Hot Sauce; it's one of the original hot sauces used to make buffalo wings.

Roll them into a small ball shape; about 3/4 inch. Place into a pan so that they're touching each other and bake at 450F until the center of a meatball reads 165F.

You might be thinking...a chicken meatball? Is she crazy? These mini delights come from Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow of The Meatball Shop in NYC and they are a top seller at the restaurant.

Make them yourself and you'll see why they're the most ordered meatball at the restaurant. People in NYC live and breathe for this place; sometimes they eat there two days in a row, it's that good.

Once they've come out of the oven, let them cool and then dip in a blue cheese sauce. Or ranch. Whatever you fancy.

Warning: so good you may not go back to the bone.

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The Meatball Shop's Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
makes 40 meatballs

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup Frank's Red Hot sauce or any other favorite hot sauce
• 1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
• 1 large egg
• ½ celery stalk, minced
• ¾ cup breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9 x 13- inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.

2. Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

3. Combine the ground chicken, hot sauce mixture, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

4. Roll the mixture into round, ¾-inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.

5. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165F.

Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.

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The Meatball Shop's Blue Cheese Dressing

makes 2 cups

• ¾ cup sour cream
• ⅓ cup crumbled blue cheese
• ⅓ cup whole milk
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1. Place the sour cream, blue cheese, milk, mayonnaise, salt, and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly until completely combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if desired.

A Homemade Valentine's Day

You've heard that phrase, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach," right? It basically means that cooking food for a man is a smart and surefire way to win his affections.

Ladies, doesn't the same apply to us? Sometimes? Most of the time? I think yes. With Valentine's Day just a few days away, here are some of Bevy's most delicious and romantic recipes to help capture that special someone's heart - or to help them capture yours.

Planning a cozy breakfast in bed? Spoil your sweetie with Bananas Foster Waffles or make them feel like royalty with Nutella Cinnamon Rolls.

There's nothing more romantic than a dinner you create for that special someone. When it comes to romance, lusty Italian food is always a winner. Be super cute and make a heart-shaped pizza together. Indulge in a creamy rose sauce with chicken, shrimp, and fusilli pasta (one of my all-time, all-time faves). Travel to Bologna, Italy with a classic Bolognese sauce, an excellent chunky pasta sauce with meat and packed with flavor.


Who can forget dessert? Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes garnished with chocolate shavings and whipped cream are decadent and, not to mention, perfectly color-coordinated for the occasion. You can't go wrong with the best ever Chocolate Chip Cookies, either (I'll take 346,576 please). Lastly, this sinful, layered Pecan Pie Sundae topped with fresh whipped cream is definitely a winner; that is, if you don't end up eating all the pie before layering it between ice cream...).

Whatever you end up eating this Valentine's Day, I hope it's sweet and delicious!

The Best Sandwich in Richmond

Call me Joey Tribbiani, because I sure do love a good sandwich. I can get protective over them, too. I mean, half the taste is in the smell.

As far as sandwiches go, I'm sure many Richmonders have their favorite spots. Bernie's. The Black Sheep. Superstars. Even Subway for some people (not judging...not judging...). However, my personal all-time-favorite is Chiocca's Deli.

If you haven't been here, I'd advise that you go experience this special deli immediately. If you have, then you know that I'm talking about an old school, "downstairs" bar in the Museum District with a handful of wooden booths and plain black tables. The walls are covered with old photographs, street signs, and nostalgic decor - kind of like a smaller, way more original Applebee's wall. Not that Applebee's could ever compare to Chiocca's...anyway, back to the main focus: the food.

This sign speaks the truth! Piping hot sandwiches and subs like The Sailor (my personal favorite: beer broiled knockwurst, pastrami, swiss, mustard, on rye) and The Beast Feast (roast beef, pastrami, swiss, provolone) are heated layer by layer in a teeny tiny oven. Getting your food can take anywhere from 15 minutes if it's slow to an hour if its packed. Luckily, there are board games and a TV that may or may not be playing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace while you wait (I told you this place was nostalgic). But when the sandwiches come out of that oven and you get your hands around the warm bread, salty cuts of meat, and stringy, melty cheeses...the wait is worth it!

The Sailor

Liverwurst and swiss

The Italian

I would eat here every weekend if I could. Chiocca's, we love you. And, I'd love to show some love for other great sandwich shops in RVA, so let me know what you're favorite is!

Chiocca's Deli | (804) 355-3228 | 425 North Belmont Ave | Richmond, VA 23221