Thankful - Day 2: Cooking

I am thankful today for the ability to cook and create in the kitchen! I love that what was once flour and yeast and milk can come together and make delicious things like homemade Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread (ok so I cheated a little and let the bread machine do the kneading part but who has time to brush their hair let alone make yeast dough from scratch with a newborn?!) 

After a few weeks out of my element (read: not cooking), I felt the urge to do something domestic in the kitchen and so Emma and I whipped up a couple loaves of this bread yesterday (recipe found here:

 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cinnamon-swirl-bread-for-the-bread-machine/. Noteworthy alteration: I added a handful of raisins to the walnut, brown sugar and cinnamon mixture to make it Cinnamon Raisin Bread).

I'd been craving cinnamon raisin bread for a couple days but then in planning a breakfast for my parents who were going to be in town this weekend, I came across my Pear and Gruyere Strata recipe that calls for cinnamon raisin bread as an ingredient, so it was a win-win decision to try it out. The strata recipe originally comes from Cooking Light Magazine with a couple minor adaptions made by me. Enjoy one recipe or both!

Pear and Gruyère Strata

• 4 cups sliced peeled Anjou or Concorde pear
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 12 slices cinnamon swirl bread, cut in half diagonally
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup

1. Combine pear, butter, and 1 Tbsp sugar in a large bowl; toss gently. Arrange half of bread in an 7 x 11-in glass baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon pear mixture evenly over bread; top with cheese. Arrange remaining bread over cheese.

2. Combine the remaining 5 Tbsp granulated sugar, milk, eggs, and cinnamon, stirring with a whisk. Pour milk mixture over bread, pressing down to submerge. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350°. Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over bread. Bake, uncovered, for 55 min or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Drizzle with syrup.

• Yield: 8 servings