No doubt if someone is more than just a casual surfer to this web site, they have interest in making bread. (As the teenagers are wont to say when they encounter such profundity, "DUH!")

Bread is not just for breakfast with a cuppa Joe, or to stick a couple of pieces of salami between for a "power lunch." Many great recipes use bread in one fashion or another.

Some require scooping out the insides to leave a medium for baking something else inside, some recipes ask that you slice off the top and/or sides. The creative cook realizes that these pieces will not be wasted. A gallon sized zipper bag, kept in the freezer, is a great repository for these "scraps." There seems to always be a need for breadcrumbs for meatloaf, cubed bread for bread pudding, and stuffing for fowl.

The following recipes are some that require the use of the bread we all like to bake. If you "bake" but do not "cook", that is wonderful! Ask your significant other to participate, get the kids/grandkids involved. If you can read, write, do arithmetic and follow simple directions you can create some wonderfully creative and imaginative meals that all center around the thing we enjoy the most: BAKING BREAD!

Tim D. Culey - Baton Rouge, La.
http://www.freeyellow.com/members/peopleworks/timcook.html

Cheese And Sausage Bread

Prepare your favorite 1 lb. bread recipe. Let rise one time. Punch down, roll out to a 20 x 12 inch rectangle cover with filling. Roll up jellyroll fashion, seal ends well. Bake at 450 degrees F. for 30 minutes.

Brush with egg yolk the last 10 minutes of baking if desired. Cool slightly before cutting. FILLING:

• 1 LB hot bulk sausage, cooked and drained
• 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated
• 2/3 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• Onion powder to taste
• Garlic powder to taste
• Egg yolk, beaten, optional

"Panama Limited" French Toast

The Day Before:

Prepare your favorite recipe of French Bread.

The Next Morning:

1. 2 eggs
2. 1/2 C milk
3. 3 C shortening (for frying)
4. Confectioners Sugar
5. 2 slices bread cut 1 1/2 inches thick, crusts trimmed (save for your favorite bread pudding or meat loaf recipe).

Cut bread diagonally to form triangular shaped pieces.

Beat eggs well, mix in the milk, and beat again. Dip bread slices in egg and milk mixture. (It is not necessary to soak the bread, although this maybe e done according to preference.)

Fry in hot shortening, using medium sized fry pan. Brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle liberally with confectioner's sugar. Serve hot.

Note: This recipe comes from a 1941 edition of the Illinois Central Railroad Cookbook used in the dining cars of passenger trains.

A La King Toast Cups

The Day Before:

Prepare one loaf of your favorite bread.

The Next Day:

Slice bread into pieces 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Trim off crust (save for your favorite meatloaf or bread pudding recipe.) Hollow center of each piece to make a cup. Bake at 200 degrees F. for about 2 1/2 hours, until lightly browned and crisp. While this is baking, prepare the filling:

• 1 C sliced mushrooms
• 3/4 C butter, divided and melted
• 1/2 C flour
• Paprika (optional)
• 2 C chicken stock, heated
• 3/4 C milk, scalded
• 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 2 C cooked chicken pieces or strips
• 1/2 C pimiento strips (optional)
• 1 tsp. salt
• Pepper to taste

Sauté mushrooms in 1/4 C butter, drain. In a heavy saucepan, combine remaining butter and flour; blend well. Add paprika if desired. Slowly add chicken stock and milk. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add egg yolks, chicken, mushrooms and pimiento, if desired. Season according to taste. Serve in toast cups.

Variations:

** Substitute for the cooked chicken: cooked game (pheasant, quail, dove, squirrel, rabbit, venison, turkey.) ** Substitute for the cooked chicken: seafood (boiled shrimp, boiled crawfish, cooked scallops.)

Note: This recipe was obtained many years ago from Schraft's Restaurant in New York City. The original recipe called for 1/2 C sour cream and 1/4 C milk.

Catfish Loaf

Make your favorite 2 lb. loaf of bread (conventional or ABM) Let cool at room temperature for 10 - 12 hours. Do not slice.

Meanwhile...

Visit your favorite seafood store or deli and purchase 2 lbs. of catfish filets. Cut the filets into small pieces, about 1 1/2 inch cubes. Roll in cornmeal and fry in deep fat until brown. When cooked, drain on paper toweling and keep in a warm place. Combine: 1 tsp. Tabasco Sauce Juice of 1/2 lemon 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce 2 C catsup

Prepare the bread by cutting off the top and scooping out the insides (save for your favorite bread pudding or meatloaf recipe.) Butter the inside of the bread and inside of the top. Toast in a 350-degree oven. Coat inside of toasted loaf and inside of top crust with the sauce mixture.

Slice 1 Bermuda onion, and six small sour pickles. Open 1 small jar of olives. Layer the hollowed out loaf with fish, onion, sauce, pickles, and olives.

Repeat layers until everything is used. Replace the top crust.

Wrap in parchment paper or aluminum foil and bake at 300 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Remove from paper and serve hot. Serves 6.

Bread Pudding

• 4 C toasted bread cubes
• 1/2 C raisins
• 1 quart of milk
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 Tbsp. melted butter
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Place first two ingredients in buttered 3 qt. casserole. Scald milk; in separate bowl combine remaining ingredients.

Add scalded milk to this mixture; mix well pour over bread cubes and raisins. Set casserole in pan and pour hot water in pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 325 degrees F. until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Topping: (non-alcoholic)

• 4 egg whites
• 4 Tbsp. sugar

Whiskey Sauce Topping:

• 1/2 C Sugar
• 1/4 C Water
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 or 2 Jiggers of Bourbon Whiskey

Cook first three ingredients until dissolved. Remove from heat and add whiskey. Serve over bread pudding. Best served warm.

Note: This recipe comes from the collection of Mrs. Edwin F. Edwards, wife of the former Governor of Louisiana.

Strawberry Bread

• 1 1/2 C Sugar
• 1 1/4 C Oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 C sifted flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 (10 oz) pkgs. frozen strawberries, thawed and divided

• 1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 C reserved strawberries, pureed
• 2 Tbs. sugar

Bread Instructions:

With an electric mixer, beat sugar and oil until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly. Combine dry ingredients. Reserve 1/2 C strawberries for sauce. Add half of the dry ingredients and half of the remaining strawberries (about 2-1/2 oz) to the egg mixture. Mix on low. Add remaining ingredients, mixing until combined. Bake in two greased and floured medium loaf pans at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes. Slice; serve with strawberry sauce.

Sauce Instructions:

Combine all ingredients until spreading consistency is achieved.

French Bread Cheese Loaf

Prepare your favorite 1 LB French Bread Recipe The Following Day:

• 1/2 C soft margarine
• 3 Tbs. instant onion flakes
• 1 Tbs. prepared mustard
• 1 tsp. poppy seed
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 2-4 slices bacon, cut into pieces

Combine first three ingredients. Trim crust off top and sides of the French bread you baked yesterday (save these for your favorite meat loaf or bread pudding recipe.) Half the bread horizontally; place slices of cheese on bottom half. Place top half of brad on cheese. Spread mustard mixture on tops and sides of loaf. Cut into 1-inch slices. Place bacon on top and wrap in foil. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15-18 minutes. Remove bacon. Serve bread hot.

Tim D. Culey - Baton Rouge, La.