{THE BEST} Travel Cookbook

Good morning, My Lovelies!  I found the most delightful travel recipe book entitled A Suitcase and a Spatula: Recipes and Stories From Around the World by Tori Haschka.  Tori is an Aussie food blogger, writer, traveler, and gourmand.  I'm new to her blog,  but I will definitely be a frequent visitor in the future.  I love that her January 11, 2014 post features a gluten-free dessert.

First of all, I like the way A Suitcase and a Spatula is organized: There are four sections for breakfast, summer dinners, winter dinners, and desserts.  I also enjoyed the little personal stories and anecdotes Tori shares with her readers for each recipe.  She is witty, and I found myself smiling while reading about her travels and gastronomic adventures.

Isobel Wield's gorgeous photography and Andrea Turvey's fun illustrations enhance Tori's prose and recipes to perfection.  There's nothing NOT to like about this book!

Poke from Wailea, Maui

Summer Section

Photo by Isobel Wield

Beef Bourguignon Pie from Beaune, France

Winter Section

Photo by Isobel Wield

Chicken and Parsley Pearl Barley Risotto from Dublin, Ireland

 Winter Section

Photo by Isobel Wield

If you've read my blog for long, you know how breakfast is my very favorite meal of the day, so of course I tried a recipe from the breakfast section: Raspberry Croissant Pudding from Paris.

Tori suggests serving it with yogurt for breakfast, or ice cream for dessert.

The perfect breakfast with a shot of espresso.

Raspberry Croissant Pudding

Ingredients:
1 T butter
2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks
1 t vanilla extract
2 c mik
1/2 c caster sugar
6 croissants (I used 8 mini croissants), preferably stale
1 c raspberries

You'll also need 6 ramekins and a deep baking dish.

Directions:
1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease ramekins with butter.
2.   Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, milk, and sugar together.  Tear the croissants into pieces the size of a matchbook.  Place half the croissants across the bottom of the ramekins.  Add the raspberries, then the remaining croissant pieces.
3.   Pour the custard over the croissants and allow to soak for 10 minutes.
4.   Cover each ramekin with foil and puncture the top to let the steam escape.  Try not to let the foil touch the mixture.  (This is very important because the foil did stick to one of my custards!)
5.   Place the ramekins in a deep baking dish.  Pour hot water into the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.  Bake for 40 minutes or until custard is set.
6.   Serve warm with more fresh raspberries.

NOTE:  I baked mine in a convection oven, and I added ten minutes to the baking time.  Please adjust according to your oven, and check after 40 minutes.

Do you enjoy travel books?  I wrote a post a while back about a few of my favorite travel books.  You may read that post here,  "Winter Comfort Soup and *perfect* Books for the Armchair Traveler".

Until next time…

Blessings!
Ricki Jill