Food on Fridays with Ann
We invited a family from church to join us for a brunch of sausage and egg casseroles along with a new recipe: French toast casserole.
I was experimenting with a Paula Deen recipe, making one pan the way she said, with little slices of baguette lined up all neat and tidy.
For the second pan, I tore the pieces in half and added blueberries for more of a bread pudding effect.
The biggest problem was timing…the casseroles take 45 minutes to bake and I couldn’t get back after church in time to get them started and finished in a reasonable time frame.
So everyone arrived and the food was still cooking. We stood around for a long time chatting and chatting and checking and rechecking to see if it was done. It took too long.
Our guests explained that they use the delay bake or timed bake feature all the time on Sunday mornings or when they are heading out to pick up kids from school and head off to sports practices. They stick their casseroles or roasts in before they leave and by the time they get back, dinner is bubbling hot and ready to serve.
I was afraid, though. I knew that she did that, but I was afraid to try. And I admitted it. “Is it really safe to let stuff sit around in there, raw and uncooked until the oven clicks on?”
“My dad was a food chemist,” she said, “and he points out that the temperatures during baking kill off any bacteria that might start to grow, so I just go with that. I’ve done it for years, and we’ve never gotten sick.” Her husband grinned big and stood a little straighter, like he was extra strong and healthy.
“I don’t know…” I replied, still hesitant.
The conversation moved on to other topics, but I kept wondering about the timed bake feature. How nice it would have been to just pull out those casseroles to serve right when the guests arrived.
Brunch was delicious. The kids loved the meal, so I promised to make it again. Next time I’m going to use this recipe and add blueberries.
But timed bake with two egg dishes? I’m still unsure.
I do the delayed bake all the time. I even make things up the night before, pop them in the oven and time it to bake them and have them done in the morning when we have overnight guests.
I do it all the time too, especially on Sundays. But you know me, I’m not very germ or bacteria-conscious!
I’d still try it. It looks fantastic, by the way. But maybe you can find an actual food scientist, to get a bonafide answer.
I’ve always been worried about putting things in the oven ahead of time and have never done it. I have, however, tried Paula’s recipe and I think it’s wonderful! I do like how you have added the blueberries to it – I think I will try that next time 🙂 Have a lovely weekend.
I would try it. I think. I got over some of my worries about food making me sick when I lived on Tahaa. We had no refrigeration (because we had no electricity). Every household had a jar of mayonnaise on the pantry shelf. Nobody got sick.
Those do look delicious!
If I had that option on my oven, I would do it. Alas, I have an oven with no computerized options, and I chose it myself. It has actual dials!
Okay, you’ve all convinced me…I’m trying it, with apologies in advance to my friends if we all end up violently ill with some kind of food poisoning.
Gulp.
Oh, but I am excited to try that French toast thing again. The kids, who adore the sausage casserole, went a little nutty over the bread dish. One of my teens did a happy dance when I said I’d make it again very soon.
I would be less afraid of food poisoning than of the unattended oven somehow burning down the house. I feel very nervous about the idea of any appliance cooking while nobody is home/awake, even though I can’t see a realistic way it could go wrong, just an instinctive mistrust….
Hmmm…something else to consider. Thanks, ‘Becca.
Sweet Ann don’t be a afraid of your oven. Those time bakes in your oven are a blessing. Let your daughter read the directions and figure out how to do it. There is a method and once learned it will save you lots of time. My hubby can’t figure ours out, so it is up to me to set it correctly. It is a science but worth it. 🙂
Don’t fret and worry about anything, know that God is in your kitchen!
Becca sounds like your father…