Peaches and Cream French Toast with Blueberries and Ginger-Peach Butter, Breakfast Potatoes, and "A Death in Solitary"

Saturday mornings usually mean two things: Newspaper and brunch.

First, newspaper:

A very interesting City Paper cover story on prisoner abuse can be read here. The article raises important questions about the treatment of prisoners in solitary confinement, and especially about the high rate of mental illness that is found in jails and prisons nationwide. While not specifically addressed, it also raises concerns about the practice of holding juveniles in adult facilities.

And to the more pleasant of the two: Brunch.

Peaches and Cream French Toast with Blueberries and Ginger-Peach Butter and Breakfast Potatoes

Because my old friends/new neighbors were coming over for brunch, I decided to explore the Reading Terminal Market for inspiration. What did I find? Peaches and a dollar bag of potatoes. And since I'd been wanting to try Ian's french toast recipe for myself...



Ginger-Peach Butter

Don't let fancy names fool you.

1/2 c. peach preserves
1 stick butter
3 tbsp. minced crystallized ginger

Soften the butter, and mix in peach and ginger. Whip. Refrigerate. Impress.

Breakfast Potatoes

Ingredients
Red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1 small onion, sliced
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Thyme
Paprika
Red chile flakes
Cherry tomatoes, halved

Method
These potatoes are amazingly forgiving. I make them a little differently each time, but basically: Preheat oven to 400. Lay potatoes, tomatoes and onions in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, and coat with spices (read: anything that's in your cabinet). After about 20 minutes, flip and re-spice (but easy on the red chile flakes). Bake until browned. Serve with ketchup.

Peaches and Cream French Toast
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking, via Ian

While Ian's version usually went by the Rum French Toast name, I decided to try to incorporate peaches into the batter itself for extra sweet-and-summery-ness.



Ingredients
2/3 c. half and half or milk
4 eggs
1 tbsp. peach preserves
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. Meyers dark rum
1/4 tsp. salt
Stale bread (I used a baguette-gone-hard from Garces Trading Company that has been sitting in the freezer feeling neglected for the past month)
Peaches, sliced
Blueberries

Method
Combine all ingredients except bread and whisk until uniform. Soak bread in egg mixture, then cook on medium-high heat. Secret to delicious-golden-brownness: don't skimp on the butter. Serve with generous amounts of peach butter, sliced peaches and blueberries, topped with sifted confectioners sugar.