On this weekend before Thanksgiving, I want to take the time to do a little thanking.

I want to first thank all of the small businesses that we work with for their generosity to the communities they are in. They are constantly bombarded with requests for donations and, hey, come through many times for many organizations.

I am part of the advisory board of the Medina Salvation Army. We have an annual Kettle Kick Off breakfast once a year just before Kettle Ringing Season begins. Four years ago, I asked a few local restaurants to come as “celebrity chefs” and also donate the food.

I asked Gary Quesada, of Main Street Cafe, Ryan Marino, of Corkscrew Saloon, John Kolar, of Thyme 2; and I asked Laura Parnell, of Cool Beans, to donate coffee and Shawna Rollheiser of Cupcake A Day to donate cupcakes. They all said yes, and have continued to say yes every year.

They donated lots of their time and money to helping a great local cause. This is why I support, and ask you to support, all of the small independent restaurants in your area. I am sure many others would have given, too, had I asked. That is just the way they roll.

We held the event for two years at Castle Noel, where owners Mark and Dana Klaus generously donated the space. This year, we held it at Root Candles in Medina, which also donated the space.

At the breakfast, there were two items in particular that I thought you might like recipes for: Main Street Cafe’s lobster and shrimp egg souffle, and Thyme 2’s double-stuffed French toast.

Main Street’s Gary said the incredible seafood souffle is simple:

First, he sautes bell peppers and onions. Then, he throws in raw jumbo shrimp, followed by lots of lobster meat. Then, he whips up an egg batter, like you would for omelets, adds all of this to the casserole dish, adds some Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper, and tops this with a Mexican-blend shredded cheese. He bakes this for 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees. It is delicious!

John Kolar of Thyme 2 sat down with me to give me his double-stuffed French toast recipe, which is crazy good:

This would be a perfect lazy morning holiday breakfast item. First, you need a loaf of Texas Toast. This will make 8 servings. Then you make your cream cheese filling. Combine 16 oz. cream cheese (softened), 6 oz. fruit puree, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp. vanilla in your KitchenAid with a paddle (or however works best for you). For the homemade fruit puree, he will saute strawberries in a little orange juice and sugar to soften them, or another fruit if you wish. He will spread this cream cheese mixture onto one side of the toast. On top of this, he puts sliced strawberries and bananas. Then, on another piece of bread, he spreads a fruit jam (jam, not jelly, as jam has real pieces of fruit in it). He puts this jam side down, on top of the other piece with the cream cheese filling and sliced fruit making a sandwich. The cream cheese filling and the jam act as the glue to hold the two pieces of bread together. These can all be prepped the night before.

Then he makes the “royal” batter that he dips the French toast in. This is straight from his Bible, the Culinary Institute of America cook book, which is held together with duct tape, I might add. Simple: blend together 4 eggs, 2 cups heavy cream, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.

Now, to cook this. Just fully submerge each double-stuffed French toast piece into the royal batter and cook in a frying pan with just a little oil over medium heat until each side is lightly browned. John prefers frying pan over griddle to keep the oil around the edges and it provides better crispiness. Serve with sprinkle of powdered sugar.

John serves these, as well as the other complete breakfast items, at a free breakfast with Santa Claus that he provides for nearby Garfield Elementary children and their families (around 200 people) every first Saturday in December.

This is why we support our local restaurant. Feel free to call John if you want to donate to that event.

Happy Thanksgiving!