It’s a french toast kinda morning in the Watson home. It’s really, really cold outside this morning. Below zero of course. We have a nice fire in the fireplace for everyone to wake up to. Hazelnut coffee & orange juice all ready to go…this morning calls for more than just cereal for breakfast.
We have a nice loaf of french bread left over from last night’s dinner. Perfect for some french toast. I like to use about 1 inch slices for french toast. Some folks like to soak their bread in the custard for a nice crispy outside and gooey middle. I like to use this technique for crusty breads. If you are using pre-sliced bread, you may want to avoid soaking as the bread will tend to fall apart. Just a quick dip and then saute works best for pre-sliced bread. A basic recipe for your french toast custard follows, but feel free to experiment. You could add some fresh herbs, some citrus etc…whatever suits your mood.
Basic French Toast
4 1 inch slices of bread
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Heat or butter in a saute pan. Mix together eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow pan. Dip bread into egg mixture and cook in saute pan until golden on both sides. Serve with real maple syrup and real butter.
Variations that the Watson Family loves:
Strawberry & Brie French Toast Open Face Sandwiches:
Arrange cooked french toast slices on a sheet pan. Sprinke a little sugar in the raw on each slice of bread. Add sliced strawberries or strawberry jam, add brie cheese cut into 1/4 inch slices. Bake until cheese is melted. Dust with a litte powdered sugar and serve.
Smoked Bacon & Boursin Cheese French Toast Sandwich
This is my tribute to one of the first restaurants that I ever worked in. Thank you Kennedy Otiso for this great idea. He was the owner and the best breakfast Chef I’ve ever met. His masterpiece was called “French Toast Au Fromage” and included stuffing the toast with smoked bacon and a cheeese blend (I’m not sure what his cheeses were) He used a great sweet thick bread and it took about 20 minutes to bake to get all of the ooey goodness just perfect.
My version is quite a bit simpler. If I ever run into Kennedy again I will try to coax his exact recipe out of him.
Lay your sauteed french toast pieces out on a sheet pan. Top with cooked smoked bacon and crumble Boursin cheeese over the top. I prefer to use the garlic and herb flavored Boursin, but any would be good. Top with another slice of french toast and bake until it is cooked through. This savory version is great topped with some pure maple syrup. The sweet and savory is a treat to anyone’s palate.
Feel free to experiment. I’d love to here what other folks like to top their french toast with!
Enjoy!
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