French Toast - Two ways

Ah French Toast, like many delicious classics, presumably started as a way for people to use up leftovers, in this case dry old bread. According to its Wikipedia article FT is a popular breakfast food in Europe (not just France where it’s actually called “pain perdu” literally lost bread), the US and Hong Kong, I’ll hazard a guess western influences were instrumental with that one. According to foodtimeline.org, FT was invented circa the 1st century AD, with recipes dating back to the Ancient Romans and the preparation being virtually the same as it is today. Mix-up some eggs and milk, toss in bread, soak, fry, serve and receive appreciative smiles. The techniques used for making FT lend themselves well to both the savory, think Monte Cristo sandwiches, or more popularly in my house, the sweet preparation. Everyone has their preference for how they like it, I happen to think FT is at its best when it’s creamy and pudding like in the center and crispy crunchy on the outside. People also differ in choices of topping; maple syrup, honey, and powered sugar probably leading the pack with of course a bit more butter, I prefer a fruiter finish like jam or a cobbled together fruit salad but I’ve also seen recipes for nuts and praline or streusel toppings that look amazing.

I suppose I should probably mention stuffed French toast too since we’re on the subject of French toast, I’ve never made it before but I have had it a few times and boy howdy is it yummy. I’ve never made it as I can’t really justify the calories as easily when I’m cooking as I can when I’m ordering but I might take a stab at a lighter version at one point or another. For those of you who have not been indoctrinated into the deliciousness that is Stuffed FT, its very thickly cut bread with a clever little pocket cut in the side so you can stuff all matter of goodies in the middle, the last one I ate had strawberries, bananas and about a ½ lb of cream cheese, it was amazingly delicious and filled me up for the rest of the day. I can’t remember if it was a special or not but I got it at the Café Verona on S. La Brea, if you are the neighborhood and feel peckish you many want to give it a try, its decent food and really reasonably priced.

The below is a recipe that I’ve cobbled together from a few different ones, it can be prepared either pan fried as is traditional (thanks Romans!) or baked which is a little less labor intensive and especially handy if you are doing a big brunch, if you go the baking route be sure to butter your pan extra well as the honey and egg can lead to serious stickage. You can also do all of this the night before and just cook the next morning if you’d like the 15 extra minutes of shuteye. This is a basic recipe, variations are endless you can subtract or substitute any of the flavorings as you see fit, I’ve also seen a lot of variations with Grand Marnier, bourbon and brandy in them. Hope you enjoy.

Recipe
¾ C milk (1% to half and half you choose)
2 eggs
1 T honey (for easier mixing pop in microwave for a few secs)
pinch of salt
scant ¼ t cinnamon (optional)
scant ¼ t nutmeg (optional)
zest of ½ an orange (optional)
½ t vanilla (optional)

6 ½-¾-inch sliced bread (Brioche, Challah or regular white should work)
3 T butter


Serves 2

Frying Route
Mix milk, eggs, salt and spices in bowl, arrange bread slices in pan pour egg mixture over top soak until bread has absorbed mixture. Heat pan with butter over medium heat, fry slices until brown and crisp on both sides. Serve with compote on the side.

Baking Route
Mix milk, eggs, salt and spices in bowl, arrange bread slices in pan pour egg mixture over top soak until bread has absorbed mixture. Bake 425, if you go for the baking route you might want to sprinkle a bit of sugar over the top with give it a nice crunch and color, sort of a crème brulee treatment. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are brown and crispy. Make sure you check the bottoms too about halfway through to make sure they aren’t burning. Serve with compote on the side.

Quick Berry Compote
1 6oz pack of raspberries
1 4.4oz pack blueberries
1 orange segmented (save all the bits you cut off and squeeze then into the pot also I segment right over the pot to make sure no juice is lost)
2 T maple syrup

Rinse berries in colander, toss all in pot put on low heat and heat through till fruit is warm but not completely burst, about 5 minutes. Will be quite watery when done, so its best serve on the side rather than on the top. Leftovers are great over vanilla ice cream or yogurt.