Let's forget for a moment that I never write anymore. That I've barely knit a stitch or sewed a seam since before the holidays. That I rarely leave comments for others and rarer still, respond to my own. That it was over a week ago that Alison wrote that mine was a blog that made her day and I've yet to thank her or record my own list of happy making blogs. Let's just let all that go, shall we?
Instead, let's think about toast. French toast. Do the mere words not make your stomach growl and the corners of your mouth go up a tick? No? Well, if that's the case, just look at the pretty pictures. The rest of us will think about French toast while you're doing that.
I made French toast for dinner last night and for those who are interested, here's how. Before I divulge my French toast secrets let me just say that this is a by-the-seat-of-your-pants sort of recipe. I have few exact measurements to provide you with, and those that I do have are hardly written in stone and can be taken with a grain of salt. I assure you that your French toast will be tasty, exact measurements or no. It's difficult to screw-up French toast.
You will need:
-5-6 large eggs
-2 cups of milk or 1/2 & 1/2 or some combination of the two (that would be something like 500 ml for the rest of the world)
-grated zest and juice of one orange
-1 tsp/5 ml vanilla extract
-a healthy amount of freshly grated nutmeg
-a pinch of salt (to bring out the sweetness, as my Grammy would say)
and, lastly, if you have any
-a healthy gulg [or two] of Grand Marnier/Cognac/rum/or booze of your choosing
Preheat your oven to something in the neighborhood of 350°F/175°C and while it's warming, place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
Brioche, challah, or any slightly sweet and/or egg-y bread works well for this. If you don't mind your French toast having a bit of chew to it, a crusty baguette will work too. In a pinch, you can use a good quality store bought sandwich bread. Any loaf that you can slice yourself is a better option though.
Cut the bread into 3/4 inch/2 cm thick slices. In a 9"x 13" baking dish, arrange the slices so that they're overlapping and fill the dish. Last night I used about 10 slices or 3/4 of a loaf of bread and I cut each slice in half to make everything fit together nicely. Once everything is situated in the dish, pour the egg mixture over the bread. All of it. Yes, there's a lot but let everything sit for 5 to 10 minutes and the bread will soak all the goodness up (think bread pudding minus the sugar). You may want to move the dish around a bit or gently flip the bread slices over to make sure that everything is evenly sodden.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (or, if you're out of aluminum foil like I was last night, a cookie sheet) then place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the custard is set, removing the foil for the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking.
No frying pans. No spatulas. Easy as, well, French toast (which, if you ask me, is considerably easier than pie).
Serve with butter, maple syrup, and orange confit if you've got any. ...Enjoy... And know that the absolute best thing about French toast for dinner is the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.
