Basic French Toast

Do you have a day coming up where you know that getting dinner on the table for the whole family will be next to impossible? Maybe you’ve got a work commitment that stretches on into the evening, or one of your children has sports practice or a concert that will sneak into your dinner hour. On those days when your evening will be crazy, you can switch your family’s special mealtime to breakfast.

Or maybe you have a special day coming up: the first day of school, a birthday, the first day of a new job. Why not start the celebration early with a special breakfast.

Or perhaps you and your family want to shake up the evening meal routine. And if you all love traditional breakfast food, why not have breakfast for dinner?

For any of the above occasions, basic French toast can fit the bill. I learned years ago not to assume that everyone knows how to make French toast. Kathleen is a great cook, far more skilled in the kitchen than I am. Yet for years, she was clueless how to make French toast. When she would try, her efforts were not very successful. If Kathleen, who knows her way around the kitchen, has trouble with French toast, who else might?

Below is a good, basic recipe for French toast. There are other, more fancy variations, but this version is a great place to start.

A great way to round out this meal – whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner – is with fruit salad. (And I recommend making a fresh fruit salad instead of opening a can of fruit cocktail.)

Serves 4

Preheat oven to the lowest possible setting. (Our oven has a “warm” setting which is perfect.)

6 slices of bread (you can use traditional white sandwich bread, or whole wheat)
6 eggs
¾ cup of milk
¾ teaspoon of vanilla
Butter
Maple syrup (and yes, use real maple syrup. It’s true that real maple syrup is more expensive than “pancake” syrup, but this is one case where you definitely get what you pay for. Maple syrup is worth it; think of it as a delicious little luxury.)

Cut each slice of bread in half on the diagonal. Set aside.

Crack the eggs into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, add the milk and vanilla, and beat* till slightly frothy. Set aside.

Soak as many slices of bread in the egg mixture as you can fit in the baking dish for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and is slightly bubbling, add the soaked bread and cook for 2 to 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Place the cooked French toast in an oven-safe platter and keep warm in the oven. Cook the remainder of the soaked bread, adding additional butter to the skillet if needed.

Serve hot with maple syrup. Makes 3 half slices of French toast per person.

*A tip to beat eggs: First, pierce each yolk with a fork, then beat the eggs with a whisk or a fork. This will enable you to beat the eggs much more uniformly.