Despite the holiday feel of spending several days at the beach, my body clock remains steadfastly set on an early rise, usually sometime between 5 and 6 a.m., unless I have stayed up really late the night before. The Kid, on the other hand, is probably just at the peak of her growth cycle and can easily sleep until noon, if left undisturbed. Mrs. MM rises somewhere in between, while guests range from 6 a.m onwards. So breakfast is definitely not a meal we typically eat together as a family. I usually have a couple of hours doodadling in the kitchen BY MYSELF with a cup of Earl Grey tea, browsing through old food magazines (I have nearly 500 of them in storage at the beach) or cookbooks or glancing out the large windows at a very mature sampaloc tree and the rising sun on the Eastern horizon. Sometimes I cook, other times I just vegetate and wonder how to invent a contraption that will allow me to eat whatever I want, taste it, but not absorb any of its caloric content. A discreet trapdoor just below my shirt collar has entered my mind (a modified treacheotomy), but you’d still have to deal with the masticated mush…
On this particular morning, I spied a loaf of very soft and buttery looking bread from BreadTalk in the fridge, and while it isn’t quite a brioche, it is similar, and I figured it would make a pretty good French Toast… In a flat bottomed bowl, add three organic eggs (you can use regular eggs, but the organic ones are much better), about 1/3 or 1/2 cup of whole milk, a pinch of salt, a dash of good vanilla and mix thoroughly. Dip slices of bread into this mixture and turn it over after say 10-15 seconds if the bread is not too dense and absorbs liquid quickly. Mrs. MM likes her french toast totally soaked, and would leave her slices in the egg mixture longer than I would. Next, in a heated pan, add a generous dab of butter and pan fry the bread until golden brown on both sides, it won’t take long at all.
I also like to sprinkle my french toast with cinnamon sugar, and if available some freshly grated nutmeg. The Kid likes adding powdered sugar and we all like serving it with good maple syrup. I can easily eat 2 or 3 slices but I wouldn’t recommend that if you have a day of eating ahead of you. And if you happen to have huge slabs of Canadian bacon or other salty pork in some similar disguise, for some reason, the bacon and french toast are a wicked pair… I find this is perfect Sunday morning fare, regardless of your location – your home in the city, suburban home or mountain retreat.
Throw in some freshly squeezed orange or dalandan juice and another cup of tea and I am more than ready to head out to the market or just go back to lazing around until we have to start lunch. I might sneak in writing a post or two as well… :)
24 Responses
looks really good. would be even better if stuffed with cream cheese and jam.mangosteen jam perhaps?
I love french toast sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Yummy! I like it slathered with strawberry jam too=)
I actually make them in batches and freeze them, so that the everyone (especially the kids) can have them “on-the-go” whenever they want it. Its one of those from the freezer straight to the microwave or toaster and ready to eat under 5 minutes.
i agree. bacon and french toast make an excellent pair!
great idea from Artisan Chocolatier! never thought of that.
I make my French Toast with two slices of slightly dried out bread with something slathered between them: jam, fresh fruit slices (strawberries… yum!) or marmalade. So it’s actually a fried eggy sandwich. Hehe. Maple syrup on mine with crisp honey-cured bacon. And a mug of good strong hot coffee.
Breakfast of champions! A cardiologist’s nightmare!
Yup! French toast baby! I do it like yours then spread some peanut butter and banana halves then some grade A honey and some maple syrupm yummmmyyy! Good power breakfast, gives me energy for any beach activities.
Artisan Chocolatier, if you freeze them, you put them straight in the toaster? Won’t they drip while simultaneously defrosting and cooking? Just asking. :)
MMMMMMM, my favorite breakfast/brunch dish. Marketman, I like mine cut a little thicker so that the inside is like a soft, velvety custard when the outside is perfectly cooked like yours. I use half & half instead of milk to get the correct inside texture….which is why I don’t have it that often! I also prefer to add cinnamon sugar to the egg mixture instead of sprinkling it on top of the FT.
The best FT I’ve ever made was with leftover panettone…try it sometime. Just make sure the panettone is a bit on the stale side so it soaks up everything without falling apart.
Great looking FT! Where can one buy brioche in Manila?
Definitely my favorite morning treat!!! I do not indulge as much as this is soooo loaded with calories :(
I enjoy a piece of french toast with poached egg, fresh orange juice and a banana. YUM YUM!!!
French Toast!!!!
MMMMMMM!!!!!
Definitely a heavenly guilty pleasure!
Reminds me of childhood and Mile Hi at Baguio City.
Coffee and Bacon Please!
Re: other times I just vegetate and wonder how to invent a contraption that will allow me to eat whatever I want, taste it, but not absorb any of its caloric content…
Hahaha, MM, if only you could!
Instead of milk, you may want to try condensed milk. Yummy also!
hi, mm! i love french toast too! like rob, i also add the cinnamon sugar with the milk/egg mixture. i also prefer using cinnamon raisin bread. yummy! i’ve seen recipes where the bread’s soaked overnight & baked the following morning. haven’t tried it though.
Growing up my sister was our french toast maven, and she pretty much stuck to a recipe like yours. Then I had a roommate in China, a Chinese Canadian, who added green onions to the batter!!!! It sort of caused a big debate between us what was French Toast. I’ll stick to the one without the onions in it. I’ll also add a powder of cocoa to the finished dish so I can have my chocolate with the bread :)
Your french toast looks even better on the yellow plate. I agree with you: I’m not into soggy french toast as others seem to like it. My mom seems to like it soggy too, just like Mrs. MM. :)
There are some Chinese coffee shops here that serve super thick french toast – equivalent to about 4 slices thick. The edges are trimmed off so it is very nice and spongy in the middle and a bit crusty on the side.yummy with fresh butter and honey and downed with warm teh tarik. nice way to start my day
Here’s the variation at our home: After sprinkling the sugar, I grate queso de bola on top, throw the thing under the broiler or toaster over for a few seconds, (maybe a minute?) to melt, or brown the cheese. Yum! When I can’t find brioche, I use challah bread.
I make my French toast the in almost a similar way, but with a sweet mixture instead, and so I use condensed milk..
Yum! French Toast is definitely oru breakfast on weekends. I make it in a similar way except that we use light syrup. We eat it with turkey bacon,over-easy eggs and freshly squeeze orange juice.
oh i like my FT totally soaked too, we use any kind of leftover bread, pan de sal works well too.
This reminds me of my lola, she would make this for breakfast on school days, only back then she used pandesal!
Mmmmmm – though in the UK we eat our French Toast kinda savoury rather than sweet and have it with salt and tomato sauce/ketchup and bacon. I like to add chilli flaskes to the egg and milk to make it spicy. Gosh it is good but wish it was not so bad for you!
Luv my FToast with maple syrup and evap milk.