French Toast

When I was a kid I used to go to a daycare in the afternoon until mom got home from work. We went swimming at one of the owners pool, took trips to the movie theater and the park. Linda was one of my favorite teachers there. Her daughter and I quickly became friends. She and her daughter lived near the Piggly Wiggly a few blocks away from my house. Whenever I was in the vicinity I would stop off for a visit. Linda made a great peanut butter and honey sandwich. The bread was whole wheat dotted with wheat berries and always tender. To this day I am a sucker for a great PB&J.

The first night I spent the night at Linda’s house the next morning we made french toast. It was the first time I had ever made french toast. We carefully cracked the eggs, whipped in a little cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and within minutes were digging into syrup covered bliss.

Years later when I was in college it was a nice surprise to see Linda again as the owner of one of my friend’s apartment complex. My friend Stan was heading off to the military. He, I and a couple other friends got together to make breakfast the day of his departure. Of course I volunteered to make the french toast and as luck would have it I overcooked them resulting in tough and dry sheets of cardboard. Not the type of impression I was going for.

There are so many ways to make french toast out there. Including bread specifically designed for making french toast. This is the classic no fuss version. The general rule is 1 tablespoon milk and 2 slices of bread per egg.

4 Eggs
1/4 cup Milk
6 Bread slices
1 tsp Vanilla (optional)
Dash Nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (optional)

Heat a large skillet on medium heat.

Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl until frothy and well blended. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, whisking until combined.

Submerge a slice of bread in the egg mixture for a few seconds. Transfer to heated skillet. Cook until light golden brown on each side. Top with butter, syrup, powdered sugar, yogurt, nuts or fruit.

Variations:
-Try Portuguese sweet bread. The bread is tender so quickly dip the bread rather than submerge.
-Stuffed toast is another fun way to serve French toast. Lather on some cream cheese and preserves or compost in between two slices of bread. Put the slices together then dip in the egg mixture.