Sunday, April 24, 2011

Real French Toast!

For those of you who celebrate: Happy Easter!  I usually spend Easter with my family cooking, and this year has been no different.  I started off making a gorgeous French toast.  My dad made our favorite Nieman ranch bacon and my mom made a wonderful morning cocktail: orange juice + prosecco.  Yum!

The french toast recipe I used is very special because it comes from the owner of Froggy's French Restaurant, Thierry Lefeuvre.  For the last several months I have spent some time cooking under his wing in Froggy's kitchen.  It has been my favorite restaurant since I was little, so this is sort of my cooking dream come true!  If you haven't been, I highly recommend trying it out one night.  His duck is out of this world and so are all of his fish dishes (everything I've ever had has been excellent)!  He also offers cooking classes- they are an absolute blast.  He comes out and will show you have to cook what he's offering for the evening, and then serves gorgeous 3-4 course meals that are out of this world.  More on that in coming posts!  I can't say enough good things about him and his restaurant.  I am so grateful that he has taken time to teach me!


This recipe is for his French toast.  Now this isn't actually offered at his restaurant, but it is the best French toast I have ever had and it's perfect for a Sunday breakfast.  It is really rich so you only need two pieces per serving.  Make sure you get some really high quality bread- I suggest brioche!

For the batter you'll need two eggs, one cup of cream, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.  Whisk it together really well!

  
Cut whatever bread you've chosen thickly.  It doesn't need to be set out over night.  I think that fresh bread tastes better and makes a better French toast.





Dip the bread into the batter and let it sit for a minute to make sure the bread gets covered.  Flip it and do the same.  To cook it, we used a hot griddle set across several burners.  Make sure that the griddle is hot; melt butter before putting the bread down.  I added four pieces of bread at a time so that it wasn't crowded. 


Let the bread sit for a couple of minutes before checking.  You really only want to flip it one time so the bread doesn't tear.  Remember, you put them on at different times so they will probably all be done at different times.  Just turn your oven on at its lowest temperature and put the toast in the oven to stay warm.  Also, if you do it the way we did, remember that the burners may be at different temperatures.  The bread on the left cooked much quicker than the bread on the right!  


It should look golden brown.  When it's done the bread really firms up and isn't mushy in the center.  Try to keep it on the griddle long enough to let this happen!







The batter makes enough for 8 slices which was perfect for us since we had 4 people eating.  Then arrange it on a platter, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve with warm maple syrup and softened butter!

French Toast
2 tablespoons butter
1 loaf brioche or french bread
2 eggs
1 cup of cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch sugar
powdered sugar for sprinkling
maple syrup for serving

4 comments:

  1. Ohhhh that's why the French toast at the breakfast place in town is so much better than mine. Must try this!

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  2. It is absolutely delicious! I swear using real cream changes everything!

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