I love mornings. Well, I love mornings that don't involve me having to put forward a half-hearted attempt to get to work on time. Mornings that involve me waking up when it is actually light outside are a sure sign that the day has endless potential. Unless I've overslept. Then that's no fun at all.
Even though I love waking up without an alarm, I'm still an early bird. Always have been. There's something extra special about being the first one up in the house and enjoying the quiet without having to really think about the day's plan. At least not quite yet, anyway.
More specifically, I really, really enjoy mornings that involve French toast. This would probably qualify as my all time favorite homemade breakfast; for this week at least. I don't think I've ever ordered it in a restaurant. It couldn't possibly be as good.
Until recently, my French toast was fine. Nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed it more for the nostalgic factor. As a kid, any morning I could talk either of my parents into French toast was an accomplishment. I remember a few mornings when mom wasn't home and I talked my Dad into making it for me. He always was easy to persuade, particularly about harmless things, like good breakfast. Mom was my go-to for pancakes, but Dad was for French toast.
The one downside to my personal attempts was that it always turned into a soggy mess. Without a thought, I would pan fry it in butter. (I love butter, how could this ever be a bad thing?) I just recently, per an unrelated recipe, got the idea to try it in oil. Ohhhh my. You should get out of bed early this weekend and try it yourself. Even if you don't have an obsession with schedule-free mornings like I do.
The photo really doesn't do it any justice, but it was crispy, yet moist, rich in flavor but still light enough that you don't have to spend the next 2 hours sleeping it off on the couch. Unless you really want to.
I promise, I'm really working on the photography thing, but this week I'm going to blame it on the fact that I was being impatient because I wanted to get breakfast upstairs to a sleeping Tim while it was still hot. I make up for my poor photography skills by being an awesome wife.
These are the quantities I made this weekend. It was entirely too much for two. I would say this much batter would feed four, easily. Also, I'm not sure who came up with that silly little statement about something being 'the best thing since sliced bread' because well, sliced bread isn't good. Do yourself a favor and don't use it for this, or anything else for that matter.
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg (You can ease up on the nutmeg if you would like. I just happen to love it)
1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbs. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 tbs flavorless oil (canola, vegetable, etc) for frying
12 pieces of bread (approximately)
Mix all batter ingredients (eggs through salt) in a wide shallow dish. Heat the oil in a pan until it is hot enough to cause a sizzle if you put anything in it. Dip the bread in the batter and allow to drain for a few seconds before placing in the skillet. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip and repeat. Serve with maple syrup or any other fun topping you can come up with (fresh fruit, maple butter, jam, etc).
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