What's For Dinner (or Breakfast!): Sourdough French Toast

I put D in charge of dinner and after going through some options, he decided to do a breakfast-for-dinner dinner. Since I had a loaf of sourdough bread leftover from last night's chili festivities, I suggested he make french toast with it. A quick search on the Internet provided a recipe (from Panera, of all places!) for sourdough french toast. D amended it a little bit (mainly to decrease the servings) and instead of serving the french toast with strawberry rhubarb jam (which admittedly sounds quite good!), we instead served it up with some fresh berries, Grade B maple syrup, and Amaretto-spiked whipped cream. The sourdough bread definitely gave the french toast a bit of a tang, but overall, I think it turned out quite well.

Sourdough French Toast (printer-friendly version)

makes 6+ servings

1 1/2 cups liquid egg whites

1 1/2 cups organic half-and-half

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup raw sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

one loaf sourdough bread, sliced

2 tablespoon organic canola oil

1. Add the oil to an electric skillet and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and salt in a shallow bowl.

3. Generously soak each side of the sourdough slices in the egg mixture. Fry the soaked slices for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.

4. Serve with fresh berries, syrup, and whipped cream (see recipe below).

(adapted from this Panera recipe)

Amaretto Whipped Cream

makes 4+ servings

1/2 cup organic heavy cream

1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon Amaretto

1. Chill a mixing bowl in the freezer for a few minutes.

2. Add the heavy cream and whip on high speed.

3. When the cream begins to thicken, add the powdered sugar and Amaretto. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

4. Serve immediately.