What's For Breakfast: Not Your Everyday French Toast

While at Reading Terminal Market I came up with the brilliant idea to serve an Easter brunch on Sunday morning. The star of the meal would be French toast using a loaf of brioche bread from Metropolitan Bakery. The most difficult part of this recipe was finding a dish large enough to accommodate the ginormous slices of brioche. I ended up doing small batches of three slices per batch, but the process still went pretty quickly. Though I had considered making a stuffed French toast, I decided that I didn't want to make something quite that heavy, and would rather have my guests (aka, D and my parents) have the option of adding a ricotta-honey topping if they so desired. The end result was delicious, and received rave reviews from my parents.

Not Your Everyday French Toast (printer-friendly version)

makes 4 servings

6 organic eggs

1 1/2 cups organic skim milk

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon brandy

zest from one lemon

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 pinch salt

8 1/2" slices brioche bread

organic canola oil

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2. Whisk together the eggs, milk, orange juice, vanilla, and brandy in a medium bowl.

3. Stir in the lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

4. Pour the mixture into a shallow serving dish. (I used a 9"x13" baking dish.)

5. Preheat your skillet over medium high heat. (I used my iron griddle.) Brush with canola oil.

6. Add 3-4 slices of brioche bread to the custard and soak both sides.

7. Grill each piece of French toast for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

8. Once grilled, place the cooked French toast on a baking sheet in the warmed oven.

9. Repeat the process until all the slices of French toast are cooked.

10. Create a French toast bar by providing a variety of toppings for your guests.

The toppings I had on offer included Grade B maple syrup, strawberry preserves,

lingonberry preserves, ricotta cheese mixed with honey (1/2 cup ricotta cheese mixed

with 3 tablespoons honey), fresh strawberries, and sliced almonds.

11. Invite guests to help themselves!