Okay, okay, I know what you are thinking. “You get more basic than French Toast; it's just eggs and bread." Well first off, even if you feel that way, there's still a danger of making the rookie mistake and not recognizing the egg as the star of this dish. So saturate that bread! (my general rule is 2 large eggs for every 3 pieces) But going beyond the basics, there are just so many cool things that foodies can do to jazz up our French toast. For example, don’t be fooled into thinking the “primadonna” eggs have a monogamous relationship with Stroehmann’s white bread. Eggs are loose; they get around. Let them find their way into German potato bread or Jewish Challah . In addition to nutritional advantages, the melting pot of cultures will help prevent those pretentious French from getting too big of a head about their superior breakfast toast.
Now, let’s get back to the more key ingredients; the batter. Yes, I used the plural because there are things you should be adding to the egg batter or else you’re not getting the most out of your French Toast. Just like when you’re whipping up some scrambled eggs, it’s never a bad thing to add a bit of milk. But if that is just too much dairy or too predictable for you, try adding a splash of lemon juice. I think you will be pleasantly surprised! Next stop on the FT Express: vanilla extract. This will take you a half teaspoon away from breakfast bliss. (anything more than that amount is vanilla-overkilll.) Now suppose you do not have any vanilla extract in the house? First, do not panic. Second, think beyond the box. For examples, got any vanilla ice-cream? If so, then you just killed 2 birds with one stone! (the milk and the vanilla)
The final key ingredient does not get added until the grilling begins. The magical flavoring that will always make your kitchen smell so damn good, the neighbors will start knocking on your door. Of course I am talking about the cinnamon. And last week, to my horror , with the French Toast already on the fire, I realized that I was out of cinnamon! Oh no !!!! But I did not panic. Instead, I put myself into ‘mad scientist” mode, thinking creatively and outside the box. I noticed that I had some flavored Starbucks cocoa mix on hand and one of my options was chocolate-cinnamon. So simply sprinkling some of that hot chocolate mix on top of the bread darkened everything with cinnamon. Plus I received an added chocolate bonus! And there is total precedent for chocolate in pancakes since the I-Hops’s controversial decision to add chocolate chips got held up by the Supreme Court of Taste Buds . There was every reason to believe it would be just as delicious on French Toast, which totally turned out to be the case!
Finally,
if you plan to put this added TLC into your French Toast, don’t ruin
everything by dressing up the finished product with store brand maple
syrup. It’s gotta be
So best of luck with your “mad scientist” breakfast adventures and let our community know how you make out with it!
Happy eating,
Craig
