# French Toast



## Dobish (Dec 14, 2018)

Anyone have a favorite french toast recipe? 

I normally do thick Challah slices, soaked in egg, milk, salt, pepper and cinnamon. I soak for a few minutes, then put in the cast iron. Cook for a few minutes, then flip and cook for another minute or two.

Sometimes, when I am feeling really fancy, I will put them in the oven after, with additional cinnamon, butter, and brown sugar... or candied walnuts.... mmmmm


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 14, 2018)

Challah bread is very good for French toast.

A Felician sister (nun) in Enfield CT made fantastic babka (Polish egg bread).  That was my favorite for French toast.  I have the recipe, but haven't made it yet.

I just do 1/4 cup milk, 1 egg, and a little salt and vanilla.  I sprinkle on cinnamon when one side is cooked, then the other.  Dust with confectioners' sugar (optional).  Serve with real maple syrup.

I have some birch syrup.  The gals of Red Molly, a bluegrass/folk/Americana trio, mailed it to me when they were in Alaska.  Very good.  It's described as "spicy sweet' compared to maple syrup.

100-year-old, 2-burner Griswold griddle ...


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 14, 2018)

I'll be …

https://www.posteaglenewspaper.com/small-babka-sweet-bread/

Recipe from here …

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/enfield-ct-fv-recipe-felician-sisters-423509521


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## Dobish (Dec 14, 2018)

my local dairy actually just published a recipe in their MOOO news that uses eggnog... so i'm going to try that one out tomorrow AM.


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## Dobish (Dec 14, 2018)

https://longmontdairy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/18-12_MoooNews.pdf


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## SpaceBus (Dec 14, 2018)

PaulOinMA said:


> Challah bread is very good for French toast.
> 
> A Felician sister (nun) in Enfield CT made fantastic babka (Polish egg bread).  That was my favorite for French toast.  I have the recipe, but haven't made it yet.
> 
> ...



I didn't know there was such a thing as birch syrup. I must investigate this.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 14, 2018)

It's very good and very expensive.  More for the folks that light their cigars with $20 bills.  

Red Molly mailed me an 8-fl.oz. bottle from Alaska, and I still have half of it.  I treat it like liquid gold. 

Maple syrup is roughly a 40:1 reduction.  I've read that birch syrup is anywhere from 90:1 to 150:1. 

I just bought 8, 1-qt. bottles of maple syrup for a great net price  at Ocean State Job Lot here.  They were $14.99 each, and you received a $10 gift card back on each one.  I'll be taking them to OBX to use as gifts to people when we have a breakfast get-together during our next visit.


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## Renovationman (Dec 14, 2018)

Raisin bread or Easter bread. Milk and eggs, cinnamon and REAL vanilla. And all this topped with maple syrup, sorry no aunt Jemima in this house.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 14, 2018)

Crap!  You're right.  Forgot that. I add a little real vanilla to the egg/milk/salt mixture above.

Pretty neat … we moved to MA from NJ for my wife's job with a pharma company.  Her boss was from Madagascar, and his family is in the vanilla business.  He moved back to Europe, and my wife has done his U.S. taxes several times since he went back.  He sent us a nice package of a lot of vanilla beans as a thank you.  I cut up some beans and drop them in little glass bottles of vodka to steep for extract. 

My wife said he's sort of a person without a country.  The majority of the population in Madagascar doesn't see him as from there since he's white.  He's now living in France near the Swiss border.  They don't  see him as French there because he's from Madagascar.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 14, 2018)

Renovationman said:


> … topped with maple syrup, sorry no aunt Jemima in this house.



I was a kid in the 1960s/early 1970s.  Raised with Log Cabin, Aunt Jemima or the like on frozen waffles.  Horrid stuff! 

FIL makes fun of us because we like maple syrup.

Oh, really good waffle recipe.  Make the batter the night before …

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/belgian-style-yeast-waffles-recipe


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 15, 2018)

Having a Carnation Instant Breakfast shake microwaved in a mug for hot cocoa this morning and wishing I had babka in the freezer! 

Birch syrup in the ramekin on the left.


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## Chimney Smoke (Dec 15, 2018)

Try stuffed french toast, it's more like dessert than breakfast.  It's soaked over night and usually has cream cheese and jelly in the middle and then baked in the oven.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 15, 2018)

Sounds good.  My wife likes blurring the line between breakfast and dessert. 

Had to laugh.  Making beef stew today so I went poking around looking for a potholder in the kitchen drawer with pot holders, dish towels, and aprons.  Found an Aunt Jemima pot holder.

Found an ebay listing that dates it to 1987: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Aunt-Jemima-Pot-Holder-/253993599770.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 15, 2018)

Here's another good make-the-night-before recipe: baked French toast.  Good if you have people over.


*Baked Cinnamon French Toast  (from A Taste of Home)*

 “There’s no last-minute preparation, and you can serve several people at once with this casserole,” reports bed-and-breakfast owner Lo Ann Brennock of Cloverdale, California.  “My guests love the smooth, custardy bottom layer topped with thick slices of cinnamon bread.”

*12 slices cinnamon bread, divided.
¼ cup butter or margarine, softened
9 eggs
1 quart milk
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup sugar
4-½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Warmed blackberry preserves, optional
Whipped cream, optional
*
Line the bottom of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish with six slices of bread.  Butter remaining bread; place with butter side up over bread in pan.  In a mixing bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla; mix well.  Pour over bread; let stand for 15 minutes.  Place the dish in a larger baking pan.  Pour boiling water into the larger pan to a depth of 1 in.  Bake, uncovered, at 375º for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving with preserves and whipped cream, if desired.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 15, 2018)

Here's a Bed and Breakfast web site I have bookmarked.  Lots of French toast recipes.

https://www.bbonline.com/recipes

It's also a good site for breakfast casseroles, if you have guests visiting and need an easy breakfast.


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## begreen (Dec 16, 2018)

I'm a purist and like the essential flavors to come out. I make french toast with french bread, farm fresh eggs, a little milk and high quality real vanilla, no salt (it's already in the bread and butter). Topped with grade B maple syrup this is a delight. My wife sometimes makes a variant with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon, but I keep it simple.


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## Dobish (Dec 17, 2018)

I made the mistake of making the eggnog french toast with an oatnut bread (grabbed it by mistake.... )

bad idea.


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## kborndale (Dec 19, 2018)

begreen said:


> I'm a purist and like the essential flavors to come out. I make french toast with french bread, farm fresh eggs, a little milk and high quality real vanilla, no salt (it's already in the bread and butter). Topped with grade B maple syrup this is a delight. My wife sometimes makes a variant with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon, but I keep it simple.



Grade B is much better, but now they call it Grade A dark.


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## begreen (Dec 19, 2018)

kborndale said:


> Grade B is much better, but now they call it Grade A dark.


Yes I have noticed some doing that and some list both grade B and grade A dark. The more maple flavor the better for me!


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 19, 2018)

What's very dark used to be end-of-season Vermont Grade C here.  Great for cooking.  Vermont changed the grading system a few years ago.  I bought it from these folks: https://cbmaplefarm.com/grades-of-maple-syrup/.

We like going to sugar houses in season.  Fun time.  Just search "(state name) maple producers' association" for sugar houses and when the state may have a statewide maple sugar day of open houses at a lot of sugar shacks.

Here's VT's page: https://vermontmaple.org/maple-syrup-grades

Here's the MA page: https://www.massmaple.org/

Someone we know tapped a couple of trees a few years ago and was up late at night boiling in the backyard.  He was amazed at how much he collected from a tree.  Had to go home at lunchtime to change pails.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 19, 2018)

For MA and CT folks: K E Farm is just up the hill from Old Sturbridge Village and he does their maple syrup.  Don't turn into the OSV parking lot.  Just drive up the hill and he's on the left.  His name is Ernie.  Nice guy. 

http://www.maplesugarhouse.com/


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## begreen (Dec 19, 2018)

I miss New England maple sugar operations. We had one a few miles from us in W. Cornwall, CT that made great syrup. I bought grade B by the gallon. Now I have to order it or pick it up at Costco.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 19, 2018)

On maple products.  If you haven't had it, maple cream is very good.  Remarkably sweet.  It's boiled more and before maple sugar.  You can do a search on how to make your own.  Looks like more work than I want to do.


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## begreen (Dec 19, 2018)

PaulOinMA said:


> For MA and CT folks: K E Farm is just up the hill from Old Sturbridge Village and he does their maple syrup.  Don't turn into the OSV parking lot.  Just drive up the hill and he's on the left.  His name is Ernie.  Nice guy.
> 
> http://www.maplesugarhouse.com/


Do they sell grade B? I only see grade A fancy on the website.

I've ordered from these folks in the past when they offer free shipping. They call their grade B "Dark robust" now. 
https://www.hiddenspringsmaple.com/


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 19, 2018)

begreen said:


> I miss New England maple sugar operations. We had one a few miles from us in W. Cornwall, CT that made great syrup. I bought grade B by the gallon. Now I have to order it or pick it up at Costco.



You're from here?  I used to go skiing at Mohawk Mountain (mountain in name only  ) when I was a kid in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Used to go to Lime Rock park for the IMSA races Memorial Day and the Vintage Fall festival labor Day weekend.  Fun time!


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 19, 2018)

begreen said:


> Do they sell grade B? I only see grade A fancy on the website.



I noticed that.  Call him.  Nice guy.  He may have some, just not enough to post on his web site.

If you call, mention the guy (me) that sent him a lot of cornbread recipes several years ago.  They were from _The Southern Heritage Breads Cookbook._  First Chapter is "Corn!  Corn!  Corn!"


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 19, 2018)

If anyone goes to K E Farm during maple season.  Look to the woods on the left as you go up the hill for all the tapped tree and tubing.  Pretty neat!

These were fantastic: almond scones with maple cream.  Nan (wife) and I volunteered to give tours on a recreation Viking ship every weekend during the summer 2017.  The day would start with a 7 AM breakfast at the expedition manager's house, owned by Mystic Seaport.  I'd bake something every Friday afternoon for the breakfast.  The last weekend was almond scone with maple cream.  Luke, the expedition manager, bit into a scone topped with maple cream, "you outdid yourself with these."  Nan asked me to make them last. 

Almond scones: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/almond-scones-103608.  Rather than dusting with powdered sugar: bush with milk and sprinkle on pearl sugar before baking.


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## firefighterjake (Dec 19, 2018)

As much as I praise the folks here in Maine with their events in March with Maple Syrup Sunday, the folks in Quebec do Sugar Houses up in a big way.

I've been crossing the border into Quebec for the past few years to have a meal at the Cabana au Sucre in Lac Megantic . . . if you leave hungry there is something very wrong with you. My favorite is the crispy pancakes, but honestly everything else on the menu is pretty darned good.

http://en.cabanemegantic.com/menu/


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 19, 2018)

firefighterjake said:


> ... My favorite is the crispy pancakes …



What are they like?


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## Dobish (Dec 20, 2018)

We used to take trips up to Parker's Maple Barn in NH.... that place was tasty... 

I have a few friends back in VT and NH that have maple farms and it makes me happy when they send gifts


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 20, 2018)

We ate there when we did NH Maple Days.  Neat place.


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## Ashful (Dec 20, 2018)

Dobish said:


> Anyone have a favorite french toast recipe?


Mine isn’t fancy, but it’s tasty and quick, when you want to get the family fed on Saturday morning, and get outside to process some wood.

Scale however you like (I usually do 3x everything, for my family of four):

1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Each egg makes about four slices of bread.  Cook in butter on cast iron skillet.  Serve with real maple syrup, Shiloh Sugarbush (PA) is our favorite.

You’ll need to beat the cinnamon back into the mix each time you put another slab of butter and prepare to dip the next batch of bread slices.  Usually served with brown sugar sausage links.

One thing we have here in PA, that the rest of the country is generally not aware, is Pork Roll.  A Taylors pork roll and egg sandwich may be the perfect breakfast, try it if you’re not already familiar.


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## Dobish (Dec 20, 2018)

Ashful said:


> Mine isn’t fancy, but it’s tasty and quick, when you want to get the family fed on Saturday morning, and get outside to process some wood.
> 
> Scale however you like (I usually do 3x everything, for my family of four):
> 
> ...



that is pretty much my classic as well...


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## begreen (Dec 20, 2018)

PaulOinMA said:


> You're from here?  I used to go skiing at Mohawk Mountain (mountain in name only  ) when I was a kid in the late 1960s and 1970s.
> 
> Used to go to Lime Rock park for the IMSA races Memorial Day and the Vintage Fall festival labor Day weekend.  Fun time!


I lived a mile from Mohawk Mtn at one point and have spent many days at Lime Rock. A friend used to work their. I have fond memories of the good concerts up in Lennox and Tanglewood too. A part of New England will always be in my heart.


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## firefighterjake (Dec 20, 2018)

PaulOinMA said:


> What are they like?



Crispy. 

Flat and crunchy . . . a nice light flavor. My mouth is actually salivating thinking about them right now . . .


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 20, 2018)

Pork roll (Taylor ham) is frequently discussed on an OBX web site I'm on:

http://www.obxconnection.com/outer-banks-forum/forum-thread.aspx?Thread=103686

http://www.obxconnection.com/outer-banks-forum/forum-thread.aspx?Thread=91114

http://www.obxconnection.com/outer-banks-forum/forum-thread.aspx?Thread=102248

http://www.obxconnection.com/outer-banks-forum/forum-thread.aspx?Thread=102288

… and a bunch more threads.


Price Chopper, my local supermarket here in MA, carries it: https://www.pricechopper.com/shop#/product/20108.  They use to carry scrapple, too, but I haven't seen it in a while.


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 20, 2018)

begreen said:


> I lived a mile from Mohawk Mtn at



Here's a really interesting and sad web site on all the lost New England ski areas: http://www.nelsap.org/ .  Covers other areas, too, now.


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## fbelec (Dec 21, 2018)

and now back to our program in progress
i hope someone here knows this recipe. the wife and i went down to Newport RI. for a weekend a while back and stayed at a B&B. that morning was what this man called french toast. he made it with the normal way of french toast with another ingredient. banana's and soaked the bread in this mixture over night. haven't heard anyone speak of it since. this did taste like a dessert.  would love to have this recipe again. anybody


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## PaulOinMA (Dec 21, 2018)

Poke around the B&B web site I posted above under both French Toast and Breakfast Casseroles.


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## fbelec (Dec 22, 2018)

thanks


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## HisTreeNut (Dec 26, 2018)

My recipe is simple...fresh eggs & milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, & a bit of ginger.  Whatever bread we have handy.  Real maple syrup if we got it.
I have decided that french toast is the only winter storm food people eat...because you cannot find milk, bread, & eggs before they come through...

Sent from my VS835 using Tapatalk


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