Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Very-special French toast

It was Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday and to celebrate we had some very-special friends over for breakfast.  They're very-special because the girl lives all the way in up-state New York so we only rarely see them together.  That makes all of our friends in NZ and other parts of the country and world very-special too.  Just so you know.

Because they're so very-special, I wanted to make the breakfast a special affair.  I found a lovely recipe in my new book Tartine Bread for delicious French toast designed specifically for that fussy country bread I've been making.  I call it fussy because last time we tried using it for French toast, the egg cooked so that it was like having a fried egg inside bread.  Weird.  I found this horrid concoction so stressful that I had to take some time in our bedroom to myself.  The recipe calls for first sealing the custard mixture and bread with a quick burst on heat on the stove top and then baking it for 30 - 40 minutes.  This gives the base a caramelised, crispy texture while the egg mixture custardises beautifully as it slowly cooks in the oven.  The baking time also takes the stress off kitchen deadlines as everything else can be prepared in the meantime.

We insisted on the favourite NZ combo topping - syrup, banana, and bacon.  Jbird has been given a large bottle - at least a litre (!) of real maple syrup which shone in this meal.  I also threw a few blueberries on top and Jbird sifted icing sugar over everything.  As side dishes we served some mini lemon/poppy seed cupcakes - my current favourite since my birthday - and we chopped up some grapefruit.  We offered plunger coffee and tea.  It was a pretty special breakfast, worthy of any NZ cafe.  And any very-special friends.

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