Last weekend I was at my girlfriend's cabin in Brown County. We hung out for the weekend with her friends from Purdue and watched scary movies, drank wine, played Jenga and ate food. The food part (at least in the "major meal" department) was left up to me. I'd come prepared with all the essentials for both dinner and breakfast, and I'm here to tell you I did not suck at either. In fact, the following recipe may very well be my best recipe for french toast. Ever. If you feel like making these on a car camping trip, at a cabin in the woods, or just in your sweet kitchen at home, I'm telling you right now you'll want to make it for more than just yourself because it is THAT GOOD. Enough jibberjabber - let's get to the food!
The "Perfect" French Toast
*serves 2 (three slices per person)*
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp butter (1/2 tbsp for every pan-ful of french toast)
6 3/4 inch slices of challah bread (you can use brioche but you need to PROMISE ME you won't use sandwich bread - terrible)
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Get a cookie sheet out and line with foil (I hate doing dishes, so this is one less thing you'll have to wash later).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, sugar and salt. Keep the whisk out, as you'll need to whisk the custard every time before you dip your next batches of bread in, as the spices tend to settle at the top).
3. Heat the butter in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. The minute the butter has juuuuust melted and is sizzling but not browning, dip the bread in the egg mixture and cook in the skillet until golden, 2-3 minutes per side. Add another 1/2 tbsp of butter for the next batch as needed. * if your bread starts to smoke/char before the 3 minute mark, your pan is too hot and you'll need to kick that sucker down a bit*
4. As you remove the slices from the pan, layer them onto the prepared cooking sheet. Once all your bread has been cooked, place the french toast into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. This will puff up the center a bit and ensure two things: 1) That your french toast is thoroughly cooked to the center (I hate soggy middles); and 2) that everyone (even the cook) gets to sit and eat hot french toast at the same time!
Aaaaaand you're welcome.