HOW TO MAKE FRENCH TOAST

It's actually better to make French toast with stale bread than with fresh, because stale bread will absorb more of the custard mixture than fresh bread will.  Indeed, it's traditional to make French toast from day-old bread.  But if all you have is fresh bread, try toasting it very slightly beforehand.

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup half and half  (I substituted milk)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 8 slices regular white bread
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp butter  (optional)

Preparation:

1.     Pre-heat oven to 200°F. (optional; for keeping cooked french toast warm)

2.     Beat eggs thoroughly. Whisk in sugar, half and half and vanilla.

3.     Pour the custard mixture into a shallow glass dish. An inch deep should be fine.

4.     Heat your griddle to medium-low, and melt the butter on it.

5.     Soak a couple of slices of bread (but only as many your griddle can accommodate at once) in the custard while you count to ten. Flip them over and repeat.

6.     Carefully remove the soaked slices from the custard, letting the excess liquid drain into the dish, and transfer the bread to the griddle. Flip when the bottoms are golden brown. When the other sides are also golden brown, remove from the griddle.

7.     Serve French toast right away, or transfer it to a dish in the oven to keep warm.

Serves 4 people.