January 1, 2010.  When better to start?  Shake off the cobwebs and dig out your electric griddle*; we’re making French Toast.

Wipe off said griddle with a damp paper towel and preheat it to 350° while you get everything else ready.  What’s everything else?  A shallow bowl, a fork, a spatula for flipping, bread, milk, eggs, and a little bit of oil for the griddle. 

First, the bread.  It can be anything you have on hand.  Seriously.  On Wednesday I used bread that was left over from the Christmas stuffing.  I was a bit worried that the crust wasn’t going to be edible, but the steam from the cooking process made it magically delicious!  French Toast was originally a way to use up stale bread.  If you have Wonder Bread or some other poor excuse for bread?  Don’t tell me, just understand that you have to be quick and careful with it.

Second, the eggs.   Are your eggs fresh?  Put them (in their shells!) in a bowl of water.  Fresh eggs do not float.  Shells are porous, and as the egg ages, air gets in.  I wouldn’t eat an egg that floated all the way to the top.

Third, the milk.  As the cook, it is YOUR responsibility to smell the milk to see if it’s still good; you don’t get a pass on this one.  You can use anything you have in the ‘fridge here – I’ve even used up the last bit of heavy whipping cream. 

Ok – time to get cooking.  My general recipe is 2 slices of bread to 1 egg and 1 glug (a/k/a a shot) of milk.  I took the time to measure a glug, it’s one tablespoon.  I don’t use salt – it’s a choice based on knowing there is enough salt in our diet, and laziness.  If you want to use salt maybe 3-4 shakes per egg? 

Decide how many slices of French Toast you need and do the math accordingly.  Whisk (with the fork) the eggs and milk in a shallow bowl that will comfortably hold one piece of bread with enough room to get your hand in there.  A small, square Corningware dish** is optimal. 

Once your griddle is at 350° it’s time to give it a light coat of oil and start cooking.  Just pour on about 1/2 teaspoon and spread it around with a paper towel.  I’m not a fan of non-stick sprays here for 2 reasons.  1, it gets all over the counter (and you really have to clean up thoroughly because this stuff gets into surface pores and attracts dirt), and 2, it’s actually not good for non-stick surfaces (see reason 1).  Don’t use butter, it burns too quickly. 

Ready?  Stack up the bread on a paper towel; it’s bad form to reach your eggy hand into the bread bag.  Lay the slice of bread in the bowl and lift it out after a second or two.  You want the bread soaked, but not soggy, and it’s all dependent on the bread.  Do both sides, let the excess drip off, and put it right on the griddle.  I won’t insist that making straight rows with the square bottoms of the bread all facing the same way makes a huge difference in the outcome, but why risk it?

Give it about 2 minutes and flip over the first piece.  Does it look dry, golden brown and gorgeous?  If so, flip the rest.  If not, turn it back over for another 30-seconds to a minute, then check again.  Repeat for the 2nd side,  plate it and you’re done. 

If you want to be fancy, while it’s still on the griddle use the spatula to cut each piece into a triangle and layer the triangles across the plate.  Drizzle with maple syrup and maybe some uber-thin slices of cold butter).

All you need now is some bacon and orange juice!

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If you have extra, it microwaves OK the next day, but it’s better as a mock Monte Cristo.  Make a grilled cheese sandwich with the French Toast as the bread, and  use ham and or turkey and swiss cheese.  Squeeze seedless raspberry jam on the side.

*You don’t have to use an electric griddle, but it’s loads easier.  You can just use a large non-stick pan if that’s what you have.

**Jeff, If mine turns up missing?  I know where you live.