Sunday Brunch: French Toast With A Twist

On Friday, John and I were thrilled to receive the news that our niece had been born! Tom and Cristy are now proud parents to a beautiful, absolutely perfect baby girl - needless to say, everyone is smitten. I clicked on her first photo about 46 times on Friday and John's already saved it as his phone's lock-screen/wallpaper! John took a half day off from work to see her in the hospital and I was dying to see her myself, but couldn't make it until the next day.

My mother-in-law was staying with us, so in my excitement, I decided to make French toast for brunch on Saturday morning. One of my most-requested meals when I'm at home is my mom's delicious French toast. She uses a very thickly sliced white bread and manages to cook it evenly and perfectly, so that the buttery, egg-y goodness aroma fills the house and the slices are served up warm and soft inside. I usually just eat it drizzled with a generous helping of Aunt Jemima Original Syrup (which is very pricey here, in case you're wondering), but since I didn't have that on Saturday, I made up some cinnamon sugar, and tossed in a handful of blueberries with golden syrup instead.

Though the slices weren't as good as my mom's (and the bread was sliced considerably thinner), it still made for a tasty brunch and it's super easy to make. I usually like to make American-style pancakes as weekend treat, but French toast is a quicker and easier alternative if you're starved for time or just feeling a little lazy.

My method is low-key and simple: I whisk two to three eggs together (depending on how many people are eating!) and add milk to the mixture until it's about 2/3rds milk. I then transfer this mixture into a shallow plate so that I can easily dip and coat each slice of bread into the mixture before placing it into a medium-hot pan that already has a pat of butter melting away. I like to use chopsticks to flip my French toast because it's much easier than using a spatula, and you can press little corners here and there that aren't getting cooked evenly without flattening the whole thing. Once they're golden brown on each side, you're ready to go!

What's your favorite French toast topping?