Have I mentioned that the mother-in-law is in town?
I fed her today.
If you a. do not like hosting brunch because you think it takes a lot of work or b. you're too hungover to throw something together other than a hair-of-the-dog Bloody Mary, this recipe is for you. You make it the night before and it's quite a wonderful thing. This recipe is courtesy of my mom's friend, Mrs. Schultz, and it's become a family favorite.
Baked French Toast
This will put five adults and two children into comas.
The night before brunch:
One loaf of French or Italian bread, sliced into 1" slices
9"x13" casserole pan (glass works best)
Spray the pan with Pam and place the bread, the slices flat, in the pan. You will most likely have to double decker it to get all the bread to fit. This is fine.
In a separate bowl mix together:
3 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups milk
Pour the mixture over the bread, cover and refridgerate overnight.
In the morning, bring the casserole out and allow it to come to room temperature. While this is happening, you get to make the topping.
1 cup flour
12 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 stick of butter
Mix this together with a fork, like you would a pie crust. When it's reached its crumbly-goodness potential, pour over the top of bread.
Bake it at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.
Use frozen raspberries or blueberries for topping. (Of course you defrost them beforehand, you dork. You don't just serve a slab of raspberries to your guests and say, here, throw these over your french toast. Enjoy! Doof.)
I should mention that these are really tasty when served with mimosas. If you're really rich and can afford peach nectar, make bellini's instead. I don't, however, think these would be good with Bloody Mary's. Bleech.
Posted by Kathy at April 17, 2005 10:11 PM | TrackBackBest recipe for MIl visits? Vicodin.
Posted by: That Dude from Philly at April 17, 2005 10:29 PMSounds yummy. That said, if not intended to go with the Bloody Mary then perhaps not the best choice for brunch. But then I'm the guy who orders his meal to go with the wine he's chosen and not the other way around. In fact, that is exactly what I did on Friday night when we went out with friends and rendered ourselves incapable of drinking anything at brunch the next day!
Posted by: RP at April 18, 2005 10:47 AMI should probably qualify: I'm not the biggest fan of Bloody Mary's. I loathe tomato juice and no amount of the finest vodka will get me over said loathing. I want to gag just thinking about them. Bleech.
I, too, have been known to select a meal around my wine choices. (Our trip to The French Laundry comes to mind, but when you have a sommelier helping you choose exemplary wine to go with exemplary food, it doesn't seem like a bad thing. It's more like appreciating the wine list as much as you appreciate the menu. ;)) This is one of the reasons why I like this recipe---it goes well with mimosas and bellinis, which are my brunch beverages of choice.
Posted by: Kathy at April 18, 2005 10:59 AM