Saturday, February 16, 2008

Caramel French Toast

I got this recipe from the Storyteller's Cafe in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. I kind of tweeked it but not much. The carmel sauce for this recipe is what I use for ice cream.

Vanilla Sauce:
4 egg yolks
4 Tbs sugar
1 Vanilla been split & scraped
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Whisk together the yolks and sugar in a small bowl. In a saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla bean & extract to a low boil, then remove from heat. Add a little heated milk to the egg mixture to temper it, then add the tempered egg mixture to the heated milk. Simmer over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly thickened, but do not boil. Transfer to a bowl and set aside in an ice bath.

Caramel Sauce:
8 Tbs butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and mix well. Add cream and bring to a simmer. Keep warm until needed

French Toast:
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
8 slices of texas style bread (I prefer French Toast bread, it is Texas style (thick) but it has vanilla and cinnamon already in the bread.
Mix first four ingredients. Dip bread in egg mixture and cook on griddle. This step can be replaced with your favorite french toast recipe.

This is how you assemble this delicious breakfast. Place one slice of french toast on your plate top with vanilla sauce, top with second piece of french toast. And for the creme de la creme, smother with the caramel sauce. Continue with remaining pieces of french toast.

This is wonderful to serve with strawberries to dip in the sauce left on your plate.

Banana EggNog

This is a family tradition. I only wish I could stay away from it all year, but I crave it!

3 eggs
3 cups milk, divided
3 TBS of sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1-2 bananas depending on your preference (I love it with 2)
5-6 ice cubes

In a blender measure in one cup of milk, add eggs, sugar vanilla, lemon extract and salt. Mix well, add bananas and mix again. Finally add icecubes, mix until smooth. Poor into a pictcher and add final two cups of milk mix together. This serves about 3 people if you really like the stuff. My kids only drink about 1/2 cup each so this makes enough for my whole family.