Black Walnut French Toast Food

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE WITH BROWN SUGAR-WALNUT CRUMBLE

Steps:

• For the casserole: Generously butter a 3-quart casserole dish. Arrange the bread slices over the bottom of the dish in three rows of 6 slices, shingling slightly.
• Whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl until combined and smooth. Whisk in the milk and heavy cream. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread slices, making sure that all slices have been coated. Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 12.
• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• For the crumble: Toss the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl. Add the butter and work it in with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly with pea-sized bits of butter. Mix in the walnuts.
• To assemble: Give the bread slices in the casserole dish a gentle push into the custard. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top.
• Bake the casserole until the top is puffed and browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes (it will still be a little wiggly but will continue to cook a bit out of the oven); check halfway through the baking time and tent with foil if the topping is browning too quickly. Serve hot.

THE BEST FRENCH TOAST I'VE EVER MADE

Steps:

• Choose your bread. If you like very thick french toast (you should try it at least once!), find a local bakery and get yourself a loaf of challah or brioche bread (buy a day-old loaf if they have it.) I don't like using French bread or the regular loaves you find in the deli at the grocery store; the crusts turn out too chewy. You want a nice soft edge. If you can't get to a bakery, head to the grocery store and buy the thickest and softest white bread you can find. (3/4 inch or thicker.) Texas toast is great. I like to use the Artesano brand of bread; they sell a pre-sliced brioche loaf that is pretty legit. But their white bread is also nice and soft. See photos.
• Slice your bread with a serrated knife if you are working with a whole loaf. See photos. I like my slices to be about 1 and 1/4 inch thick, which feels a little ridiculous, but trust me. You can even go up to 2 inches if you're feeling wild. Don't slice thinner than 3/4 inch.
• Set your bread aside, spread out so that it gets a little dried out. Day old bread is great for French toast. In France, they call this dish "Lost Bread" because it's what you make when you have dried out bread to use up. (I experimented with toasting the bread first, but thought it dried out the finished product too much.)
• Make the egg mixture. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl,* whisk together 3 egg yolks, 1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream* or half & half, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg, if you like. Whisk until it is completely smooth and the cinnamon is well incorporated.
• Pour the mixture into a shallow dish like a pie plate, or an 8x8 inch pan. Place a slice of bread in the mixture and let it sit there for 10 to 20 seconds. How long you soak it depends on how thick your bread is. It should be soft when you touch it, but still hold itself together. Flip the bread and soak the other side. You can start cooking the French toast right away, or you can place the soaked bread on a baking sheet or plate while you finish soaking all of them.
• Cook the French toast: Heat an electric griddle or large 12 inch skillet over medium low heat. When it is hot, add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or any oil with a high smoke point.) Swirl it around until the pan is coated. Place the French toast on the pan with 1 to 2 inches in between each slice of bread. Cook on medium low heat for 3-5 minutes. The timing depends on your oven or griddle, so stick around and keep an eye on it.
• Caramelize. When the bottom of the first side is LIGHT brown (we are going to cook this side twice), sprinkle about a half tablespoon granulated sugar on the top (raw) side of the bread. Flip the toast, sugar side down, and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. (Be sure to swirl the pan so oil re-coats it, or add more butter/oil if necessary). Then, sprinkle another half tablespoon of sugar on the cooked side, and flip it over again so that it lightly caramelizes the first side.
• Keep your toast warm. Preheat your oven to the "keep warm" setting, about 170 degrees F. As you finish frying the toast, transfer each one to a wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet. Keep toast warm in the oven until ready to serve.
• I honestly don't even put maple syrup on caramelized French toast. I feel like it doesn't really need it, plus it makes the caramel edge not as crunchy. I like to eat it plain, or with a little jam. But maple syrup is really delicious if you are in the mood! A sprinkle of powdered sugar and a berry garnish never hurt either.
• Keep leftovers stored covered in the fridge. It will keep for 3-5 days. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave or the toaster. Or heat your oven to 350 and heat the toast all together on a wire rack set over a baking sheet, until the toast is warmed, about 5-10 minutes.

APPLE, PEAR AND WALNUT STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• For the fruit-nut mixture: Mix the butter with the apples, pears, walnuts and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Refrigerate to chill briefly.
• For the French toast: Meanwhile, in a large flat dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.
• Make a deep slice from the side into the center of each bread slice to form a pocket. Stuff a couple spoonfuls of the fruit-nut mixture into each piece (reserve any leftover fruit-nut mixture for serving). Dip the stuffed bread in the egg mixture to moisten on both sides (but not so much that the bread falls apart).
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter. In batches, add the stuffed bread and cook until golden brown, flipping gently, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Continue cooking the remaining bread, adding additional butter as needed.
• Put the extra fruit-nut mixture in the skillet and cook a few minutes over medium heat, just to soften the fruit. Spoon over the French toast and serve with warm maple syrup.

FRENCH TOAST ROAST WITH BANANAS AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the custard: Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk together. Add the sugar, cream, milk, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
• Trim the crust from the brioche, then cut it into a 4-by-6-inch cylinder. Place the brioche in a baking dish and cover with the custard. Let stand until the custard has soaked through all of the bread, at least 15 minutes; turn the bread occasionally with tongs to make sure it soaks evenly.
• For the bananas: While the bread is soaking, peel and slice the bananas 1/2-inch thick. In a bowl, toss the bananas with the melted butter, pecans, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and 1/2 cup water and pour into a roasting pan.
• For the French toast roast: When the bread has finished soaking, melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the soaked brioche with sugar and carefully place it, sugar side down, in the melted butter. Sprinkle the top with more sugar and sear the bread on all sides until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Carefully place the bread over the bananas and transfer to the oven for 15 minutes, or until the bread is caramelized. Remove from the oven, dust with powdered sugar, cut into 1-inch slices and serve with the banana mixture.

BANANA WALNUT FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Grease a 3 quart rectangular baking dish; set aside.In small bowl gently toss bananas with lemon juice.Arrange half the bread slices in the bottom of the baking dish. Top bread with a layer of bananas.Add remaining bread slices.
• In a medium bowl combine eggs, milk, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Slowly pour egg mixture over french bread to coat evenly . Press bread down lightly with the back of a spoon to moisten all the bread. Cover and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours.
• Before baking sprinkle with walnuts and sugar. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes at 325°F . done when a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Top of bread should be light brown.Serve with maple syrup.

BLACK WALNUT FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Place a small skillet over medium-high heat until hot; add 2 tablespoons chopped black walnuts, and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove from skillet.
• Melt 1 tablespoons light butter in small skillet over medium heat; add banana slices, and cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
• Stir in toasted black walnuts and 1/4 cup honey, and remove from heat.
• Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients in a shallow dish or pieplate. Lightly press bread slices, 1 at a time, into egg mixture, coating both sides of bread. Cook bread, in batches, on a nonstick griddle coated with cooking spray over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until done.
• Repeat procedure, if necessary. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve with banana mixture and syrup.