Chocolate Covered Strawberry French Toast Food

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Heat up your griddle to medium head and coat with a small amount of non stick spray.
• Chop up your strawberries and place them in a small bowl with the sugar, stir to coat the strawberries in the sugar and then set aside.
• In a pie plate mix the eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla together with a whisk.
• Using a medium heart cookie cutter, cut out a heart in the middle of 4 slices of bread.
• Dip your bread into the egg mixture and place on your griddle.
• Cook until each side is golden brown and then flip to cook the other side.
• Continue doing the same until all your french toast is made.
• Place a piece of french toast without a heart cut out on a plate, spoon 1/4th the strawberries on top of the bread, place a piece of bread with the heart shape cut out on top.
• Place a few raspberries and the heart piece of french toast on the side of the other toast.
• Drizzle the french toast with chocolate syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

CHOCOLATE MASCARPONE STUFFED FRENCH TOAST WITH STRAWBERRY SYRUP

Steps:

• Cook's Note: Mascarpone is similar to cream cheese in flavor (but better) and has the consistency to match. It makes a great base for this super-easy yummy filling.
• Combine the mascarpone, heavy cream, orange zest and sugar in a bowl. Add the melted chocolate and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, take a generous scoop of the chocolate-mascarpone filling, about 2 tablespoons, and slather it on 1 slice of the brioche, and then top with another slice of brioche. Repeat with the remaining slices and filling; you will make 6 sandwiches.
• In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and half-and-half to make an egg bath. (If you don't have half-and-half, milk or heavy cream will work just fine.)
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Preheat a nonstick griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet, moving it around to coat the surface. Dip each sandwich in the egg bath, turning over to coat and soak both sides. Place the sandwich on the hot griddle. (Place only as many sandwiches as will fit easily on the griddle, don't overcrowd.) Cook, in batches, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the sandwiches to an oven-safe platter and cover loosely with foil. Place in the oven to keep warm. Add more butter to the griddle, as necessary, and cook the remaining sandwiches.
• Cut the sandwiches diagonally in half, and serve 2 to 3 halves per person. Dust the sandwich with confectioners' sugar and grate chocolate over the top. Ladle a generous portion of the Strawberry Syrup over the sandwiches, or serve alongside for your guests to serve themselves.
• In a large saucepan over high heat, add the strawberries and sugar. (A large saucepan is needed just in case the strawberry syrup starts to boil up the sides.) If the strawberries are not as ripe or sweet as you like, add 1/3 cup more sugar. Add 2/3 cup water, the corn syrup and sea salt to the pan. Stir together until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Strain out the strawberries and continue to boil the liquid until the mixture has thickened to a syrupy consistency, another 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and add the strawberries back to the saucepan. Gently stir to coat the strawberries in the syrup. (The syrup can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or cooled and frozen.)
• Cook's Note: For an orange-lover's option, use fresh orange juice instead of the lemon juice to finish the syrup. Alternately, for a rich, adult-friendly sauce, add a splash of orange liqueur, like Grand Marnier, to the sauce. Although the alcohol won't completely cook out, most will if cooked a few minutes longer. Yield: 3 1/2 cups

CHOCOLATE AND STRAWBERRY-FILLED FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Cut through each slice of bread horizontally to form a pocket, not cutting all the way through.
• Stuff 1 tbsp.of the chocolate chips and 2 tbsp.of the strawberry preserves into each pocket along with one tbsp.of softened cream cheese.
• (I like to press the little chips into the cream cheese so they"stay in place".) Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.
• Add the filled bread and allow to soak for 5-10 minutes.
• In a heavy skillet or griddle, heat butter.
• Add stuffed bread, turning frequently until crisp and golden.
• Transfer to heated plates and dust with powdered sugar.
• Serve with Mandarin Orange Strawberry Sauce.
• To make sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients and simmer together until slightly thickened.

CHOCOLATE AND STRAWBERRY STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Set aside.
• Place 1 tablespoon of cream cheese in the center of 4 of the pieces of bread and spread around slightly. Top with about 6 slices of strawberries and a teaspoon of chocolate chips. Cover each with another piece of bread to make a "sandwich".
• Spray a large nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and preheat. Carefully dip each of the "sandwiches" into the egg mixture until completely moistened. Then place on the skillet and cook over a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the outside is golden brown and the center is warm and chocolate is melted.
• Transfer to serving places. Top with remaining strawberries and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.