French Toast Stuffed With Bacon Onion Tomato Jam With Gruyere And A Fried Egg Food

FRENCH TOAST WITH BACON, ONION AND TOMATO JAM

Steps:

• Make the filling: Toss the bacon into a large skillet with a few drops of olive oil. Bring the pan to medium heat and cook the bacon until brown and crisp, about 13 minutes. Spoon off about half of the drippings. Add the onion to the pan and season with salt and the red pepper flakes. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and very aromatic, 8 to 10 more minutes. Add the tomato, season with more salt and cook another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tomato is soft and mushy and most of the liquid has evaporated. Taste and reseason if needed. Stir in the oregano and let cool.
• Make the French toast: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. In a wide dish, combine the eggs, milk, cayenne (if using) and a pinch of salt. Beat until smooth and homogeneous.
• Lay 4 slices of bread on a work surface. Sprinkle each piece of bread lightly with cheese (use about half of the cheese). Spoon a quarter of the bacon filling onto each piece of bread, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Top each slice with another piece of bread and press to secure. Working in batches, soak each "toast" in the egg mixture, about 1 minute; flip and soak the other side.
• While the toasts are soaking, coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring the pan to medium heat. Working in batches so you don't crowd the pan, cook the toasts for 2 to 3 minutes per side. The toasts should be golden brown, lovely and crisp-YUM! Transfer the toasts to a baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm.
• Make the eggs and assemble: Coat a large nonstick skillet lightly with olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add the eggs to the pan, working in batches if necessary. Cook until the whites are cooked through and the yolks are warm and runny, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the toasts from the oven and top each with a perfectly fried egg. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately.

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST WITH GRUYERE, MUSTARD GREENS AND DOUBLE-SMOKED BACON

Steps:

• Whisk together the creme fraiche, mustard and hot sauce in a small bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Set a medium cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, turning once, about 8 minutes. Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate, and then cut the slices into thirds.
• Add the red onions to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and starting to caramelize, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the mustard greens, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until just starting to wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, and then transfer the greens to a bowl.
• Whisk together the eggs, egg yolk and half-and-half in a baking dish until smooth. Add the Parmesan and some salt and pepper; whisk until combined.
• Spread the bread slices with some of the creme fraiche mixture, and top with a slice of Gruyere. Top half of the slices with 3 or 4 pieces of bacon and a little mound of greens. Turn the remaining slices, cheese-side down, on top of the greens and press down to make sandwiches.
• Working in batches of two, soak the sandwiches in the egg mixture on both sides until just soaked, about 2 minutes per side.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. (If you have a skillet large enough to cook all four sandwiches at once, add all of the oil and butter now.) Add two sandwiches to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and fry until crisp, golden and cooked through on both sides, about 5 minutes per side--cover the pan if needed to help the cheese melt, and adjust the heat to prevent the French toast from burning. Repeat with the remaining oil, butter and sandwiches.
• Halve the cooked sandwiches on the diagonal and serve hot.

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Heat sausage patties according to package directions; cut into bite-size pieces. Cut a pocket in the crust of each slice of bread. Butter the inside of pocket. In a small bowl, combine sausage and cheese. Stuff into pockets., In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs, milk, sugar and cinnamon; dip both sides of bread. Cook on a greased hot griddle until golden brown on both sides. Serve with syrup if desired.