Sugar Crusted French Toast Food

SUGAR-CRUSTED FRENCH TOAST WITH HONEYED APPLES

Steps:

• For poached apples:
• Combine first 7 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 minutes. Add apples; cover and simmer until tender, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer apples to bowl. Boil syrup in saucepan until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Add syrup to bowl with apples. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)
• For french toast:
• Whisk eggs, yolks, milk, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, and salt in 15x10x2-inch baking dish. Place bread in single layer in egg mixture; spoon egg mixture over bread and let stand until soaked through, about 3 minutes.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in each of 2 large nonstick skillets over medium heat. Sprinkle each skillet with 2 tablespoons sugar. Add 3 bread slices to each skillet; cook until deep golden on bottom, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle top of bread slices with sugar, using 2 tablespoons for each skillet; turn slices over and cook until deep golden on bottom, about 3 minutes. Transfer French toast to plates. Place 1 apple half alongside each serving. Drizzle French toast with some of syrup from apples and serve.
• *Brown star-shaped seedpods sold at Asian markets and specialty foods stores and in the spice section of some supermarkets.

CINNAMON SUGAR FRENCH-STYLE TEXAS TOAST

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 200 degrees F, and place a rack on a sheet pan.
• Whisk the milk and eggs in a glass pie or casserole dish until evenly combined.
• Whisk the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add about 1/2 a tablespoon of butter to the skillet, swirling the pan to coat the surface. Dip 2 slices of bread into the egg mixture and immediately lay in the skillet. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top and cook until the undersides are brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Add a nut-sized bit of butter to the skillet, as needed, and flip the toast, cook until golden on the underside, about 3 minutes more.
• Serve immediately or transfer to the rack in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining bread and batter. Serve with jam or maple syrup.

FRENCH TOAST WITH BROWN SUGAR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Mix together all the ingredients-make sure the brown sugar is dissolved.
• Pour into a deep baking pan and soak the pieces of bread (you can soak them overnight if you want) with a large spatula. Take pieces of bread out and put on a baking sheet and then you can pour the excess batter over the bread again.
• Cook for 6-8 minutes, then flip each piece of bread over and cook for about 6-8 minutes more.