french toast with rum bananas

Breakfast

French Toast with Rum Bananas

The process for making French toast couldn't be simpler — what's going to take yours to the next level is the kind of bread you use. You want to use a bread that's absorbent and airy, but also rich and flavorful at the same time. That's why I like to use fluffy egg breads like challah and brioche, but any fluffy, tasty bread should work well. I like my French toast slices thick, but not too thick or else the middle of the toast won't cook through without the outside getting dry and overdone. You'll run into that same problem if you try to cook your French toast too quickly over high heat. Remember, when your heat's low and you cook slow, you'll get fluffy, moist and perfectly done French toast every time. Spoon on some of the toppings listed below and y'all will be in heaven.

Ingredients

4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pinches ground cinnamon
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick) slices brioche, challah, cinnamon raisin bread or any moist and fluffy bread you like
2 tablespoons butter
orange-rum bananas, recipe follows
2 tablespoons rum
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 large bananas sliced thinly on an angle

Directions

Beat the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon together in a mixing bowl until well blended. Pour the egg mixture into a baking pan large enough to give you room to turn and soak the bread. (A 13 by 9-inch pan works well.)
Lay the bread slices in the egg mixture and let them soak, turning them several times, until the bread has soaked up all the egg. Turn them gently so they don't break apart on you.
Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. When it starts to bubble, lay the soaked bread in the pan. Cook, turning once, until the bread is nicely browned and the egg in the center of each slice is cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve warm with the Orange-Rum Bananas.
Note: If your skillet isn't large enough to hold all the bread slices at once, cook them in batches. Before you start your first batch, preheat your oven to 200 degrees F (or "Warm"). Keep the cooked slices warm on a baking sheet in the oven while you cook the rest.
Heat rum, sugar, butter and orange juice in a large skillet until the butter is melted. Add the bananas. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat so the sauce is bubbling gently. Cook until the bananas are softened, about 4 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings