In France, Belgium, New Orleans, Acadiana, Newfoundland and the Congo, French toast is known as pain perdu. French for lost bread, pain perdu reclaims stale or “lost” bread by soaking it in an egg and cream mixture overnight before being pan frying in butter and then baking. The stale bread drinks up the egg mixture which creates a custard like center in the bread, making this hands down the most delicious French toast I have ever tasted.

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Pain Perdu

French for lost bread, pain perdu reclaims stale or “lost” bread by soaking it in an egg and cream mixture overnight before being pan frying in butter and then baking. The stale bread drinks up the egg mixture which creates a custard like center in the bread, making this hands down the most delicious French toast I have ever tasted.

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine French

Prep Time 8 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 8 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 6 extra-large eggs
• 1½ cups cream or half-n-half
• ¼ cup Grand Marnier or brandy
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 6 slices French bread cut about 3″ thick
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• flour
• maple syrup
• powdered sugar
• strawberry preserves

Instructions

• Place bread in a baking dish so the slices lay flat and are not crowded.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, Grand Marnier, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Pour over bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate eight hours or overnight, turn once to ensure even absorption.
• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Heat a large oven-proof sauté pan over medium high heat and add butter.
• Dust the egg soaked bread with flour and a sprinkle of sugar.
• When the butter has melted and stopped foaming, place the bread in the pan floured side down. Dust the uncooked tops with flour and sugar. Cook for about 5 - 7 minutes to brown and then turn.
• Place the pan in the hot oven for 12 to 15 minutes until the bread has puffed up.

Serve

• Serve hot with a drizzle with maple syrup, a dusting of powdered sugar, and a dollop of fresh strawberry preserves. Of course bacon is always a welcome side.

Notes

A crusty hard bread is a must for this dish. I cut 3″ slices of french bread, and allow them to dry out for a day before using for this recipe. Plan one thick slice per person.

Vegetables create the perfect forms for this simple yet impressive way to serve eggs. Use a variety of colors to add some fun to your next breakfast or brunch.

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Vegetable Egg Rings

Vegetables create the perfect forms for this simple yet impressive way to serve eggs. Use a variety of colors to add some fun to your next breakfast or brunch.

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 large onions green or red pepper, or any combo
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• Cut ½″ slices of onion or pepper.

Instructions

• Place the rings in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the rings until some browning appears. Turn the rings.
• Gently drop an egg into each ring (break the eggs into individual ramekins, then gently pour into rings). Sprinkle a few drops of water into pan and cover.
• Cook until the egg is as done as you like.
• Season with cracked pepper and sea salt.

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  

~  Washington Irving

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All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.

 ~  Oscar Wilde

There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.

 ~  Chinese Proverb

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A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done.  

~  Unknown Author

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.

~ Rajneesh

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God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.

~ Jewish Proverb

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I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life. 

~  Abraham Lincoln

Most mothers are instinctive philosophers.

~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

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The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.

~  Henry Ward Beecher

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That best academy, a mother’s knee.  

~  James Russell Lowell

Wishing everyone a very special Mother’s Day! 

Thin slices of smoked salmon, cucumber, radish, and red onion, with capers and dill create the perfect combination of toppings for a toasted bagel with a smear of cream cheese. An explosion of flavors for the palate and a visual feast for the eyes, this brunch dish is one of my favorites treats.