Tag: french toast

French Toast Waffles

done1_edited-1

With 4th of July right around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to start this week off with a patriotic breakfast idea! Maybe you have a waffle iron and have no clue what to do with it. Maybe you do, but haven’t dusted it off in a while. Maybe you don’t like the hassle of mixing up the waffle batter… No mind, these are the simplest no muss, no fuss waffles you will ever make and they are super sumptuous too!  Are they waffles or is it french toast?  Why, it’s both!  French toast and waffles all in one, pretty clever, huh?

With this recipe, you heat up your waffle iron, then go about making french toast as you normally would.  Then instead of pouring batter into your waffle iron, you just place your egg soaked bread in!  Talk about easy and talk about yum!

Preheat your waffle iron.

Pre-heat your waffle iron.

Then start preparing your egg mixture:

Start with two eggs.

Scramble up the eggs with a fork.

Add in some light cream for richness.

Add in some light cream for richness.

Add in some pure vanilla extract for depth of flavor.

Add in a pinch of cinnamon for added french toast flavor.

Scramble it all up forming your dredging liquid.

Now prepare your waffle iron because as you dredge your bread, you need to immediately place into your waffle iron, this step doesn’t take long at all.

Spray your waffle iron, I like to use a butter flavored non-stick spray for this, but any regular non-stick spray.

Spray your waffle iron, I like to use a butter flavored non-stick spray for this, but any regular non-stick spray.

Ready about 3 - 4 slices of your favorite sliced bread. I am using whole wheat bread here.

Ready about 3 – 4 slices of your favorite sliced bread. I am using whole wheat bread here.

Individually dredge each piece of bread.

Individually dredge each piece of bread.

Place your egg soaked bread right on your iron and close like you normally would. Give it about 2 minutes.

Place your egg soaked bread right on your iron and close like you normally would. Give it about 2 minutes.

You will know your french toast waffles are done when they are golden brown just like regular waffles.

You will know your french toast waffles are done when they are golden brown just like regular waffles.

done3

Recipe for French Toast Waffles:

(Serves 2)

4 slices of wheat bread (or your favorite sliced bread)

2 eggs

1/4 cup light cream (whole milk to substitute)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 pinch cinnamon

non-stick cooking spray

berries, butter and syrup to top

Directions:

Pre-heat waffle iron.

Prepare eggs.  Crack two eggs into a bowl.  Scramble with fork.  Add in cream, vanilla and cinnamon.  Scramble with fork.

Dredge each slice of bread in liquid one at a time.  Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray, covering both top and bottom.  As you finish the individual dredging, place each slice in the iron.  Close iron and wait about two minutes.  Waffles will be ready when golden brown.

Top with fresh berries, butter and syrup.  Enjoy!

 

Portuguese “French” Toast (Fatias Douradas)

3 Comments

NEW done2

Portuguese “French” Toast… Growing up, this was just plain ole french toast to me! I didn’t realize it was “Portuguese style”.  My mother would make this with whatever bread we had in the house, usually some type of portuguese vienna bread (as you see here) or pop seco roll.  But, it wasn’t unheard of to make it with plain old sliced bread either.  The key is the crispy fried goodness that soaks in all that sugar and cinnamon.

My Vavó (grandmother) used to call these Sopas Fritas, which doesn’t make much sense because literally translated it means Fried Soup.  But, if you understand a bit of Portuguese food history, it will.  The Portuguese make a soup with milk and put stale bread in it called “Sopas de Leite”.  Instead of soup, here we beat eggs and add milk to the beaten egg mixture and dunk day old bread to make fried, well, bread… but it was her quirky way of referring to this delightfully delectable dish.  This was traditionally served on Fat Tuesday before lent for those who could not afford to make Portuguese Malasadas (a portuguese fried dough). Now, we eat it for breakfast, brunch, parties or just as a fun snack.  Kids and adults alike love Fatias Douradas!

Whatever you call them, they are a simple and delicious start to the day.  Definitely a dish the kids can help with!  And one they will surely gobble right up.  Just one more note before we get started.  I have since realized what “actual” french toast is made with sliced bread and topped with maple syrup… this is a bit different and definitely is meant to be eaten sans syrup.  (This is a habit my husband had to be broken of)  But, if you must, you must… just try to enjoy it as is first! 🙂

pour oil

Start by adding about 1/4 cup of oil to a large skillet. This one is non-stick… a cast iron skillet will work well here too.

bread

Grab a large Vienna bread… or any somewhat crusty loaf of bread. Vienna bread has a medium crust. A good substitution if you don’t have this available would be an italian loaf.

sliced bread

Slice it pretty thickly. These are about 1″ slices.

eggs in milk

Place 6 eggs in about 1/8 – 1/4 cup of milk.

beat eggs2

Beat eggs vigorously.

sugar cin1

Prepare your sugar and cinnamon. This is one cup of sugar and 2-3 T. cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

mix sug cin

Mix that with a fork until combined.

2012 01 24_3865_edited-1

Now, set that cinnamon mixture up near your empty platter that will be ready to receive your cinnamon sugar encrusted slices.

egg setup

Also, set your egg mixture near your prepared, preheated skillet. Proximity really matters in this recipe.

dunk bread

Quickly dunk your bread… you don’t want to over saturate the bread here… so this needs to be done as you are ready to place it in the pan.

fry1

Now… fry the egg dunked bread slices in the oil for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

fry2

Until golden brown on both sides. Hence the term ‘golden slices’ which is the literal translation to ‘Fatias Douradas’

dip

Immediately dunk fried bread into the cinnamon sugar… do not drain first… you need the oil to soak in the sugar and cinnamon. Then place on your platter. You may notice that some of it melts in… nothing could be better!

closeup

Whether you name these Portuguese ‘French’ Toast, Golden Slices, Fatias Douradas, or Sopas Fritas… be sure to call it delicious! Enjoy!

 

Recipe for Portuguese ‘French’ Toast:

(serves 4)

1 large Vienna bread loaf (or loaf of your choosing)

1 c. white sugar

1/4 c. veg. oil

3 Tbs. cinnamon

6 eggs

1/8 c. milk

Directions:

Pre-heat pan with oil on med/high.

Prepare ingredients:  In a shallow medium sized bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon, set aside.  In a medium bowl beat eggs and milk vigorously, set aside.

Quickly dunk bread.  Fry on both sides for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.  Immediately dunk in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Plate.

Enjoy!