French Toast a la Julia

Funny. Bet you thought I meant Julia Child. Not true. I meant Julia my roommate from college. She came to visit me and Tom in Chicago many years ago. Ok I'm not that old, so "many years ago" means in 2005. So 5 years ago Julia came to visit. I can't remember why she was visiting, but I remember that it had just been 80 degrees which is totally random in Chicago, and then of course when she arrived it dipped to freezing and I think even flurried.

Anyway to go along with the bacon that Tom and I like to eat every weekend I can still remember the french toast that Jules whipped up. She did the normal - beat some eggs, add cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg, and maybe even a teeny drop of vanilla extract. But then came the good part. She grated orange zest and added that to the bowl. Then she soaked the bread in it and fried it like normal. DELICIOUS. The orange zest is just a fantastic addition. If you need something to zest it with definitely try the Microplane zester.I know it seems silly, but I used to use some random one that SUCKED and after waiting what seemed like a million years, I finally got not one but TWO microplane zesters at the same time. After returning one, I now happily use it all the time.

If you are in a hurry, or you do not want the best POSSIBLE french toast, then I would advise you to beat the eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and orange zest. Heat up your frying pan (cast iron makes better french toast than non stick in my opinion) I don't know what the wooden tray is in this picture...something to do with fajitas, but I know that I use this type of pan ALL the time. I make my pancakes and french toast in it, and grilled cheese is great in it too. So your pan is heated up and then you dip the bread (the better the bread, the better the meal) on both sides and put into the pan. Cook about 3 minutes or so each side and then eat with maple syrup. Please God do not use fake syrup. And if you want GOOD syrup then use Grade B. Grade A is for wimps and dorks. It is watery and just not good enough. Grade B is fabulous.

If you have more time I would buy a baguette. Cut nice thick slices and do the eggs and spices and orange zest. Now dip the bread pieces into the egg mixture. Put the slices into a rectangular pan with sides I have a Polish pottery baker JUST like this and it is seriously one of my favorite kitchen pieces. I use it all the time and love love love it. Check out Marshalls and TJ Maxx/Homegoods because they often have them at fantastic prices. Now pour any egg mixture left over the bread and cover the pan with saran wrap and refrigerate over night. The next day cook just like normal in the frying pan OR bake them in the oven. I would estimate that you bake for about 30 minutes but I don't really time it. Probably bake at about 350 or so.