Go nuts with French Toast!

I love french toast! We were at the cabin last weekend with all of the family and had a great breakfast, everybody pitched in. If I could turn back the clock I would've gotten a picture of everyone at the table!

My favorite type of bread to use for french toast is an artisan bread fresh from the bakery. I slice it up, soak it in the egg, cream, and cinnamon-sugar mixture, and cook it on the skillet in a mix of canola oil and butter. The oil makes it a little crispier on the outside.

I actually don't really like bananas, but with french toast I do! These bananas are sauteed in butter until brown. Once they are done I swirl a little brandy in the skillet... mmm brandy.

I topped off the banana french toast with a maple butter syrup and toasted pecans.

I then got the strawberries ready for another option . I also love using raspberries. A great combination with the berries is orange maple butter, which is super delicious and easy to make.

Here is the strawberry french toast with some nice melted orange maple butter and powdered sugar.

I didn't quite measure ingredients but here they are approximately :)

French Toast-
Slice one loaf of artisan bread.
Soak slices in the mixture of eggs (about 6), half and half (about 1/2 cup), orange zest of one orange, and cinnamon and sugar ( I probably used 3 T. of a mixture of them both). I like the egg mixture to be pretty thick so that the french toast doesn't get too soggy.
Use 1-2 T. of canola oil and butter each and heat to medium-medium high on the skillet.
Brown the french toast to desired "doneness" :) Keep the french toast warm in the oven until you are ready to top them off.
Sauteed Bananas-
Heat about 2 T. of butter in a skillet over medium-medium high heat. Slice bananas and lay them in the skillet without overlapping. When brown on the bottom, flip and brown on the other side. Once done, remove from heat and swirl about 1/8 cup of brandy in the skillet.
Maple Butter Pecan Syrup-
Toast pecans in the oven at 400 degrees until lightly toasted. Watch closely so they do not burn. About 4 minutes.
Melt butter (about 3 T. give or take, unfortunately the more there is the better it seems to taste! ), and add maple syrup (about 1 cup). For me, real maple syrup is the only way to go!
Bring to a boil, and then let simmer and thicken for about 15 minutes.
Orange Maple Butter-
Use 1/2 stick of salted butter at room temperature, mixed with the zest of one orange, 1 T. of maple syrup, and 1 T. of orange juice. You can definitely use more or less of each ingredient, whatever suits your tastes :)