french toast

And this is how you make it: You whip together the eggs and cream, which form a custardy mixture, then dip the eggy bread into this custard. Make sure to gently squeeze the bread with your fingertips to draw the eggs and cream to the center—and fry them in butter. It'll be done and cooked in 15 minutes total, can't go wrong with that. Outside is a crisp crepe-like shell. Inside, pudding. Okay, seriously, what are you waiting for?

This salty and protein-rich toast hits a lot of breakfast high points. There's nothing quite like cutting into your French toast and finding a gooey, melty cheese interior

If you're a lover of avocado, like I am, you're always finding ways to use the delicious little fruit. This avocado-stuffed French toast is an amazing breakfast idea!

A few well-chosen ingredients go a long way in this simple but gratifying recipe. Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and just a touch of brown sugar are added to the egg and milk, which also happens to be spiked with rum (fineartdaily specifies a "generous dollop," which we took to mean 2-3 tablespoons). Day old slices of French bread go for a swim in this heady custard and are then quickly browned on both sides; the recipe calls for an oiled pan, but we like to add a bit of butter at the end for extra flavor. A couple of pieces of this French toast and a little maple syrup are all you need to start the weekend off right.

I'll take any excuse for a decadent mid-week breakfast, especially one that so expertly plays with sweet and savory. The extra step of infusing the rosemary into the milk of the custard was nothing short of genius—every bite delivered that heavenly aroma, rounded out beautifully by the vanilla. The maple syrup facilitated a crunchy, caramel-y exterior, and the crème fraîche offered the perfect cool and creamy counterpoint to the rich toast. One suggestion: I would add a couple egg whites to the custard for some lightness. Even after 10 minutes in the pan, the center was still pretty milky.

This single-serving French toast recipe came to me out of spontaneous necessity. Save for a couple stale slices of bread and a single egg, my fridge was empty. And though I can't argue that this would be, universally, a "pantry raid" recipe, it is for me in my kitchen: I happen to always have bread crumbs (especially panko) and packets of roasted seaweed snack on hand. It makes so much sense, anyway, to crust the French toast in panko before frying it in butter. The result is a brilliantly savory crust, which stays super crunchy even after drowned in good, runny maple syrup. The salty seaweed makes sense, too, in the comfortingly bland grits, and goes with the savory-inflected palate of the spread. A side of lacquered, maple-candied bacon is optional, but strongly recommended. This is French toast for one—and for one alone.

Please believe the ingredients: This recipe calls for skim milk and the most inexpensive supermarket Italian-ish loaf of bread you can find, and the results are spectacular! It puffs up beautifully in the oven and tastes absolutely wonderful. I've also halved it for a breakfast for 4 and we devoured it. I first tasted this at my friend Shelley's home, and she uses more cinnamon and sugar than I do, so feel free to adjust as desired.

If you're typically a breakfast purist who enjoys nothing more than a bowl of fat free yogurt sprinkled with toasted what germ first thing in the morning, this may not be the dish for you -- then again, it just might be! The truth is, it's a special breakfast, not meant for every day (even for those of us who don't gravitate to yogurt and wheat germ), but for an Occasion. You know, like having friends over on a Sunday morning, or seducing a new mate. The croissants develop almost unbelievably crisp edges when they're dipped in egg and milk and then fried in butter. I put some fresh orange zest and juice into the batter for the croissants, and then a little Cointreau in with the syrup to keep the orange theme going. A little mascarpone on top is optional, but highly recommended.

Let’s cut to the chase: This is breaded bread. Instead of the usual French toast technique—dunking in custard, then pan-frying—the dredge is extended to what I call the 1-2-3. First, flour, then custard, then bread crumbs. Often, this is employed for proteins, like chicken tenders, for an extra-crispy crust. Here, it sends French toast over the top. I like challah best, but brioche and even sourdough work as well. Fresh or stale both work.

Prep time 13 hours