Make French Toast On a Weekday

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One weekday morning this past month, my wife announced that she was making French toast. I’m not sure if I told her she was insane, but that’s definitely what I was thinking. Who makes French toast at 7:03 a.m. when you’re hustling to get your kid out the door to school?

Hardly for the first time in our marriage, I was wrong—and glad to have been.

Pretty soon the kitchen smelled of melting butter, and then I heard that tssss...the sizzle of the custard-soaked bread hitting the hot (but not too hot!) cast-iron skillet.

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And before we knew it, our son Marlon was sitting down to a couple of griddled, golden-brown slices of country bread, and he was pouring maple syrup all over them and, being the dad that I am, I had to blurt out, “Marlon, not so much syrup!”

Inevitably, he always leaves a bit of unfinished French toast on his plate, and one of his parents, usually this one, steps in to finish it off. (I need some fuel before I head to the gym, right?)

Obviously, you don’t need me to tell you how good homemade French toast is. But sometimes a nudge to remind you how makable it is does comes in handy.

How, if you have heavy cream or half-and-half on hand, go ahead and blend that in with the beaten eggs. How a splash of real vanilla extract is never a bad move. Or a dash of cinnamon, if that’s your thing. And fry the toast in a mixture of butter and vegetable oil, which prevents the butter from burning.

Oh, and most importantly, how the quick-and-easy custard needs a healthy pinch of salt (just like your favorite chocolate chip cookies do).

So, yeah, go ahead and make French toast—no matter what day of the week it is.

Get the recipe:

Classic French Toast