Santa came to our house a day early when I was growing up. Mom said it was because he knew we drove to my grandmother's farm on Christmas Eve day so he stopped at our place first, ensuring the presents were ready and waiting on the morning of December 24. We'd wake up early, collecting stockings from the staircase on our way down to the tree, eat baked french toast for breakfast, pack, pile into the car and for the next 8 hours -- over the river and through the woods, obviously -- to … [Read more...]
Hot Cross Bun French Toast & Mixed Fruit Compote
The sentiment of this recipe (and for that matter this post) hovers between "why not?" and "well of course I did, are you really surprised?". Hot Cross Buns -- with all their soft and fluffy filled with spice and love glory -- are best on the day, or day after, they are pulled from the oven. Not that they taste any less brilliant beyond that point, but like any homemade bread they need something to refresh them slightly. Toasting and smearing with curd or butter certainly … [Read more...]
Three Williams Cafe – Redfern, Sydney
Expansive polished concrete floors play off the exposed pipes, painted brick walls and a blackboard-backed kiddie area. A mix and match of wood, marble and metal tables and chairs provide an air of casual nonchalance. The servers and baristas, dressed in faded black with pants rolled above the ankle, are Redfern gentrification at its finest. With its Facebook-only website and little more out front than a copper 'W' plaque next to the door to indicate its existence, Three Williams … [Read more...]
Crunchy French Toast
His magical words fought through the fog of my groggy travel brain, "I found a place for brunch, they are famous for something called Crunchy French Toast, you should probably get up..." It was the last morning of our huge adventure holiday and at the end of that day was a 14-hour flight home, followed by a return to real life, a hard look at what I wanted to do with myself, and a taco/ice cream/pie belly to shed if my jeans were to ever fit again. Brunch sounded like the perfect … [Read more...]
Banana & Almond Butter Stuffed French Toast
Happy Bloggiversary to me! 84th & 3rd turned 1 year old last week and to celebrate I turned the computer off, boycotted cooking and went to yoga, I deserved it. A whole year, can you believe it? In honour of this momentous event I made French Toast for brunch this past weekend. Not this French Toast, or this one but a whole new beast - Banana and Almond Butter Stuffed French Toast. And it doesn't stop there... vanilla, orange juice, and oh, right, Bourbon. Because you can't really have a … [Read more...]
Banana Bread French Toast
Yep, this is the second French Toast post in as many months. But the first one was savory, so it had to be balanced out, right? I may have a problem. On a list of problems to have, I'm ok with this one. The colour issues on this photo, not so ok with them - harsh light aside, can anyone tell me how to shoot berries and not have them black?? Anyway, imagine them a lovely dark purple. I have to admit that this has been sitting in a folder for a while in anticipation of sharing Banana Bread … [Read more...]
French Toast-ed Grilled Cheese
It's French Toast on the outside and Grilled Cheese on the inside, kind of like the old Wheel of Fortune before and after puzzles...but even better, instead of some random living room suite, the prize is tasty and delicious, and not covered in brown corduroy. The trick to good Grilled Cheese, and French Toast for that matter, is heat control. Even if [especially if?] it is 2am and you are just getting home and desperate for savoury gooey-ness. You just cannot rush even browning and … [Read more...]
