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Savory French Toast

Martha Stewart Living, April 2001
  • Yield Serves 6
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Ingredients

  • 5 ounces (about 6 slices) bacon
  • 2 onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 12 ounces button mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces), plus more for serving
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 6 slices 1-inch-thick bread, such as sourdough, each cut into 3 long strips
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

  1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add bacon; cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove bacon with tongs, drain on paper towels, and set aside. Add onions to skillet with bacon drippings; cook, stirring constantly, until onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook until tender and most of the liquid released has evaporated, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl to cool. When cool, finely chop half the mixture, and set aside the other half.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, Parmesan, and salt. Stir in the finely chopped vegetable mixture.
  3. Place the bread strips in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Pour egg mixture over bread; soak 10 minutes. Turn strips over, and soak until bread is soaked through, about 10 minutes more.
  4. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet; set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry half the bread strips until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to wire rack; place in oven while cooking remaining bread.
  5. Wipe out skillet; repeat with remaining butter, oil, and bread. Keep in oven until ready to serve. Heat remaining onion mixture in a small skillet until warm. Serve French toast warm, topped with reserved onion mixture, crumbled bacon, and Parmesan, if desired.

Recipe Reviews

  • prettycreatures
    13 Apr, 2010

    @Cascade Consumer

    Look at the last sentence of step one.

  • CascadeConsumer
    19 Nov, 2009

    At step five, this recipe fails. "Heat remaining onion mixture in a small skillet until warm." The recipe never said what to do with the rest of the onion mixture prior to this step. Very unclear.