I’ve had a horrible week. I know, nobody wants to hear from a whiner, but seriously it’s been really crap.
First my c: drive died. I wasn’t too concerned because that’s the solid state drive that keeps things humming along but I don’t store any data on it. John ordered a new one and was busily installing it when something even worse happened. My e: drive (also known as my brain) kicked the bucket. We’re really good about backups but nobody told me I could get a corrupt backup.
He ordered a new jumbo drive which would become my new brain and worked feverishly to get everything working. Yes, I had to reinstall all the software. What a pain in the neck.
Then, just when I thought everything was hunky dory (I love that phrase) the power went out. It happens fairly often and one day they’ll find the cause but until then, it can be chaos. When the power came back on the surge killed my new c: drive. Back to the store we went. In addition to being expensive, imagine being offline from Friday to Wednesday! I had 973 emails to wade through today. Yes, most are mails I don’t need.
I needed some comfort food. I had this lovely loaf of bread I’d made and all I could think of was thick slices, soaked in custard for hours, gently fried and then placed in the oven til the custard set. THEN slathering it with real maple syrup and eating til I exploded. (ok maybe not exploded but I wanted my fill) I know we’re not supposed to reward ourselves with food but come on, a computer crash is pretty catastrophic!
In addition to the computer problems, I was a bit homesick for my American roots. Not often and it’s never a depressing thought but sometimes I miss my family and old friends back in the states. This was one of those weeks. It was my son’s birthday and I knew all the celebrating that would be going on and I would miss it – again.
Whenever I feel this way I always sort it out by making a truly American meal – memory food. This week I’ve done ribs, bbq beans, corn on the cob and cole slaw but I was still feeling a twinge. I got up and kept thinking about French toast – baked French toast.
I used to make this by dipping the bread fairly lightly and then frying it and then eating but one day I left the bread in the custard mix when the phone rang and thought I’d have to toss it out because it would never cook through. Not wanting to waste anything I fried the toast til golden brown and popped it in the oven until I could see the toast rise.
It was SO good. It’s the only way I make French toast now. I love the yummy soft custard inside. I’ve now had my American fill and my computer is back in operation but I’ve got a few programs yet to install.
While I was offline I made some really good dips – the beet dip was especially nice and I made ketchup. I have always wanted to make it and this week I did. I couldn’t work on my computer so I ketchuped. It’s not called ketchup in Australia – it’s called tomahto sauce. So maybe I’m still in the midst of birthday week homesickness. Time will tell.
Here’s how I make my baked French toast.
- 6 thick slices of white or French bread (use what you have)
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (the good stuff)
- ½ tsp allspice (nutmeg would work too)
- butter for frying the bread
- real maple syrup
- Preheat oven 400F 200C
- Mix the custard ingredients with a whisk.
- Soak bread until all liquid has been absorbed (you could do this the night before to save time)
- Fry the bread lightly on both sides until golden brown on medium heat (2 to 3 minutes per side)
- Place on a baking tray for 12 to 14 minutes.
- Serve with maple syrup or fruit
This looks like a pretty delicious breakfast or dessert idea. mmmmm. Thanks! x
Definitely great for when you have to feed a group!
Great idea to bake these
Sorry to hear about your computer, they can be such pains in the rear. That reminds me that I really need to format my backup drive and get to saving some things.
The french toast looks awesome, and love the pure maple syrup.
I love baked french toast! I’ve only had it with loaves of french bread, which of course is delicious. Great idea to throw it in the frying pan first. Kind of like a sear on the bread 🙂 Looks wonderful!
Cool recipe. I don’t do French Toast often, and when I do I’m more a frying pan kind of guy. But baking makes total sense, and next time I do it for a crowd I’ll try it.
Sorry to hear about your computer problems – computers can be such a pain, but we need them, don’t we? I’ve always got an external hard drive running as a backup, and I switch drives every week or so. That way if a drive becomes corrupt, I’ve got a backup that isn’t too old.
French Toast is one of my favorite breakfasts! And desserts! Looks awesome!
I do love french toast, but I have never tried the bake method. However, your pictures here tell me that I need to-yum!
Sorry about the C drive, computers sure do need a lot of attention and programs to keep them clean and clear! Even then that does not guarantee you will not have issues.
Oh this looks so warm and comforting. Sometimes the most basic recipes are the best! Hope your week turns out better than it started! Take it easy 🙂
Sorry about the computer problems. We’ve all been there and it’s not fun. We are so dependent on our technology these days. French toast was a family treat on the weekends that I haven’t made in ages. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
“Memory food” is the best form of comfort food, because you’re doing so much more than just physically ingesting it. It’s about the smells and tastes but also everything like places, sounds and people who are associated with it!
Sorry to hear about your week. It seems to be going around doesn’t it? And the weather doesn’t help! 🙁
Oh no! Hope your computer is up and running real soon!
Your baked version sounds delicious and must be tried! xx
french toast is a favorite in this house but when I dont have the time to do it this is perfect! Not sure why I have never done it before? Thanks for sharing Maureen! I love it
That sounds like a total suckfest! We have several external RAID drives, but I am praying every day that they will be good puppies and just keep on humming… Toast looks AWESOME.
Hi Maureen!
absoluty love french toast and baked its even better for my body.
Sorry to hear about the mess with the drives. hell for sure! I went through similiar situations last year too, so I know what u r going through. if the electricity is flactuating (power on off), why dont u consider getting a stabilizer? those are life savers.
I never thought to bake french toast – brilliant! I am so computer challenged, luckily my husband knows what he’s doing. 😀
Maureen, I’m sorry you had a bad week. You can take solace in knowing you weren’t alone. I lost all of my photo’s that I moved to my thumb drive. I’m still searching for originals… I just noticed I’m not getting your posts by email either. Gotta figure out why! Your french toast looks perfect! I love the idea of baking it. Never have made it that way before but I will be from now on. Other than your family you aren’t missing much here other than a poor economy and high gas prices 🙂
Maureen, I was so sorry to hear about your rotten week — looks like you’ve got things up and running again, thank heavens. French Toast is the best cure-all, isn’t it?
I definitely prefer crunchy French toast after being baked – your looks delicious and so addictive in the morning 😀
Yum!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Love the way you make your French toast, finishing off in the oven is such a great idea. Is maple syrup produced in Australia?
Thanks for the comments. I’m much better since my computer is back in operation. 🙂
Norma, the maple syrup is imported from Canada. I’d love some Maine maple syrup but I doubt that’s going to happen. 🙂
OK. I shouldn’t laugh. But I did. I’m here because I saw your comment about having made french toast roll ups with cream cheese and I wanted your recipe. I searched “French Toast” and this is the first post that came up and your opening sentence caught my eye and I had to read it.
Even your whining makes me laugh. And I so empathise, we’ve all had those kind of days when everything goes wrong!! Thank you for yet another entertaining post finishing with an essential recipe (I am yet to make baked french toast!)
Honestly, baked French toast are the bomb. Soaked forever in the custard, the toast comes out of the oven with a soft, pillowy inside and a crisp outside that’s perfect for real maple syrup. 🙂
French toast is my favourite sunday morning treat. Thank you for the recipe 🙂