French Toast So Simple That Even My Hubby Can Make (A.K.A. Dad's French Toast)

2010-10-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

Breakfast during the week just doesn't seem to happen for me. I'm lucky if I get out the door with a banana in my hand. But come Saturday morning ( or afternoon, depends on when I wake up!), breakfast is calling my name. This weekend my husband pleasantly surprised me by offering to make breakfast...french toast to be precise. Now I knew this could either be really easy for him, or really, really difficult...I mean, the man can't even flip a pancake, bless his heart. The key to making it easy yet wonderfully gourmet is simple ingredients. I gave him my father's recipe. I grew up eating this french toast. My dad made it every Sunday after church. And guess what, it was a success, my husband can make it too! Not only is it super easy and fast to stir up, it's absolutely delicious! Enjoy!

   Ingredients:
     Four pieces of thickly sliced sourdough bread
     Six eggs
     1 tsp cinnamon
     1 tsp nutmeg
     1 TBS butter

Whisk the eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl
Dip one piece of bread, making sure you really soak both sides well
Melt the butter in a skillet and fry bread on medium/high heat, until the bread looks golden brown
Repeat with each slice
Enjoy with your favorite toppings! (powdered sugar and lemon is our favorite!)

Photography by Nick P. Ouellette

A Cupcake Wedding

2010-10-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

Last January, I had the wonderful opportunity to do my first wedding (congratulations Eat Pretty Cake!). I baked 300 mini cupcakes and hand decorated them all by myself. Even though I have a loving mother, sister, and husband who offered to help, that little, annoying perfectionist with the voice of Jimmy Stewart that lives deep inside of me REFUSED to let them. Sorry loving mother, sister, and husband...and thank you for accepting me, even if you don't understand me. Anyway, I did let my husband help...a little. Actually, I really couldn't have done it without him. He was the loving, encouraging force that drove me through that long night of baking. He also hand crafted the amazing four tiered stand that the cupcakes were displayed on, and found these amazing mini cupcake holders for me to transfer the cupcakes safely to their final destination.

I used fresh blackberries coated in pink sanding sugar to top off about half of the cupcakes. Now the tricky part about this is you need to roll the blackberries in the sugar when the berries are COLD, fresh out of the fridge. If you let them become room temperature, the sugar won't stick. And you don't want to wet the blackberries either, because then you just get a sticky, mushy mess. So remember, cold berries = BEAUTIFUL, not so cold berries = MUSHY MESS.

The other cupcakes I topped off with white nonpareils, which is a guaranteed classy look for any frosted treat. Surfas is a wonderful baking supply store where you can find nonpareils and almost every color sanding sugar, along with a million other baking lover's supplies...I literally drool every time I go into that store.

Every couple on their wedding day has to cut their cake. Mini cupcakes don't quite "cut" it for this part (hee hee). A cake topper is a beautiful addition to a cupcake wedding. Not a huge one, just something small and simple that the newlyweds can really cut into and get a good sized piece to shove into their loved one's face...or not, it's up to them how they want to begin the rest of their lives together. For the cupcakes, I used a delicious rotation of dark chocolate and vanilla cream cheese frosting. For the cake topper, a sleek fondant icing really brought the whole picture perfect look together. And fresh flowers, of course, is always a lovely way to add that last little touch.

And last but not least, the bubbly. I love a nice glass of sparkling wine with a yummy cupcake...or the other way around! Particularly, I love Trader Joes Prosecco, and for only seven bucks, you can't beat it. Beginning with a tart apple flavor and a creamy vanilla finish, it is the perfect adult beverage for a cupcake!

Photography by Nick P. Ouellette

Lady Baker

French Toast So Simple That Even My Hubby Can Make (A.K.A. Dad's French Toast)

A Cupcake Wedding