Cancelled Flight French Toast

If you read my last post on my recent trip to Los Angeles, you’d know that our 3-day weekend turned into an unexpected 5-day trip instead. As I was packing my bags on Sunday morning, I received a text from our airline notifying us that our flight was cancelled. The blistering snowstorm that took place in the midwest stopped any and all flights trying to leave or arrive in Chicago. I called our airline to try to figure out when we can get home and sat on hold for 2 hours…before the call dropped. I wasn’t a happy camper. Thankfully, though, my friends walked into the house with bags of groceries and I instantly felt better. I put my phone down and got into my favorite room of the house-the kitchen.

My ultimate stress reliever is getting in the kitchen and cooking. It allows me to focus my mind on what I’m making and forget about everything else for a minute. Someone else took over the task of figuring out our flights, and I started unpacking groceries with my travel buddy, Sadaf. She picked up ingredients for French Toast, with a few extras. French Toast is one of my favorite brunch items because you can personalize it however you like or with what you have on hand. Change up the bread, the seasoning, or the fruit topping and you have a completely different dish. Also, using an electric griddle, like I did this day, made it super easy to cook huge batches of french toast without it going cold as I cooked each batch. With a little creativity and a few snapchats later, we were feasting on what I now will always remember as Cancelled Flight French Toast. Check out the recipe below…

Cancelled Flight French Toast

Prep Time: 10 minutes     Cook Time: 20-30 minutes     Yields: 14 pieces/7 servings

Ingredients:

French Toast:

• 14 slices of bread (your favorite sliced bread, Brioche, Challah, or whatever)
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Banana Blueberry Lemon Compote:

• 1/2 stick butter
• 2-3 large bananas, sliced
• 1 pint fresh blueberries (you can substitute with any berry)
• 1/2-3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla
• 1 cup of water
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1/8 cup)
• Crushed cashews, walnuts, or almonds

Instructions:

For the french toast:

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Soak each slice of bread in the egg mixture and place in a large dish. Pour any remaining egg mixture over the bread to soak up what’s left. In a large pan over medium heat or on an electric griddle set to about 300 degrees, coat the surface with butter. When the butter is melted and slightly browned, gently lay each piece of bread on the griddle. Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side, until the surface is toasted and lightly brown. Then flip to cook the remaining side for about 1-2 minutes. If you are using a pan, keep your cooked french toast in a warm oven at 200 degrees.

For the fruit compote:

While your french toast is cooking, melt your butter in a pan on medium-high heat. When the butter is slightly brown, toss in your bananas and allow them to cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Then add your blueberries, sugar, and vanilla. Allow the berries to cook for about 5 minutes until they break down a bit, but still have their shape. Add the water, reduce the heat and allow the mixture to reduce until it’s thick and similar to the texture of fruit chutney. Turn off the heat, stir in your zest and freshly squeezed lemon.

Layer the french toast on a dish, overlapping each slice over the next. Spoon the fruit compote over it and garnish with crushed almonds, cashews, or walnuts. Garnish with fresh mint and serve with maple syrup, if desired.

Try this recipe next time you’re craving a decadent, yet satisfying brunch. Post a picture and make sure to tag me so I can see how it turned out! Enjoy!