Make A Fabulous French Toast Brunch

With the holiday weekend over, chances are you have a lot of leftovers.

On The Early Show Monday, a top New York pastry chef showed how to use items remaining in your fridge to prepare a delicious French toast brunch with all sorts of fresh toppings.

Tiffany MacIsaac, who delights customers at the hotspot known as Allen and Delancey, served up recipes for French Toast 101.

By knowing French toast basics, she says, you can tackle almost any flavors you want to bring to your brunch table.

RECIPES

FRENCH TOAST

French Toast Custard

2 cups whole milk
3 whole eggs
2 Tablespoons Whiskey, Amaretto, or Frangelico (optional)
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Brioche or Challah (Cut into 1" thick slices)

Preheat your oven to 325 Degrees F.
Whisk all the above ingredients together by hand until smooth.
Dip Brioche (Cut into 1" thick pieces) into the batter for about 15 seconds on each side.
Over a medium heat, melt a pat of butter. Brown the French Toast on one side then flip and cook to golden brown on the 2nd side. Warm in the oven at 325 degrees F for 5 minutes and serve.

Apple-Caramel Topping

2 Apples, peeled and diced
1 Cup Sugar
4 Tablespoons Butter
Pinch Salt
1/2 Cup Chopped, Toasted Walnuts

Heat sugar and butter in a pan with a pinch of salt. Sautee until the butter begins to brown and the sugar caramelizes. Be careful to keep the heat low so the sugar doesn't burn. Add the apples, already peeled and diced, to the plan with the caramel mixture, and stir until the apples are cooked through. Add walnuts. Remove from the heat and add to the top of the French toast.
Serve warm.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Topping

1 pint Strawberries, Halved
2 Stalks of Rhubarb, Cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup orange Juice
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Heat Sugar, water, orange juice and lemon juice. Add Rhubarb and cook until soft. Remove the mixture from heat and cool. Remove the rhubarb from the poaching liquid. Mix with halved berries. Return the berries and rhubarb to the poaching liquid and pour over toast.

Popped Blueberry-Lemon Topping

1 pint Blueberries
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Heat all over a medium heat until the blueberries begin to pop. Serve Warm.

For more recipes, go to Page 2.

Corned Beef Hash

Serves 6

2 pound corned Beef
Rinsed 2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
3 Celery Stalks
Chopped 1 Onion Quartered
1 Bay Leaf
4 Medium sized new potatoes, diced
Chicken Broth, enough to cover the meat half way (About 2 Quarts)
1/2 Cup Chopped Parsley
1-2 Duck Egg

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Place the beef, carrots, celery, onions, bay leaf, and chicken broth in a large, oven-ready pot. Cover and place in the oven at 300 Degrees F for 1.5-2 hours or until soft enough to shred.
Remove from liquid and cool. Strain liquid and reduce the liquid by half and cook the new potatoes in the broth until soft. Chop Beef into bit-sized cubes and toss with the potatoes, adding the reduced liquid if needed. Sauté until warmed through. Toss in parsley. Fry duck eggs according to taste, sunny side up, and serve over the hash.

Sausage Egg and Cheese on a Biscuit

Serves 4

4 Biscuits, warmed and split
12 eggs, beaten
1 .5 tsp salt
4 thick slices Cheese (we use Irish cheddar but any cheese will do)
4 Sausage patties (slightly larger than the biscuit)

In four batches, cook the eggs in a buttered pan over medium heat, until set, as you would with an omelet. Fold into quarters Top each with a slice of cheese and warm in the oven until cheese is melted.
Cook the sausage and place on the bottom of the biscuit and top with the egg/cheese mixture and other half of the biscuit.

House-Cured Gravlox

1 side of salmon (about 1.5 pounds)
4 cups kosher salt
3 cups sugar
Zest of: 2 lemon, 2 lime, 2 grapefruit, 2 orange
4 sprigs of dill

Place the salmon in a large, sanitized, tray with the skin side down. Rub the flesh of the salmon with the zest and dill. Mix together salt and sugar and pour over salmon. Cover and allow to cure roughly 36 hours. With a damp towel, wipe off the cure and zest. Slice thin (will keep for 1 week wrapped) Serve the gravlox with toast, creme fraiche, citrus and capers. It is also excellent on a bagel with cream cheese.