Breakfast at Big Bear

The next day, we woke up after a long, leisurely rest, ready for a very belated celebration for Father's Day. 

After experimenting with using "good" (i.e. uncut loaves from Paneras) bread for french toast the week before, we decided it was tasty enough to share with family. 

The recipe is courtesy of Ed's "Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook" that he's had forever (we think it was a gift from his mom, but he's had it long enough that he's not sure). 

When we first met, Ed and I discovered a difference to our cooking preferences - especially with french toast. I'd always grown up with a very loose view of the recipe. Pour milk in a bowl (1-3 cups?), crack and egg in, sprinkle on some cinnamon, and pour in a dash of vanilla extract. Voila - french toast. 

Ed? Ed uses a recipe. He was somewhat appalled when I explained my french toast recipe the first time, and proceeded to make me his version (well, really, Better home's version). Straight from the book, it was a little too eggy, but after he reduced the egg amount by half, it was perfect and from then on, Ed has been in charge of making the french toast batter. 

Ingredients:

2 eggs (reduced from 4)

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons triple sec (this is what I had been missing from my recipe!)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

My job? Cooking the french toast. I have a bit more patience over the stove and it tends to come out better. Plus, it's fun to have a meal in which we play equal parts. 

When cooking, I let the next set of slices soak in the batter, which meant that these slices of french toast were well saturated and cooked perfectly. 

With it, we topped it with delicious berries (cut up by, I think, my sister Ashley?) and bananas, which added the perfect touch.

And, of course, what breakfast would be complete without delicious, thick cut bacon? 

The two fathers we were celebrating seemed to fully enjoy their meal, as well as everyone else in attendance :).