perfect french toast

I asked my husband what he wanted for breakfast last Saturday morning and I was so happy when he replied french toast. I was really wanting french toast myself. I happened to have a loaf of day old sour dough bread. We also had a half a bottle of pure maple syrup. It was a great morning - coffee, french toast with maple syrup and sausage! My husband and I eat breakfast together every morning, but it is so nice to linger over breakfast on Saturday.

Here's the recipe. Try it! It's really good. Serves 4 people. We ate it all. We were really hungry!

4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of salt
6 slices of thick bread
4 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of canola oil
Whisk together eggs, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; set aside.

Place the bread in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold bread slices in a single layer (I had to use 2 different dishes... I love to wash dishes, obviously!). Pour egg mixture over the bread and let it soak 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and soak about 10 minutes more.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook half the bread slices until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes per side. It will get all foamy and look a little scary, but it is ok! Transfer to a wire rack; place in a 250 degree oven while cooking remaining toast. Clean out the skillet and do it all again with remaining butter, oil, and bread. Keep it in oven until ready to serve. Serve warm with pure maple syrup! It's really good with a glass of milk, too!

I once tried to make low cal/ low fat french toast by using skim milk, less whole eggs, and using non-stick spray instead of butter and oil. It was nasty.