By Chef David “Smitty” Smith ·
Last week’s muffin tin omelets (visit TheTahoeWeekly.com for the recipe) were a big hit with a few of my friends, even before the article came out. Two friends told me at Bluesdays Tuesdays that they had a lot of family visiting and they wanted to try it out. Both said they couldn’t believe how much the kids, especially, got into creating their own omelet.
I have to give my oldest sister, Linda, the credit for that idea and also for this week’s recipe for Baked French Toast. Out of the nine kids in my family, Linda was always the brain, but she says she doesn’t cook at all, even to the point of buying her salad dressing from a local restaurant instead of making it herself. I told her I could give her a great dressing recipe that was better than what she was buying, but that would have been too much work. These shortcuts are her way of making up for not cooking because, as we all know, once family comes to stay for a night, it’s nearly impossible to get them to leave.
The Baked French Toast was the next day’s breakfast for us, and is the reason I said don’t worry if you have extra eggs left over from the omelets because you can use them here. All the prep is done the night before, so in the morning all you have to do is heat the oven to 350 degrees and then slide the baking pan into the oven for about half an hour and breakfast is ready.
Of course, doing the prep the night before is also a great way to involve your visitors in doing the dishes while you slave over getting another great meal ready for them. As it turns out, this is wicked easy and fast to get ready, but don’t tell them, at least until they are on their way out the door. Enjoy.
Baked French Toast | Use a 9×13” pan for 8-12 people
½ C butter, melted
¾ C brown sugar
1-2 T cinnamon
12 slices bread
8 eggs, beaten
2/3 C milk
Coat the bottom of the pan with the melted butter and evenly sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the top. Arrange the bread in two layers into the pan. Mix the eggs and milk together and pour over the top of the bread. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Bake in a pre-heated, 350-degree oven for about half an hour. As you cut portions out, flip them over onto the plate so the sweet coating is on top.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. To read archived copies of Stir it Up, visit chefsmitty.com or TheTahoeWeekly.com. Contact him at smitty@chefsmitty.com or (530) 412-3598.
