Simply French

Many people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Those people are right. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, we're lucky if we have time to toss a handful of granola into a tub of vanilla yogurt during the week, and on weekends, no one wants to spend all morning in the kitchen. We have to do things, see people, or crawl back into bed.

French toast is a simple, delicious breakfast that can be decadent enough for weekend lounging but fast and easy enough for weekday mornings. Total prep and cooking time for recipe is about 15 minutes.

• 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, separated
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• small pinch of kosher salt

----------

• Day old French bread baguette, cut on a diagonal to 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 handful of blueberries (any berries will do. I like blue berries because they don't need to be sliced)
• Syrup (corn, maple, or fruit), or honey

Set a pan on the stove over medium heat, and butter the pan with 1 tablespoon butter. You want just enough to coat the pan. While the pan is heating and the butter melting, mix the buttermilk, egg, salt and brown sugar in a shallow dish--a pie plate works perfectly. Pace the sliced the French bread into the buttermilk mixture and let it sit for 30 seconds on each side.

Buttermilk is important for this recipe. You could easily substitute whole or 2% milk, but the buttermilk provides a tangy contrast to the upcoming sweetness provided by the syrup.

Once you've soaked the pieces, they're ready to put in the pan. Gently set the bread pieces in your skillet and listen to the satisfying sizzle for 2 - 3 minutes. You want the custard mixture you've created to caramelize, but not burn. So check after 2 minutes. If it's not yet a golden brown, let it set a while longer, and then flip them, letting them sizzle away again for the same amount of time.

When they're done, pull the slices from the pan and set them in a flower pattern on a plate. Butter the pieces (you've got up to a tablespoon you can use, remember?), drizzle with syrup, and toss on a few of the berries.

What to pair it with?
Milk, fruit juice or coffee. (Whether or not the coffee has bourbon in it is entirely up to you)