Chive French Toast

Part of Sally Schneider's Easy Menus for Holiday Entertaining

December 2001

Adapted from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider (Artisan, 2001). Copyright 2001, Sally Schneider.

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total time: 20 min

Yields: 2 servings

It occurred to me one day that french toast might be just as delicious a savory as a sweet. So I tried adding minced chives to the unflavored egg-and-milk mixture and using challah, the soft Jewish egg bread. It was like the most wondrous of onion breads, crispy and fried on the outside, eggy and delicious inside. I serve it with lime-flavored sour cream and Home-Cured Salmon for an unexpected brunch, or as is, cut into squares as an hors d'oeuvre to serve with drinks. It is also delicious made with coarser bread.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg

• 1/3 cup low-fat (2%) or whole milk

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• Four 1/3- to 1-inch-thick slices bread

• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Instructions

• In a shallow pan, combine the egg, milk, chives, and salt and beat lightly with a fork to mix. Place the bread in the batter and poke holes in it with a fork to help it to absorb the liquid. Let sit for a minute or two, until the bottom is soft, then carefully flip the slices to coat and soak the other side. You may need to repeat the process with coarser breads and let them soak longer.

• Heat a large non-stick skillet over moderately high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the butter and tilt to coat the pan. When the butter stops sizzling and is fragrant, arrange the soaked bread in the pan. (You may need to fry the toast in batches, using more butter as necessary.) When the underside is cooked and brown, after 2 to 3 minutes, turn the slices over with a spatula, adding a teaspoon of butter to the pan as you lift each one to flip it. Cook until the underside is deep brown, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Serve at once.