Merry Christmas

Our Christmas morning tradition is; open gifts, eat a delicious brunch, watch Christmas movies, nap.  This works for us, and we enjoy it tremendously.  This year, our brunch included french toast, bacon, home fries, scrambled eggs, and orange juice.  Our movies were "The Nativity Story" and "It's a Wonderful Life"  We had a wonderful morning as a family.  I hope you were able to enjoy your Christmas morning with family also, and that you remembered the reason for this season.

Christmas morning french toast

1 loaf stale brioche (recipe follows) I baked it 3 days ago and left sit on the counter.

10 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

1 TBS vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

whisk together eggs, whipping cream, vanilla, and cinnamon in a pie pan or other shallow, pan.

slice brioche into 12 slices, soak well in custard.

Heat a skillet to medium, coat liberally with cooking spray or butter.  Brown bread slices on each side.  Just brown, don't worry about cooking through.

Place browned slices on a baking sheet.  Place in oven and bake at 300 for 20-30 minutes depending on the thickness of your bread slices.  Cook just until custard is set and bread is not soggy.

Syrup:

2 cups pure maple syrup

1/2 cup pecans

2 cinnamon sticks

4 cloves

2 star anise

peel from one orange. (Use a peeler and leave in long strips.)

Place all in saucepan over low hear.  Steep until flavors meld.  if you start this when you start the french toast, it is perfect by the time the toast is done.  Strain into serving container.

Bread machine brioche

this recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

mix 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 cup warm water, 1 3/4 tsp active yeast, and 1 3/4 cup bread flour.  I also added 1 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

cut 1 stick of unsalted butter into 10-12 pieces.

start your machine for a small loaf with light crust.  Once the machine gets to the first kneed cycle, add butter, one piece at a time, until mixed.  after all of the butter is added, shut the machine and let it finish the cooking process.

easy =)