Holy Shnikes already! Another national food day...?

Yes, I have gone and done it again... it is officially November 28th, National French Toast Day. I really was hoping to get past my national food day obsession, but they're just so convenient... and good foods are usually mentioned. So suck it up already.

For years I have gone eating one of the most wonderful of breakfast foods: hot, creamy, crunchy, sweet, filling french toast. Oh my god. I want some right... now. Even though its not breakfast, it is one of the greatest hot foods I've ever eaten ever. And that love extends to all its incarnations, from my mom making a super-duper simple french toast for me in about ten minutes to eating Cheesecake Factory's loaded french toast that has all sorts of whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and nuts on top. I am most intrigued by seeing how Alton Brown made it on an episode of Good Eats one day, leaving the bread to stale and then baking it after frying it. Weird? Actually, no.

See, french toast was originally created by the French in order to make something useful and filling out of the stale loaves of French bread that every person, from the King down to his official ass-wiper's ass-wiper, had lying around their homes. The bread was no good to eat on its own or for sandwiches, so the peasants found a way to recook the break and create a new, better, tasty and sweet, sweet because it covered the stale taste, meal that was easy to make for breakfast. So really, french toast is traditionally made with stale French bread. Get it?

My mom makes it a little more American-style, doing it the way her mother taught her which is quick, dirty, and tasty none the less. I do not act like my mom's way is better, but unless you're willing to devote an entire day to making this stuff, this is the way to go.
My mom starts out by beating and egg and mixing it with milk. Soak a slice of white bread in it, cook it on a greased frying pan and sprinkle with cinnamon, powdered sugar, and add syrup or any other topping you want. This was a staple of my childhood and is so damn good.

Cheesecake Factory, on the other hand, makes most of their dishes completely over the top. They take two HUGE slices of thick bread and fry them up all crispy like using basically the same ingredients as my mom, just richer and with more... precision and care. Then they cut those slices diagonally and top it with whipped cream, powdered sugar, chocolate sauce, nuts, and whatever else you'd find on top of an ice cream sundae.

Oh man, how the hell can I get my hands on some french toast? I do not want waffles, though good they are...

Here is a recipe that is highly rated on allrecipes.com that is not unlike my mother's recipe. Seriously, its really close. See how the total time is 9 minutes? Yeah, not that many hearty foods can make that claim...

Go and get some. Now.