Meyer Lemon French Toast

I had the pleasure of flying down to Florence, AZ to visit my parents on Friday, December 4th.  I stayed for 10 days and it. was. awesome.

I met their neighbors, saw my family, ate great food, saw beautiful sites, and drank lots of beer.  :)

Perk #1 of living in Arizona:  It's always warm.  Even when it's cold it's warm.
Perk #2 of living in Arizona:  Citrus fruits!  Growing IN YOUR YARD!!

There's several other perks, but really, those are the 2 biggest reasons.

Mom and Dad's neighbors, Dennis and Judy, have a sweet dog named Sophie.  Dennis and Judy also have a lovely Meyer lemon tree growing in their back yard.  They had a bumper crop this year and the branches are literally bowing under the weight of all of the lemons.  Dennis is working on making his own limoncello.  He let me take some lemons home AND he gave me a recipe for Meyer Lemon French Toast.  He said it's currently his favorite way to eat French toast.

I was excited to make this as soon as I got home so I made it for supper tonight.  I got home yesterday and was in no position to be an adult and make food, so we went out to eat.  Tonight...  Tonight we feast!

This is an amazing recipe.  The tanginess of the lemon paired with the sweetness of the syrup is incredible.  I used pure maple syrup, not the plastic jug stuff.

Here's what you need:

4 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest (one lemon will provide about 1 Tbsp of zest)
2 Meyer lemons, juiced and divided (use the zested lemon and juice an additional one)
1-1/2 tsp Kosher salt
8 slices of day-old sourdough bread
4 tbsp butter (I only used 2)
2 tbsp powdered sugar


In a large mixing bowl whisk all four eggs together, add the cream, milk, lemon zest, half of the lemon juice vanilla extract and kosher salt and blend well.

  

Allow each slice of bread (I used Master English Muffin Toasting Bread - it's PERFECT for any French toast as it is a very light bread and is naturally a little dry) to soak for 30 seconds.  I ladled a few scoops of the mixture on the bottom of this cookie sheet and placed the bread on it, then I poured the rest of the mixture over top, using a tongs to flip them to allow everything to be evenly coated.

Heat a cast-iron pan or other large pan over medium heat.  Add 1/2 tablespoons of butter and melt over the pan.  Once the butter is bubbly add two slices of battered bread.  Cook until browned on both sides.  Use the remaining butter to butter your toast... Or just use 2 tablespoons.  The bread is already super buttery, so I didn't feel the need to add more.

Work in batches and hold the cooked pieces of bread in a heated oven at 300˚F on a pan.

Finish off the French toast with a touch of remaining lemon juice and a dusting of powdered sugar.  Makes 4 servings.

I learned something new about Brent tonight; he doesn't like lemon stuff.  As he put it, he likes lemonade, but as far as lemon merengue and other 'lemony' things he's not a huge fan.  He thought this French toast was good, but is really a big fan of my plain ol' French toast.

With that being said:  I thought this was flippin' awesome.  In fact, I like it so much I'm stoked that I've got lunch for tomorrow AND Thursday!  #winning

Try this stuff out.  You'll not be disappointed.  Unless you don't like lemon stuff, then you might be slightly disappointed.  ;)