By Gerald Etter
What we call French toast, the French refer to as pain perdu, which means “lost bread.” Dipping stale bread in a mixture of eggs and milk, frying it in butter and then serving it with a dusting of powdered sugar was a way of having the “lost” bread find a new life.
The French are not the only ones to have come up with this method of saving day-old bread. It’s known as “eggy bread” in most of the United Kingdom and has a variety of names throughout Europe; the Portuguese call it rabanadas, and typically make it during Christmas.
For centuries, people have been cooking stale bread soaked in a variety of mixtures to soften it, then pan-frying it and finally adding a number of toppings from vegemite or apple sauce to such accompaniments as powdered sugar, whipped cream, yogurt and even peanut butter.
Eggs and cornflake crumbs
Caution: Eggs are an ingredient in many — if not most — of the recipes. Recent studies show that the cholesterol in egg yolks hasn’t as much of an impact on serum cholesterol level as the saturated fat we eat in meat, butter and cheese, but of course, your doctor is the best source of what you should and should not eat.
This recipe for French toast uses cornflake crumbs. Generally, they can be found on supermarket shelves, either with the regular breadcrumbs, or in the baking or cookie aisles, where graham cracker crumbs are located. Of course, you can always simply crush your own cornflake cereal with a rolling pin or cup bottom. Or skip the ingredient.
Some cooks use stale bread for French toast, others prefer fresh. The choice is yours. I simply let the bread sit out on a plate for several hours, which allows it to dry just enough to nicely absorb the soaking liquid.
The idea for the marmalade syrup in this recipe is from British food writer Nigella Lawson, whose recent cookbook is Nigella Express. You can use maple syrup or your favorite pancake syrup.
Orange French Toast
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Grated zest of 2 oranges, plus their juice
4 slices (3/4-inch thick) of challah
1 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup cornflake crumbs
2 to 3 tablespoons butter, as needed
Whisk eggs, milk, cinnamon and orange zest in bowl until frothy. Place bread slices in large shallow dish (two dishes if necessary) and pour egg mixture over. Soak bread slices until mixture is soaked through, turning each slice over once, about 4 minutes on each side.
While bread is soaking, combine orange juice, marmalade and sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil, immediately bringing heat down to medium simmer. Simmer until mixture thickens to a syrup, about 4 minutes. If mixture is still too liquid, turn up heat a bit. Syrup will thicken more after it sits off the heat.
Meanwhile, spread cornflake crumbs in shallow dish. Coat each slice of bread, one at a time, on both sides with the crumbs. Press crumbs down lightly.
Melt butter in skillet and cook bread slices over medium heat, turning once, until each side is golden, about 3 minutes per side. Serve French toast with some of the syrup poured over each slice and serve remaining syrup in a pitcher.
Makes four servings.
Excellent eating at a strip mall in Northeast Phila.
By The Senior Snacker
The Green Papaya Café, a Northeast Philadelphia BYOB in an inconspicuous strip mall on Bustleton Avenue near Loney, is undistinguished-looking, but the food is anything but undistinguished. Reader Miriam Klein recommended it, and she was right.
Instead of being concerned about décor or atmosphere, Phung Luong, co-owner since 1995, concentrates on excellent meals at reasonable prices. For example, the daily early-bird special (4-8 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; 4-7 p.m., Friday through Sunday) — with soup or salad, main course and coffee, tea or soft drink — starts at $8.95.
We shared clam chowder, which was quite spicy and a little heavy on the potatoes, but tasty.
Shrimp scampi, served with angel hair pasta, was a little light on the sauce, but delicious.
Broiled salmon, covered with pieces of tomato and served with string beans and sautéed rice, was warm and filling.
Also on the menu are chicken and shrimp paellas, lamb chops, Chinese delicacies and a host of other dishes. Besides chowder, the night we were there, the soups were cream of spinach, mushroom and wonton. Regretfully, we had to pass on the variety of mouth-watering desserts.
Except for the lower-priced early bird special, prices range from $12 to $17.
This is not for the usual fast food or pizza devotees, but for those seeking a different type of meal.
The Green Papaya Café
7933 Bustleton Ave., Philadelphia • 215-333-6331
Lunch: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. • Dinner: 4 to 8 p.m.
(until 9 p.m. on weekends) The café is closed on Mondays.