Sunday, January 29, 2012

Gruyere & Bacon Stuffed French Toast



Breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day. However, it is my hubby’s favorite hands down. If you are curious, mine would be dinner with a whole bunch of small plates. Albeit, I do eat breakfast everyday to get fuel for the day – typically a Greek yogurt along with a banana or berries.


Since hubby likes to go out for breakfast on the weekends or have me create a “full” breakfast on the weekends, I do have a few favorites including French toast. I love the custard consistency along with a crispy outside of French toast and of course, the rich maple syrup that goes along with this delightful weekend treat.



Early in our relationship, I made Grand Mariner French Toast for my hubby. My hubby never had French toast like this before, since I use thick sliced French bread. The thickness of the bread helps to absorb the luscious custard which produces a decadent and satisfying breakfast. I think my hubby had grown up on sandwich bread dipped in an egg mixture; did not take long for him to be converted.


For me, it all starts with the bread, whether it is a Semifreddi's sour dough loaf or a crunchy & chewy ciabatta, the richness of the bread makes all the difference. Next comes the rich custard with egg, half & half along with real vanilla extract - sometimes a bit of triple sec adds that extra special punch and flavor.


Taking it to the next level is stuffing your French toast with various fillings. Perhaps with ricotta and blueberries or mascarpone and orange zest OR gruyere and bacon stuffed French toast? Lately I am a bit obsessed with the later of my variations; hence I wanted to share with all of you. It is something I have been making for quite sometime and perfected the combination over time. The combination of smoky bacon, earthy gruyere, dense sourdough bread, rich custard, sweet maple syrup and hint of cinnamon is an explosion of amazing flavors all in one bite.

Just imagine all of the wonderful flavors and textures you can stuff your French toast with. Would love to hear all of your wonderful ideas for what you would stuff your French toast with!

Gruyere & Bacon Stuffed French Toast

Makes 4 Slices

4 Slices, good sourdough bread (about 1 1/4th inch thick)
8 Bacon Slices, Cooked until crispy and crumbled
1 C. Gruyere Cheese, grated
Cinnamon dusting French toast
Butter for cooking French toast

Custard

2 Eggs
1 C. Half & Half (could use whole milk or 2% milk)
1 t. Vanilla

Once you have the sour dough bread sliced, you will want to with a sharp knife cut into the bottom of each slice and gently slice to almost the end of the top and sides to create the pocket to stuff each slice.

Add the cooked bacon once cooled and gruyere cheese together in a bowl. Divide evenly among the four slices of bread and begin to gently stuff each one. Once you have completed, then gently press each stuffed bread together to prevent the inside ingredients from escaping.

Prepare the custard by adding the eggs, half & half and vanilla together and whisk gently until combined.

Use a large griddle to cook all of the French toast at the same time. Heat griddle on medium and add approximately 2 tablespoons of butter to the griddle and spread evenly. Meanwhile dip each stuffed bread into the custard mixture and add to the heated griddle. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Let cook over medium for about 5 minutes per side – if your cook top runs hot, you may want to reduce the heat to prevent burning.

Serve with your favorite maple syrup. To make more, simply double or triple the recipe to serve the desired amount of guests. Enjoy!!

22 comments:

  1. Looks 'to die for' delicious! I would enjoy a plate of stuffed french toast for dinner;-)

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  2. Cream cheese and pumpkin butter stuffed into challah bread. The best!

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  3. This sounds really delicious. This is my first visit to your blog, so I spent some time browsing through your earlier posts. I'm so glad I did that.I really like the the food and recipes you share with your readers and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  4. Packaged bacon bits (which I nearly always keep on handy for when I need a 'meat' taste) work well too...don't have to deal with grease and will make meal preparation faster. I imagine there are all sorts of variations on this filling...which means you need to keep all bits of cheese (and jam) in the fridge for the instant great breakfast.

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  5. We are drooling over this. Great idea...very inspiring!

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  6. This looks like something I would have for a really nice weekend breakfast with a coffee and paper and time to enjoy every mouthful. It looks really delicious!

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  7. I once had ham and cheese wrapped in a pancake like a quesadilla, but that is nothing compared to how great this recipe looks! The combination of sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy all rolled in to one package is how all food items should be in my opinion! Looks great!

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  8. Love your photos! This french toast looks off the hook, and I would eat it willingly. No need for syrup, as I would enjoy this as an improved grilled cheese sandwich!!!

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  9. Wow. I cannot wait to try this. All of my favorite things wrapped into one! I don't know what could be better.

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  10. Whoa. This looks beyond incredible! Now I know what Im having for breakfast tomorrow after I go to the market! Yum!

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  11. I've never been a big french toast person, but think if I ate this I'd easily be converted! I'm going to try this over the weekend!

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  12. great blog and yummy/surprising recipe! I love it and may just have to try it very soon! (bookmarked for sure!)

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  13. Oh my this is heaven French toast! I started curing and smoking my own bacon this past summer and now dishes like this which I can imagine my Maple Bourbon Bacon in...well, like I said. Oh My. Oh my oh my. :)

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  14. Lisa, what a lucky hubby you have to get this for breakfast:) I've made french toast sandwiches usually with fruit and creme fraiche, but your savory idea is brilliant. Bacon, gruyere and maple syrup - wow!!!
    Have a good weekend,
    Erin

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  15. This sounds amazing! My husband loves french toast also! we also have our Saturday Breakfasts together and make it special! Saturday is coming!!!!!
    Thank you so much for Shareing!

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  16. Oh my goodness, yum! One of my favorite foods is French toast and I am always looking for something savory to go with it! This is the perfect combo - delish!

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  17. Thanks for this recipe! I made it this morning and it was so good. Of course my local store was out of sourdough so I used sweet Italian instead. It was still great!

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  18. Thanks for the recipe. Made it this morning and it delicious! My store was out of sourdough so I used sweet Italian instead. Loved it!

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  19. Uhm, WOWWW! This is like a Monte Cristo on crack!! Sounds amazzzing.

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  20. I have had this before except with Canadian bacon. Yummy.

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  21. I have made this multiple times since I found this and it is to die for. My husband craves it!

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