French Toast Sandwiches

I've never been a fan of French toast. It's just a bit too eggy, dense, and boring to me. It actually makes me feel a bit sick to think about! Egg-covered bread with pancake syrup on top...ugh. But that's not to say that I don't love certain varying takes on the French toast concept...

First, I discovered my love for baked French toast. I almost don't see a reason to eat it any other way. I suppose it's really just bread pudding, but the ingredients are the same as a traditional French toast, you simply bake it instead! And cube the bread rather than using slices. Wow, is it good! My best friend's mom makes it pretty much every time we go to their cottage up north. The first time I ate it, I was only being polite; I was actually half horrified that I was going to be eating that eggy nonsense. But when I put that first bite in my mouth...oh my goodness. I would have eaten the entire pan! I'm beginning to crave it right now, in fact! Too bad I don't have the ingredients on hand as I just used up all of our bread for French toast sandwiches this morning!

Now, French toast sandwiches are cooked in a more traditional manner. In fact, you might be able to claim that it's just stuffed French toast, though I've never had it, so I can't make that claim myself. I mean, you eat it with a fork and knife...though I suppose you don't have to ;) It'll just be very messy, haha. Anyway, these sandwiches are wonderful. Basically, you just make a little breakfast sandwich, dunk it in the same custard bath that you would plain French toast, and then cook it on the stove top. It's as simple as that! And the options for fillings are endless. Bananas, slightly crushed berries, apples, stone fruits, any spread you can think of (nutella, peanut butter, hazelnut, fruit jam), I bet you could even make a savory version!

This morning's choice was red pears with sweetened ricotta. It was so good. So, so, so good! The sandwich was rich, sweet, and creamy with a little hint of cinnamon spice. G. devoured her portion, which wasn't a sandwich, at all, but roasted pear slices topped with the ricotta cheese. Same wonderful flavors, but a little more toddler-friendly :)

That's something I love about cooking for my family. I can take any adult dish and make just a few adjustments to turn it into something a child can easily eat. When G. was only able to eat even chunky purees, all I had to do was mince our dinner up or throw it in the food processor for a few quick pulses and, voila, a "Stage 3" meal. I actually have often done the opposite too. One of my favorite baby food cookbooks is Tyler Florence's Start Fresh: Your Child's Jump Start to Lifelong Healthy Eating, not only because I agree with his take on how children and families should eat, but because the recipes are just so great! "Baked Apples and Barley," "Cauliflower Gratin," "Maple Roasted Pork Chops with Butternut Squash and Beets," "Ginger Chicken with Coconut." These are meals for babies! He's the one who gave me the idea for turning adult meals into baby-friendly ones and vice versa. So, I'll look at some wonderful puree recipes and simply stop before getting to the puree and suddenly I have a really delicious adult meal that was actually intended for a child. I feel like that may sound a little crazy, but I swear the recipes are appropriate for everyone!

This book is also where I came up with the idea for the pear and ricotta French toast sandwich. Tyler has a recipe for "Roasted Red Pears with Ricotta," as well as "Banana Breakfast Sandwiches," so I, essentially, just combined the two! And I'm so glad :)

Pear and Sweet Ricotta Breakfast Sandwich

• 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• honey
• 4 slices multigrain bread
• 1 red Anjou pear, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp confectioner's sugar

Put together your sweet cheese spread by mixing the ricotta, cinnamon, lemon zest, and honey (to taste) in a small bowl. I'd start out with a teaspoon or so of honey and continue adding until it's sweetened to your liking. Spread a thick layer of the sweetened ricotta on two slices of the bread.

Arrange the pear slices in two layers on top of the ricotta and top with the remaining two pieces of bread, forming two sandwiches. 

In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until well-blended. Soak each sandwich in the egg mixture for a minute or two until the bread is just saturated.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the sandwiches in the pan and cook until the bottoms are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the sandwiches and press them with the spatula or place a panini press (or heavy pan, if you don't have one) on top and cook until crisp and golden, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Cut each sandwich into quarters and serve warm with a drizzle of honey and dusting of confectioner's sugar.

Roasted Red Pears with Ricotta adapted from Tyler Florence

If you're going to be making these anyway and want one of the above sandwiches, as well, feel free to use slices of the roasted pear inside the sandwich; it would be equally, if not more, delicious :)

• Sweetened ricotta (see above)
• 2 red Anjou pears, halved
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces (or ground cinnamon, if you don't have sticks)
• 1 tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use a melon baller to scoop out the core and seeds from each pear half, then arrange them, cut-side up, on the baking sheet. Top with the cinnamon sticks or a few pinches of ground cinnamon and drizzle with honey.

Roast the pears for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they have released their juices and browned slightly but are still holding their shape. Discard the cinnamon sticks and let the pears cool for 5 minutes or so.

Serve the pears warm with a dollop of the sweetened ricotta.

If you're feeling a bit impatient, try cutting the pears into eighths and setting them under the broiler for several minutes. You get a similar effect in far less time and that's what I did this morning for my hungry little G. :)