I made French Toast this weekend, and have never really done so before. Looking for a basic recipe using real French bread was hard.

The books and Web site I visited were full of “overnight French toast,” “stuffed French Toast,” overnight blueberry stuffed French toast with blueberry sauce.” When did things have to get so complicated? The more ingredients, twists and turns, odd or hard-to-find flavorings or fruits we seem to think make a dish better, more sophisticated or to show off our talents.

I am by no means saying challenging dishes should not be tried. To the contrary, several years ago I received a cookbook for Christmas and for the next year cooked at least once a month a recipe I had never done before. It taught me to be a better roaster, to prepare an impeccable standing rib roast and work with fennel for the first time. And until I got this, every month I would wait for Gourmet magazine to come and immediately pick out something seemingly impossible and make it.

But everything we do does not have to be all gussied up or take four hours. Neither do I advocate slopping it all together. That is why you read so much about Ina Garten here and her book, “The Barefoot Contessa.” I point out all the time that her ingredients are easy to find, there are not many and the results terrific.

To me, this type of cooking fits in with a busy schedule while allowing for some creativity and relaxation. What I enjoy most is getting lost into the moment of preparing and cooking, when I forget about anything going on in my life but for the task at hand. And I used to think that only some long, complicated process is what took me there. But age and experience have shown that not to be the case. You can do what you want, I have no indictments. Make it hard or easy, whatever you enjoy.

All of this you had to read just so I could get to a simple French toast recipe.

So I wondered about the origination of French toast. In medieval times, every speck of food had to be used to feed families. Day-old bread, it was discovered, could be put to use when put with milk, water and eggs for further nourishment. But, this was typically for only the wealthy, white bread was used, which was the most expensive. And having the crusts cut off showed some amount of waste that others could not afford. So, what started, and still can be, a simply prepared breakfast dish is now also prepared in such a way that even the medieval wealthy could not have imagined.

Challah French Toast

“Barefoot Contessa”

One loaf Challah bread (I use either sourdough or day old French)

One and a half cups whole milk or half and half

Six large eggs

One pinch salt, to taste

One tablespoon honey

One half teaspoon grated orange zest, to taste

One half teaspoon vanilla

Butter and Oil

In a shallow dish large enough to hold three slices of challah side-by-side, whisk eggs and milk. Add orange zest, honey and vanilla. Add salt.

Place three slices of the bread in the egg mixture and let soak about three minutes each side. Meanwhile melt one tbsp of butter and oil each in a large frying pan. Transfer challah to pan and cook 3 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. Add a little more butter for each round of bread.

This next recipe is perfect for taking advantage of the peaches that will soon be in season.

French Toast with warm Peach compote

Bon Appetit

Serves Four

One pound freshly sliced peaches

One half cup (packed) golden brown sugar

One fourth cup water

One teaspoon ground cinnamon

One half teaspoon ground nutmeg

Five large eggs

One half cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)

One teaspoon vanilla extract

Eight one half-inch-thick slices white, French or sourdough bread

Three tablespoons butter

Maple syrup

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Combine peaches, brown sugar, water, cinnamon and nutmeg in heavy medium saucepan. Cook compote over medium heat until liquid is reduced to medium-thick syrup, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Whisk eggs, milk and vanilla in large glass baking dish until well blended. Arrange bread slices in egg mixture. Let stand until egg mixture is absorbed, turning once, about five minutes.

Melt one and a half tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add four bread slices to skillet. Cook until golden brown, about five minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet in oven. Repeat with remaining bread slices. Serve with peach compote and maple syrup.

Overnight French Toast is a great way to prepare the night before and simply pop in the oven the next morning.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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