The idea of eating French toast in France makes me laugh. Why? Because the French don’t know what it is (and why should they?) Bread dipped in a mixture of egg, milk and cinnamon then fried in a skillet, powdered with icing sugar and doused with maple syrup? Quoi? Huh?
Now that I think about it, why do we call it French toast? In any case, that’s what I had for breakfast on this gray and gloomy December morning. Yesterday, I went to my local boulangerie and purchased two “pains au lait” (literally, milk bread, but they’re just long rolls, sort of like a brioche but unsweetened.) Its best to use slightly stale bread to make your French toast. As for maple syrup, I could drink the stuff straight from the bottle. My local supermarket, Monoprix, sells Canadian maple syrup for 5 euros only.
This was a bestselling book, but I’m undecided whether I liked it or not.
I haven’t a clue if my train to Lille tomorrow is cancelled or confirmed. Every time I go onto the SNCF website to check, all I see are ominous messages warning passengers to cancel or postpone their travel plans. Mere days before Christmas while millions are travelling cross-country to spend the holidays with friends and family, I find this deplorable. President Macron is also under fire, of course. Why would he launch his pension reform just before Christmas? He knew there’d be pushback. It’s also being said that the current pension scheme is perfectly adequate and doesn’t need reforming.
Tomorrow morning and despite the closure of a dozen metro lines, I’ll somehow get myself to the train station and wing it. In the meantime, I’m in chill mode at home (and on vacation until January 2nd.)
Verona, Italy
Juliet in Paris
Hi Juliet,
Pan Perdu, or French Toast is a popular breakfast and brunch choice in New Orleans. I am not sure about the name itself, unless it suggests the bread gets “lost” in its milk and egg batter. There is also another tale that the dish originated in 16th Century England. Who knew those blokes could be so creative? 🙂
In any event, it seems to me that such simple ingredients provide an excellent way to use stale bread and freshen it up a bit, much the way the creation of elaborate sauces was meant to disguise the taste and or aroma of meat that had become, shall we say, uber fragrant…:-)
Best wishes for the Holidays and a very Merry Christmas.
Sherm..
Hi Sherman, Sorry for the delay in replying but I’m actually in Lille with four kids. Plus, due to the transportation strike in Paris, it took me awhile to get to the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. From Chatelet I had to walk 45 minutes with a heavy knapsack on my back. But once at the train station, all went well.
Yes, I believe it’s called “pain perdu”. Same idea, but I know for sure they don’t serve it with maple syrup! Maybe they serve it with jam.
Happy holidays to you too (and your family.) I hope that 2020 will be another good year for all of us. We’re talking about Turkey next summer vacation …
cheers,
Juliet
thanks for your good wishes….hope you are enjoying the Holiday as well, despite the transit crisis….for the record, I am giving up pan perdu until I achieve a little weight perdu…:-)
Ha! Ha! Well, I have a rule, Sherman, which is this: during the holidays I can eat whatever I want. The 15 pounds that I need to lose will be a New Year’s resolution, starting January. Ho! Ho!
Love how you’ve decorated your apartment… beautifully festive
That’s sweet of you, but truly, I’d love to have a real Christmas tree but I guess for ecological reasons I never get around to buying one. My favorite are the red poinsettia flowers, red berries, and oranges studded with cloves. Not expensive and easy to do. Wishing you and your husband and your family happy holidays!
Ohhh I know what you mean about the ecological aspect of it… I just saw a fake one but even that is made of plastic. Happy holidays to you and your family too ❤️🎄