Jenna Tries to Cook: Eggnog French Toast

First things first, Trimmed & Taylored is the blog where I first found this recipe.  You can head over to her site and find the whole recipe and great directions for making this delicious treat.  Thanks for the inspiration Trimmed & Taylored and the easy to follow directions. Secondly, I would like to quickly thank my mom for covering the cost of the ingredients. So...thanks mom :)

I am a beginner at cooking.  I have just been inspired to try a couple of different recipes that I have found on different blogging websites.  Candy Cane Cocoa was one of the first recipes that I tried on my own.  Very simple. So when I saw this recipe, I decided that I would give it a shot. It is a little more advanced, plus it is very seasonal.  :)

 Here we go:

Ingredients

 Bring the pan to medium heat

Cake so far ;p

Break an egg into a medium sized bowl

I almost always struggle when cracking an egg. Today was no different.

Whisk until well-beaten  

Add the eggnog

One of the most important parts. Can't have Eggnog French Toast without it. I wasn't even sure if I liked Eggnog until today.



Add some Pumpkin Pie Spice

Whisk ingredients together

Now we're starting to get somewhere.

Get your cinnamon bread ready

 

Dip bread into bowl

I thought that this would be a lot harder than it actually was. I've cooked normal French toast before and it can easily fall apart. But for some reason, maybe because it was cinnamon bread, it did not break.

Flip the bread with a fork

Toss it quickly into the frying pan

Brown each side

This was the hardest part for me. I was afraid of burning the toast. See the dark spots, I thought those might have been burnt places. I finally figured out that it was suppose to look like that...I think? The cinnamon or egg maybe? Anyway, it did not taste burnt at all.

  

Place on a pan in the oven while making the Rum Syrup*

Finally finished! It looks really good. Now to make the syrup!

Enjoy!!!

Eggnog French Toast with Rum Syrup = Success!



I made Rum Syrup too, but didn't post the pictures. Well minus the first picture of me pouring it over the toast. :)

I wish someone else would have been here to give it a try, that way I could have had a second opinion. Maybe I will make it again a let someone else taste test, and then let me know what they think.

I was really pleased with the outcome of my little meal. I could have probably done a few things differently, but overall it tasted great and was an awesome learning experience. Plus, I got to enjoy almost four whole pieces of the french toast while relaxing at my kitchen table. 

I am really enjoy trying these different experiences. I want to keep learning. What should I try next?

*If you do decide to make the syrup, I would recommend trying the syrup before pouring it over your toast. I liked the syrup, but it had a strong rum flavor, it was almost too much for me. Next time, I am going to try and add less Rum extract or maybe just water it down some.Or something..

My New Best Friend

I probably have been a germaphobes worse nightmare these past few days. Only because of how much I have been sneezing. I've had this crazy head cold for about three or four days now. My nose has been running and my throat has been scratchy and sore. It is rather annoying.  At least it has given me some opportunities to use my Bath and Body lotion/hand sanitizer that smells like Christmas. Tis the season after all. 

I have taken some medicine, but the one item that has helped the most is been the HALLS cough/throat drops. My new best friend.

 And I must say that these little cherry drops of goodness are amazing. They soothe your throat and make it feel much better. And I've been popping them in my mouth like crazy. I have even been guilty of finishing one and almost instantly having the next one in my mouth. My little bag of cough drops is dwindling, I hope it can make it till the end of this cold.

Also, I found another recipe (the first being the Candy Cane Cocoa) on another blog.  drum roll please.....I am going to try and fix eggnog french toast. Well, the key word of course being try. Look for that post in the next few days...well, when ever I can finally get to the store and buy some supplies.... or I guess the correct cooking word would be ingredients. All I really know is that you can't cook eggnog french toast without the eggnog.

The snow has been coming down wildly the last few days. The road conditions have not been that great either. So I have been pretty lazy over all. I watched a lot of television on Sunday. I watched most of the new movie on ABC family called Christmas Cupid. I also watched this competition called the American Ninja Warrior. It pretty repetitious, but if others can watch cars race around the same track for hours...then I can watch different guys try the same obstacle course over and over. I also spent most of the day in my pajamas, which was quite lovely. I even opened my window so I could see the snow.  I was also able to knock a couple chapter out of the book that I am currently reading. It is called the Lucky One wrote by the great Nicholas Sparks. I have read some of his other books and of course seen the great movies as well.  Dear John being my favorite movie (I have yet to read the book..but it is on my to-do list) and this probably being my favorite book. Well at least I have really been enjoying it so far. So I bundled up with a couple blankets and read a few chapter out of the Lucky One. We also picked out our Christmas tree. It now sits in the stand in our living room. No decorations. Yet. Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow.

Inspiration Can Come In the Strangest Ways

I have a new inspiration.

Granted, I am not even sure who all my inspirations include. However, I am sure that Russell Brand is now one of them.

You heard me. Russell Brand.

Yes some of his humor can be on the crude side, and I do not always agree with his beliefs.  However, I still find him to be most inspiring. Plus, his British.

His personality is so bubbly.  He does not really filter or care what comes out of his mouth either. He dresses the way he likes. And most importantly he has tons of confidence. And he doesn't really seem to care what people think about all of this.

So...Russell Brand basically just inspires me to be myself. 

Be yourself is easily said, but rarely done. It is something that I tend to struggle with especially around new people. I guess I am just shy, but it is something that I want to work on.  I want to speak up when I normally would not, and more importantly not care if you think I am lame for doing so.  Guess I need a strong shot of confidence for this. Or even a round of shots..still of confidence mind you. I mean otherwise I would slur everything I tried to say...not cute...and what good would that do hmmm?

In short, my friends, that is what Russell Brand inspired me to do...Be myself no matter who is around. Well that and speak in a British accent.  Cheerio!

"no matter where you are in the world the moon is never bigger than your thumb"