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Crispy Salt and Pepper French Toast

Wildcard Contest Winner!

Crispy Salt and Pepper French Toast

Photo 1 of 4
by Sarah Shatz

Crispy Salt and Pepper French Toast

Photo 2 of 4
by aliyaleekong

Crispy Salt and Pepper French Toast

Photo 3 of 4
by aliyaleekong

Crispy Salt and Pepper French Toast

Photo 4 of 4
by aliyaleekong

  • A&M's Testing Notes: Aliyaleekong may have grown up eating this savory french toast, but for those of us who weren't so lucky, here's her easy recipe that might just make you turn your back on sweet french toast...

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  • Chef

    aliyaleekong's Notes: Savoury, crispy French toast. Salty, with a heavy kick of black pepper. This was one of my favorite Sunday breakfasts growing up, the smell of the toasts frying up a scent memory that still...

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Serves 4 to 6

  1. In a bowl or baking dish, beat together eggs with half-and-half, salt, pepper, green onions, and cilantro.

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  2. Heat a medium or large skillet over medium-high heat. Cover the bottom of the skillet with vegetable oil and add a tablespoon or two of butter for taste.

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  3. Dip the bread triangles into the egg batter, drain off any excess, and place straight into the hot pan. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side – you want to develop a golden-brown color and the texture should be crispier than traditional French toast. Place cooked toasts on a paper towel-lined plate or rack to drain.

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  4. In a small bowl, mix together ketchup and hot sauce to your desired heat tolerance.

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  5. Serve toasts warm with a side of the spicy ketchup.

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  6. *I like to use a country or pullman loaf for this. You want it to stand up to the egg batter and not get mushy, so I always go for a day-old loaf.

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Noz_photo_small Reply

This was so, so delicious -- I ended up scrambling the last of the egg wash dip and serving it alongside the toast. Delicious!

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I absolutely can't wait to try this later this week!

Imag0027 Reply

I tried the recipe this morning...although I love the flavors, the toast came out a bit chewy....any ideas what I did wrong? The spicy ketchup saved it...but want to try it again. Any suggestions for correcting the "chewiness" would be appreciated...thanks!

S1051882 Reply

i'm also the type of person who eats pancakes and french toast with ketchup. i can't wait to try this. thanks for the recipe.

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As with everyone else above, I will state the obvious... Amazingly delicious recipe. Flagged for a while and finally got around to making this morning for brunch. Barely tweaked the original - used one less egg and a sturdy whole wheat with grains loaf (from acme bread) - and found this to be incredibly easy, comforting and delectable. The picky but always hungry and up for new things hubby equally enjoyed. Savory is preferred in the am in my household, so thank you for a new addition to my repertoire.

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Oops. Sorry about the double post. Got a little too excited!

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As with everyone else above, I will state the obvious... Amazingly delicious recipe. Flagged for a while and finally got around to making this morning for brunch. Barely tweaked the original - used one less egg and a sturdy whole wheat with grains loaf (from acme bread) - and found this to be incredibly easy, comforting and delectable. The picky but always hungry and up for new things hubby equally enjoyed. Savory is preferred in the am in my household, so thank you for a new addition to my repertoire.

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Yummm, this looks delicious! I absolutely love cilantro! Definitely giving this a try :)

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It took my sister and me many years to become accustomed to sweet french toast because our Polish mother had always made it with eggs, salt, pepper and milk. She used this toast to make our "grilled" cheese sandwiches, too. Until now, I thought it was just my mother's unique recipe, so I'm delighted to find this recipe. We just use butter as a topping for ours, but I will definitely give the spicy ketchup a try.

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Looks delicious. My husband makes a version of this that we call Indian French Toast with cumin, coriander, chili powder and garam masala. Great photo too btw.

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Delish! I subbed thyme for the cilantro and shallots for the scallions. Loved it!

Wedding_pictures_162 Reply

What a great breakfast this was on a cold, snowy morning!

About Reply

Glad you enjoyed! I'm now craving it...

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It looks delicious!!! I will include it in my sunday's breakfast. Thanks for sharing it.

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Can't wait to try this savory toast!

I would love to have your ketchup recipe if you are willing to share. I have been looking for a long time.

Dscn0826 Reply

I have used the one from Joy of Canning for years. I think it is wonderful and it has the ability to take other flavors post canning. Meaning I make curry ketchup and now Sriracha ketchup.

Dscn0826 Reply

there are not words to express how good the toast is... I had home made ketchup then I added shriracha and I have a new favorite ketch up, too. It was a win win morning. Thanks for sharing this.

About Reply

Homemade ketchup + sriracha is even better! I'm so happy you made this and enjoyed it :). Thanks!

Dsc03010 Reply

I had to work late, and because my daughter-in-law is a timid cook, I was expecting to come home to corn dogs and fries. I was pleasantly surprised to find that dinner was this french toast--she apparently took me seriously when I showed it to her yesterday and said we should try it soon. She served it with roasted asparagus, eggs "poached" in salsa made with the last of the homegrown tomatillos (she thought salsa would go well with the cilantro in the batter), and thick-sliced pepper bacon. Thank you for showing my daughter-in-law such an easy and great-tasting way to be adventurous in the kitchen, aliyaleekong. It was really good. And thank you, A&M, for bringing this recipe to my attention.

About Reply

Betteirene! That's sounds like an absolutely fantastic dinner, and I'm so happy that this recipe inspired your daughter-in-law. That seriously just made my day!

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Wow, sounds like your daughter-in-law is not so timid after all! Great menu planning.

Img_1045_2 Reply

I have houseguests coming who love food. This looks like a great interesting alternative breakfast treat. Thanks so much for posting this. (Also thinking it would be fantastic mid-afternoon with a fino sherry....)

About Reply

Oooh, with sherry...love the thought :)

Dsc03010 Reply

Excuse me while I wipe the drool off the keyboard.

Man, I could kick myself for being the wrong kind of Asian (Filipina). (It's a joke, Ma.)

We're big fans of breakfast for dinner, and I just bought some nice thick pepper bacon, so I think we'll be having bacon-egg-Monterey jackwiches for dinner tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing the recipe, and the beautiful photo.

About Reply

Thank you, everybody, for all the warm sentiments! This was so unexpected, and I am both honored and excited by the win and to be part of such a rich food community!

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I've never liked French toast because I too prefer savory stuff...but I tried this and it was perfect! Who knew? And you're right--all of the stuff was on-hand, but the kind of things I would look at and think, "there's no way to combine this to make a meal".

I had mine with tomato chutney...too delish.

About Reply

So glad you tried it! Thanks!

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

Congrats aliyaleekong!! I love your recipes and am really happy to see one of yours picked for the first wildcard! Can't wait to try this one!

P1020611 Reply

What a cool twist on french toast. Congratulations on the Wildcard!

Dsc_0019_2 Reply

Congratulations, what a fun recipe!

Cheese_for_twitter0001 Reply

Finally something besides dessert for brunch!!

Img_0022_profile Reply

Congratulations!! This looks amazing. Looks like there are many of us who do not prefer the sweet version of french toast. I can't wait to try this recipe!!

Copy_of_me Reply

Congratulations on your WildCard win! I always choose savory over sweet, thanks for sharing your recipe.

Logo-fb Reply

Congratulations, Aliya! Yum.

L1010593 Reply

Fantastic!! Big Congrats!!

Morgan3x5bw Reply

Thank you and congrats!

Me2 Reply

Holy cow, this looks amazing. I am not a fan of sweet French toast, because I always feel like it should be savory. This is the answer. Can't wait to try it!

Sausage2 Reply

Congrats, wild thing! This looks awesome!

About Reply

Thanks, everyone! I'm just seeing this myself! Wonderful because it's so easy to do :)

Dscn0826 Reply

Yeah and congrats aliyaleekong. I am a big fan already so I am so really happy to see this. The Sumptuous Beef and Rice Casserole is on my to do list for the weekend.

About Reply

Thanks, thirschfield. I know you are a gourmand, so feel free to sub in boneless short ribs or beef cheeks to even more sumptuous results...:)

Img_1958 Reply

Congratulations!! I am so happy this was chosen as the first Wildcard.

Sagegr Reply

Congrats! Just noticed this recipe. Love it.

Wedding_pictures_162 Reply

I missed this! First Wildcard of the new year--congratulations!

Img_1958 Reply

Yum! My palate prefers savory over sweet so this is my kind of breakfast. Thank you so much for the recipe - I will be making this soon!

About Reply

Thanks, gingerroot! Hope you enjoy.

Img_1958 Reply

Finally made this for lunch today, so so good. Thanks for a fantastic recipe.

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my this sounds delicious. will probably get onto the breakfast for dinner list, when we're tired out and need something quick and comforting.

About Reply

Thanks, luvcookbooks! Love the breakfast for dinner concept :)

About Reply

Thanks, aargersi! Let me know when you try it - was such a childhood fave...

036 Reply

This sounds wonderful! And spicy ketchup to boot - I am a ketchup fiend, this is on the rotation for sure!!!

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