In so many households, Mother’s Day dinner requires little effort other than planning ahead and dialing a phone number. According to the restaurant industry, more people eat out on Mother’s Day Sunday than any other day of the year. My birthday often coincided– or should I say collided with Mom’s day which often made it seem even more frustrating to get a table at a popular family eatery. If we could get in, our favorite dishes were off the menu, replaced with a limited choice of entree’s. One thing for sure, no reservations are required to treat Mom to breakfast in bed. When it comes to kid’s in the kitchen, French toast is fairly forgiving. There’s not too much that can go wrong. If prepared the night before, it will come out custardy. If it’s a last minute thought, it will still be fine— After all, it’s the thought that counts with Mom! One feature to include is a bud vase of flowers with some “flower faces” of the kids (see below) in the arrangement.
OVERNIGHT ORANGE FRENCH TOAST
8, thick slices (a little over an inch) of French bread or unsliced white bread
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbs sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3 Tbs orange juice concentrate
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 cup butter
ORANGE BUTTER MAPLE MARMALADE SYRUP
FLOWER FACES
Beat eggs well with milk, sugar, salt, orange juice concentrate and vanilla. Place bread in a 9” x 13” casserole dish and pour egg mixture over bread. Cover an refrigerate overnight. (Note: if you do this at the last minute, just slice bread a little thinner and turn slices several times while soaking in the egg batter until saturated.) Melt enough butter in a nonstick skillet to brown toast about four minutes on each side. This may need to be done in two batches. Serve toast warm with scoops of orange butter and maple marmalade syrup. If desired , sprinkle with candied pecans.
ORANGE BUTTER: Soften a 3 oz pkg of cream cheese and a 4 oz stick of butter. Beat together with 2 tsp of fresh grated orange peel until fluffy.
ORANGE MARMALADE SYRUP: Heat equal parts orange marmalade and maple syrup until melted, using a saucepan or microwave.
FLOWER FACES: Select photos of each child and cut out in a circle around their head. Paste in the center of flowers cut from craft foam, mounted on green pipe cleaners. Place in a bud vase and arrange on a breakfast tray with the French toast, fresh fruit and a copy of The Connecticut Post.
