Roasted Pumpkin and Eggnog French Toast

French toast made with roasted pumpkin and eggnog batter for a seasonal brunch

My kids are very fortunate French toast eaters.  They are blessed with not one but two grandmothers who rock at making French toast.

Can a grandmother rock at something?  Well, these women sure do.  My kids love Grandma's French Toast--regardless of which grandma they are visiting.

When I first met my mother-in-law, she told me she was a "plain Jane cook".  She sure makes something 'plain' like French toast taste super when we visit!  She has her recipe memorized (and now I do, too):  for every 4 pieces of bread you need 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  It's a no-fail recipe that we love to eat while gathered around the large table, watching the woods outside.

My mom's contribution to my kids' Grandma French Toast Experience is her choice of bread.  Mom buys day-old bread (hmm, I wonder where I get my love of marked down food from?), usually hoagie rolls, and slices it into thick rounds.  She serves the kids breakfast on the bar while they sit on stools overlooking her kitchen.

Combining mom's bread with my mother-in-law's batter results in a delicious breakfast treat when it's just mom making the French toast.  For this post, though, I decided to kick it up a notch.  I thawed some packages of pumpkin (that I'd roasted and put up for muffins) and added it to the batter.  I had eggnog, and decided to use that in place of milk.  Because the pumpkin was pretty thick, I opted to toss the whole thing in the blender to mix it up.  This creamy concoction was so delicious I had to share.

Try this for a special brunch or just for an everyday weekend breakfast.  My kids tell me that the leftovers made a tasty school-day breakfast treat.  Even if it's not as good as when Grandma makes it!

Roasted Pumpkin and Eggnog French Toast

4 day old whole wheat hoagie rolls (or the bread of your choice)
butter to grease your griddle, if desired
2 cups roasted pumpkin (use a can of plain pumpkin if you don't have any put by)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) eggnog
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Slice rolls into 1 1/2 inch thick rounds and set aside.  Preheat a griddle to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and the oven to 250 degrees.  Add butter if your griddle desires it.  Combine rest of ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a shallow container.  Press bread slices into batter to coat one side, flip over, press again, and transfer to hot griddle.  Cook until bottom is lightly browned, about 4-6 minutes, and flip over to brown the other side, another 3-5 minutes.  Transfer to a serving platter, cover with foil, and place in warm oven until all bread has been dipped and browned.  Then everyone can sit down and eat together!

This breakfast is shared with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, the 60 week old Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, the 44 week old What's Cookin' Wednesday, From The Farm Blog Hop