Now this is something to wake up to. Linda Nguyen, the intrepid force behind the Australian blog butter sugar flour, whipped up this beautiful plate of French toast with spiced pears. The bread has that even golden-brown skin that is a hallmark of the best French toast, and the pears give it a lusty, buttery twist. The shallow pool of maple syrup is a nice, realistic flourish; you can practically taste the syrup-saturated toast, and feel it the sugary burn it leaves in the back of your throat. A very good morning, indeed.

[Via butter sugar flour]

Love her or hate her, Sandra Lee can stretch a dollar.

For her latest Food Network show, the queen of "semi-homemade" cuisine is teaching her viewers "Money Saving Meals" with tips on how to make dishes like this French toast without breaking the bank.

"This show is like Suze Orman meets Julia Child," she told Slashfood Thursday in the Food Network test kitchens.

Get her three tips on how to save at the grocery store and the French toast recipe after the jump.

Last May, I posted about the genius that is french toast made on a waffle iron. However, like so many of these things I write about here on Slashfood, I hadn't actually had an opportunity to give the technique a try, trusting instead that the Kitchen Chick wouldn't lead me astray.

Luckily though, I recently stumbled across a blog post that put the waffle iron french toast method to the test and proved that it is a winner. Lauren (creator of the pies in jars) used a two square Belgian waffle iron to cook up french toast made from bread designed for Texas toast. The bread fit the iron perfect and she and her family found it so delightful that they used the same method to make garlic bread to accompany dinner.

I love waffles (I own four waffle irons and wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I came across an old, working one with cast iron plates). I also love French toast (all week long, I've been planning writing an ode to that breakfast dish), mostly because it makes it possible to create something delicious out of the most humble of ingredients. For these reasons, I am horrifically embarrassed that it never occurred to me to cook my french toast in my waffle iron, like the Kitchen Chick has done.

A craving for buttermilk waffles, coupled with a dearth of buttermilk and some brioche that needed to be used helped inspire this tasty creation. She proceeded to make French toast as normal, soaking the bread in an egg and milk mixture. Then instead of cooking it in a pan or on a griddle, she put the bread on the waffle iron and cooked like any other waffle. Deliciousness abounds!

When pressed to determine which is my favorite meal to prepare and eat, I will always admit that I love breakfast above all the rest. What other meal allows you combine sweet with savory in the same way as that morning meal? This looks like a particularly good breakfast, with french toast, fruit and sausage. Thanks to Superape for adding your image to the Slashfood pool!

Mmm, French toast. It's one those perfect weekend breakfast (or brunch) foods. But what if you don't eat eggs? The test kitchen over at Bakers Banter has come up with a recipe for making the breakfast delight.

Someone asked the King Arthur Flour blog how to make French Toast for a person with egg allergies, and they jumped right on it. I haven't tried it, but everything looked good on the post. The recipe itself is based on some tapioca starch and half and half with flavorings.

Bakers Banter did say that this French toast doesn't taste egg-y (of course), but it does have a good look and texture for the breakfast food. If you have someone who doesn't eat eggs for some reason, this might be a great new breakfast tradition for you to start.

You know, they say that you should try not to start your day with high-sugar carbohydrates because it makes you crave carbs and bad things for the rest of the day, but you know what? Screw them, whoever "they" are! How can you not start your day with something like these French Toast waffles, as made by InfraredHerring. The recipe is from a cookbook dedicated entirely to waffles, though this one is simply a soaking of rich eggy bread in a rich eggy sauce, then pressed in a waffle iron. Brilliantly delicious! And I seriously doubt you'll crave anything after a couple pieces!

There is nothing better on a weekend morning than having breakfast in bed. If you end up having to be the one that prepares it, pour some coffee, grab the newspaper, and hop back into bed for an hour once your breakfast is made. It's the weekend, no one will care, and besides - you worked hard all week so treat yourself!

We love breakfast food around here, and are certainly no strangers to some French Toast variations. One of my favorite recipes for the morning is Raspberry Chocolate French Toast, a little twist on the original.

For the French Toast:
2 eggs
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 slices white (or enriched) bread
Whip the first three ingredients together and dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture. Pan fry in a pat of butter over medium heat, ensuring that the egg is fully cooked on all sides of the bread.

French toast always reminds me of bread pudding, albeit a single slice of bread pudding, because the bread is supposed to suck up the milk and egg mixture before it is fried, leaving a creamy, custardy center. Unfortunately, too many restaurants and chefs get so caught up in using outrageously thick bread that their custard never gets to the center of the bread and you end up getting served regular toast with egg and syrup, not french toast. I highly doubt that the talented Rachael, from Fresh Approach Cooking, made this mistake with her Holiday French Toast. A fan of decadent holiday treats, I'm guessing that she made sure that every bit of the vanilla-laced custard mixture was soaked up by the already rich challah bread she used, creating a perfect holiday breakfast. The toast is topped with honeyed whipped cream, lightly sauteed nectarines and fresh raspberries.

Earlier this week the Houston Chronicle's Drive-Thru Gourmet turned his attention to Dunkin' Donuts. Specifically, he sampled the chain's new French Toast Twist.

As most of you out there know America's No. 1 doughnut maker has been trying to recast its image all year. One of the ways it's cooked up to do this is taking a page from fast-food chains. Sounds like the French Toast Twist is squarely within this mold.

The author is quick to point out that the French Toast Twist falls outside Dunkin's bread-and-butter business of bagels, doughnuts and muffins. It's not really French toast either.

That said it sounds pretty good. What could be wrong with rolls of flaky pastry with French toast flavors baked in? Sure it sounds like a McGriddle, but at least there's no logo emblazoned on it. And they're available all day. Note to self: Visit Dunkin' for 2 p.m. hangover breakfast after attending Brewtopia tonight.

This French toast and bacon sandwich could just be the ultimate breakfast sandwich - assuming that you aren't in the least bit worried about your weight and that you enjoy indulging in the morning, of course. It starts off with two thick slices of bread, soaked in an egg and milk mixture then fried into perfectly cooked french toast. The toast is then topped with a generous amount of lightly crisped bacon, allowing the pieces of overlap and for two layers. Once the bacon is in place, pour on some maple syrup and add the top piece of french toast. Eat with a knife and fork.

The end product is salty, sweet, filling and in no way can be considered health food. Ah well. You can't win them all, right?

"I want French toast with honey!" says my three-year-old, grumpily, each morning. "No, I want French toast with honey and syrup!"

Something about French toast - its buttery, egg-dipped carb-tastic-ness - is just the ultimate breakfast comfort food. It's good when you're a baby, it's good when you're recovering from a hangover (grease protein carbs = first rate hangover cure).

In my opinion, it's the most comforting of all breakfast foods, replete with every good thing we want on a cold January morning, and easy, to boot. You can have hot, golden-brown, supremely comforting French toast on your table in 12 minutes flat. Start your timer.