What southerners do when it snows…

For those of you living on the East Coast, you have undoubtedly noticed the second winter storm of the season passed through this week. Here in Charlotte, we received a few inches of snow and plenty of ice. Schools have been closed for the last three days with many businesses closed as well. This is the type of winter weather that I enjoyed while growing up, and then I went to Wisconsin…

During the first 18 years of my life, I learned to love snow! It was white, pretty, fun to play in, it would get you out of school, and it would leave just as it started to get dirty. Well 4 years in Wisconsin have forever changed my opinion of snow. My senior year in Madison we had over 100 inches, crushing the previous record of 77 inches. Guess how many days of class were canceled ? ZERO! yes all that snow and I got to walk a mile and a half to class each day. The walk wasn’t the bad part. It was the walk when a foot of snow falls throughout the day that makes it bad. Maybe if I had grown up in the North East or Midwest I would be used to it, but as a Southerner I learned that snow = no school! . As much as I complain about it now, I did get used to it. Now that I am back in the South, I chuckle at what snow does to people here. 4-5 inches of snow is nothing to Wisconsin, but for that to fall in Charlotte, the city shuts down. Granted it is quite dangerous when it turns to ice and I am glad the City takes the necessary precautions to ensure everyone’s safety, but that doesn’t explain why everyone heads to the grocery store to stock up on bread, eggs, and milk.

Yes it is strange. Whenever there is a snow storm, people in Charlotte buy out the store of milk, bread, and eggs. The only thing I can guess people do is make a lot of french toast. So that is exactly what I did while snowed in!

Here is the recipe for…

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Taylor Takes A Taste

Snowed in Buttermilk French Toast Sticks

Ingredients

1 loaf French Bread (cut into sticks)

1 cup buttermilk

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp orange zest

3 tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

syrup or preserves or powdered sugar ( or all 3)

1. You can use any bread you like, but I went with French Bread. You want the bread to be somewhat dried out, this will allow the egg mixture to soak in. You can use “day old” bread, but I prefer to use the oven. Slice your bread into stick shaped and then place on a baking sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes. After 5 minutes, start check to see how dry it is. You want the outside of the bread to have a crunchy dry feel. When this is achieved, remove from the oven.

2. in a large bowl combine the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, orange zest, sugar, salt, and cinnamon and whisk until a nice creamy yellow color.

3. place butter in a pan over medium high heat. Dip you sticks into the egg mixture, making sure all sides of the bread are coated. Places the bread into the pan. Cook each side until a nice golden brown.

4. you can top the French Toast with syrup, fruit preserves, or powdered sugar. Or you can use all 3! I prefer Raspberry Preserves.

www.taylortakesataste.com

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