I love to vacation next to water be it a pool, a lake or if I am lucky an ocean. As the summer days diminish, I went to a lake resort last week with friends and family for a few days. This has been an unusually wet and cool summer, but we were hoping for good weather. My nephew and his wife had invited their parents, aunts and uncles and siblings to join them in sharing two cabins and house for the week.
The cabins and house have been undergoing a remodel, but the knotted pine in the cabins took me back to the fifties and sixties décor when people used it for paneling rooms. And there is always the damp smell at the lake that reminds me of camps when I was a child.
The first few days were overcast and the waves were brisk. On Wednesday, the day was warm and sunny and we spend it on the lake either swimming, sunning ourselves on the island, jet skiing or fishing. Unfortunately it rained for the next three days and our activities had to go indoors.
One of the activities was preparing food for the fifteen or more people who were there at the lake. Breakfast featured pancakes, waffles, French toast, omelets and the best bacon I have ever eaten. One of the couples came from Minnesota and had gone to Pierz, Minnesota to Thielen’s Meat Market which in one hour from St. Cloud and two from the twin cities and had brought several pounds of this wonderfully meaty and flavored bacon and sausage. I understand the bacon has been featured in The New York Times and Oprah.
One of our favorite breakfasts was a French Toast dish featuring an egg custard and cream cheese in the middle that you make the night before and place in the refrigerator.
The cabins and house have been undergoing a remodel, but the knotted pine in the cabins took me back to the fifties and sixties décor when people used it for paneling rooms. And there is always the damp smell at the lake that reminds me of camps when I was a child.
The first few days were overcast and the waves were brisk. On Wednesday, the day was warm and sunny and we spend it on the lake either swimming, sunning ourselves on the island, jet skiing or fishing. Unfortunately it rained for the next three days and our activities had to go indoors.
One of the activities was preparing food for the fifteen or more people who were there at the lake. Breakfast featured pancakes, waffles, French toast, omelets and the best bacon I have ever eaten. One of the couples came from Minnesota and had gone to Pierz, Minnesota to Thielen’s Meat Market which in one hour from St. Cloud and two from the twin cities and had brought several pounds of this wonderfully meaty and flavored bacon and sausage. I understand the bacon has been featured in The New York Times and Oprah.
One of our favorite breakfasts was a French Toast dish featuring an egg custard and cream cheese in the middle that you make the night before and place in the refrigerator.
Mel’s Company French Toast
1/2 c. butter
1 c. light brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
12 slices French bread or equivalent firm white bread
5 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
**Melt butter and mix with brown sugar and cinnamon in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
**Arrange the bread slices in 2 layers on top of the mixture.(Sometimes I spread between the layers with cream cheese, because it's soooo good that way, but you don't have to.)
**Then beat the egg mixture and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon, if you like. Let stand overnight in the fridge or at least 6-8 hours.
**Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 min.Serve with warm syrup, or any berry syrups or compotes are very good, as well. Another addition is to mix toasted pecans or walnuts into the brown sugar and butter on the bottom, also very tasty.
Enjoy!
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