Saturday, August 21, 2010

Weekend Cooking: Lamp Post French Toast

When I decided to attend Gettysburg College I knew that the small town was known for its University and the famous battlefield, but I soon discovered that it was also known for its unique breakfast confection.

The Lamp Post Inn was a small restaurant located within walking distance of the college - a definitive advantage for the underclassmen who did not have cars on campus.  Within my first week of school I was told that I simply must try their "French toast"  Now I enjoy a nice breakfast of pancakes and French toast every once in a while, but these college co-eds would make a special trip to the restaurant to partake in a half-order of French toast at any time of the day or night.  After one bite, I was an avid fan and ate countless "half orders" in my four years residency at the school.

Once I was married and had settled into a new life of being a Midwest stay-at-home mom of three children, and had also discovered the vast resource of the world wide web, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at making this decadent delight at home.  I searched numerous recipe sites as well as played with a variety of terms with the vast search engines, but I was never able to find any reference to the restaurant or the recipe.  Not to be daunted by this temporary set-back, I decided that I would try to recreate the dish myself.  

It took several attempts and numerous failures, but I have finally managed to recreate a reasonable facsimile that satisfies both Geoff's and my tastebuds.  Mind you, this is not low-cal nor low-fat, and it is definitely a meal that you would want to fix only every once in a while, but it is absolutely delicious and fills you up for the better part of the day.  Without any further ado here is my homage to the great Gettysburgian classic:

Lamp Post French Toast

Ingredients:

  • 6 slices Texas Toast bread (thick slices are essential)
  • 2 cups Bisquick mix
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 1 cup milk

Directions:

  1. Measure the Bisquick into a large bowl.
  2. Add the egg and milk and mix until blended.
  3. Dip one piece of bread into the pancake mixture - making sure that both sides are covered.
  4. Place prepared bread slice into a deep fat fryer set at  approximately 300 degrees and cook until golden brown (I must admit that I have never actually timed this - and I adjust the heat as I cook).
  5. Remove from fryer and drain on paper towel.
  6. Keep in a warm oven until all the bread slices have been "toasted"
  7. You can dress it up with a dusting of powdered sugar, but I think it is best served with warm maple syrup with just a hint of melted butter.
  8. One slice of toast = half order; Two slices of toast = full order

13 comments:

  1. I think many of us have fond memories of a special little restaurant from our college days. I wonder if The Lamp Post Inn is still a landmark. The French toast sounds fabulous and not to difficult to make.

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  2. Bisquick...really? well, I am willing to give it a try! ;-)

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  3. ooh, I love french toast but I can't imagine it with Bisquick. I don't know why but I'm picturing bread with a biscuit around it. Must need more caffeine to get the brain working. Sounds different anyway.

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  4. This sounds yummy! Always loved french toast but I am sure I never had any this good! I went to college in PA too! Up in the Northeast...Dallas, PA. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us! :)

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  5. Had to read this twice... French toast and Bisquick? Sounds delicious!

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  6. Oh wow!! That sounds heavenly. And I agree with Kathy, every undergraduate has found memories of some diner or local college treat. Ours was the "deep-fried bean burrito enchilada style with sour cream" at Marie's in Prescott, AZ.

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  7. wow, quite the unique version. Very tempting.

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  8. It's like a combining a pancake and french toast--yum!

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  9. Ah yes...The Lamp Post Inn..nothing's been the same since they closed up...how sad.

    Damn (can I say damn?) their French toast was absolutely the best ever..never to be duplicated or equaled. We asked for the recipe once and were told it was a secret, couldn't get it, had to marry into the family, after three generations they'd let you stir the batter with a blindfold on.

    Regular old soggy french toast today's standard fare can never equal anything of the remotest comparison.

    My wife has been diligently working n 'cracking the code' of late with some success (I have to tell her that).

    You might be very close, we'll have to try your flip on the recipe.

    I feel their amazing French toast had a slightly Pa Dutch flair sweeter more golden donut,waffle or funnel cake batter type taste, definitely with a hint of vanilla, deep fried decadence for sure, the key finish to die for.

    I can't tell you how much we enjoyed going there for breakfast in years past, how sad we were to find out they had closed, sold their building to the college.

    You couldn't eat that too often or you would die from coronary artery disease, but once or twice a year was such a grand treat....such great fun to look forward too while on vacation. Being on vacation certainly could have been one of their secret ingredients.

    Yep, nothing's been the same since the Lamp Post Inn closed, we say it all the time and it'd true.

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  10. I like your recipe - looks great, but I really miss those donuts warm out of the oven. Was hoping to have a couple at the 45th reunion, but as we know, they are gone. Wish the family would make some for June.
    Drew '71

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  11. having worked at the lamp post i made many batches of french toast your recipe does not even come close we used a special flour and a very secrect ingriedent never to be found again because they do not make it any more.i am glad you enjoyed the french toast chances are i made your order.thanx chet

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  12. i made lots of them you can not make them anymore because pilsbury stopped making the special flour

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