Fwd: on "French" toast

[James A. Landau]

In a message dated 03/14/2003 10:35:13 AM Eastern Standard Time,
nee1 at MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU writes:

> > As french toast is merely a grilled variety of bread
>  > pudding - baked egg custard and old bread - I find it
>  > hard to believe a Mr. French "invented" it.  (Or maybe
>  > bread pudding is a baked variety of french toast:  how
>  > do we know which came first?)

"Which came first" is a "bread and egg question".

I don't know if this be useful:

_The Jewish Manual_ "edited by a Lady" (pseudonym of Lady Judith Montefiore),
London: 1846.  Available in a 1983 facsimile reprint by Nightingale Books,
New York, ISBN 0-911389-00-8.

has a recipe for "bread pudding" on pp 135f and "A rich bread and butter
pudding" on pp 130f.  I'll copy the recipes if anyone asks.  Both recipes
specify that the bread to be used is a "French roll".  Whatever a French roll
may be, it is called for in a number of recipes in this book.

The same section of the book, entitled "Sweet Dishes, etc." has a recipe on
page 119 for "pommes frites" which are not fried potatoes but rather fried
apples, and a recipe on pp 117f for  "German or Spanish puffs".

            - Jim Landau (just back from an early Purim party)