Overnight of the Living Dead French Toast – Cookbook Review

I was excited when I was asked to review another cookbook…this time about how to eat through a zombie apocalypse. Yes, you read that right!

I’m the second stop on the “Dead of Winter Blog Tour Survivor” of The Art of Eating Through the Zombie Apocalypse. A Cookbook and Culinary Survival guide by Lauren Wilson. I was intrigued by the title and couldn’t wait to get a copy in my hands and check out it. Not only do you get great recipes, you’ll learn how to survive on the land. There’s even an entire chapter devoted to making meals with MRES .

I had a few recipes to select from and decided to go with the Overnight of the Living Dead French Toast. It was the perfect breakfast to start a busy Sunday morning tackling laundry and a trip to Costco with the kids…I swear they act like zombies sometimes running around all crazy! I am planning to make Nice Rice Pudding and Mental Fruit Lentil Soup in the near future! I loved the texture of french toast and used almond milk in place of regular milk or cream since I’m trying to eliminate dairy as much as possible. This was a huge success and I’m looking forward to making it again!

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
12 oz. bread, sliced into strips 2–3 fingers wide (I used Italian bread and a multi-grain cranberry walnut batard bread)
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
6 eggs
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of salt

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the melted butter and brown sugar, and spread on the bottom of a 9×12 baking dish. Place a layer of the sliced bread overlapping the gaps and mixing the different breads together. Sprinkle the dried fruit on top and then repeat with another layer of bread and the remaining fruit.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved. Stir in the milk, vanilla and spices until well combined. Pour the custard over the bread and dried fruit. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight for at least 4 hours. If you’re not making in the night before, you can let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and baked uncovered for 30 minutes. Cover the pan with foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Serve it with maple syrup.