New Year’s Toast Recipe

There are many different ways to ring in the new year, from hosting a large family gathering to a fancy night out on the town or watching the countdown on television. Perhaps staying up until midnight no longer holds the same allure as it once did and you’d rather turn in early: that’s perfectly acceptable, too.

However you decide to celebrate New Year’s eve, there’s no better way to start off the very first morning of the year than by treating yourself and some guests to a home cooked meal. While there are plenty of places to go for an extravagant Champagne brunch, there are many reasons to host a nice breakfast at home instead. Here, we offer three recipes to get you started on having your own New Year’s toast party. It’s a fun way of pairing your favorite bubby beverages with a few gussied up version of a quintessential breakfast item. Think of it as a low-commitment way to try something new in the new year.

This small collection of recipes offers sweet as well as savory options. A fancy Florentine variation on the classic skillet toast dish, egg-in-a-hole, utilizes a flavored scrambled egg mixture flavored with gruyere and spinach instead of a plain fried egg. The disc of bread that is cut out to make the hole, rather than being discarded, becomes the base of a canape-style smoked salmon toast with herbed cream cheese. The third item in this breakfast trio provides a sweet, dessert-like finish: a panettone French toast waffle drizzled with citrus icing. Thick slices of the candied citrus-studded Italian sweet bread are dipped into an eggy batter before being cooked in a waffle maker to a golden-brown finish.  

Whether you decide to make one type of toast or all three, don’t forget to accompany your morning spread with a mimosa, sparkling apple cider or Champagne. After all, any way you slice it, a glass of bubbly is still the most fitting way to welcome the new year. Cheers!

If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, place a small can with a diameter of 2 inches (such as tomato paste) on top of the bread and cut around it using a paring knife.

8 slices sourdough bread

4 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Using a biscuit cutter or sharp knife, cut a 2-inch-wide circle from the center of each bread slice. Reserve these bread “holes” for Smoked Salmon Toasts or another use and set aside. Butter both sides of the bread slices.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, ham, spinach, cheese, salt and pepper.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 slices of the bread, lower the heat to medium and cook until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the bread slices over, drizzle 1 tsp. oil into each hole and pour about 1/4 cup of the egg mixture into each hole. Cover the pan and cook until the eggs are almost set, about 3 minutes. Flip each slice of bread over and continue cooking until the eggs are completely set, about 1 minute longer.

4. Repeat with the remaining bread slices and egg mixture.

Serves 8.

Be sure to use the leftover bread “holes” from the Florentine Egg in a Hole for these toasts before cutting out more.

2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 Tbs. finely chopped chives

1 Tbs. finely chopped dill

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

8 (2-inch-wide) circular pieces of sliced sourdough bread, lightly toasted

8 thin slices English cucumber

8 thin slices smoked salmon

Dill fronds, for garnish

1. In a bowl, mash together the cream cheese, chives, dill, salt and pepper with a fork until just combined.

2. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture over the bread rounds. Top each with a cucumber round and a folded slice of salmon. Garnish with dill fronds.

Serves 8.

By slicing the panettone crosswise into circular planks rather than vertically into wedges, each piece should fit almost perfectly into a standard round waffle maker. If you have a square waffle maker, the recipe will still work.

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 Tbs. orange juice

4 large eggs

3/4 cup half-and-half

Finely grated zest from 1 orange

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 (1 1/4-inch-thick) slices panettone, cut crosswise from a 6-inch-diameter loaf

1. Preheat a waffle maker to medium-high heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until smooth. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, orange zest and vanilla. Working 1 piece at a time, dip the panettone into the egg mixture until soaked, turning once. Place in the preheated waffle maker, close the lid gently but firmly and cook until golden-brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Transfer to a wire rack-lined baking sheet and tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining panettone and egg mixture.

5. Cut into wedges and drizzle with icing. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

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