Here at Greatist, we believe in taking a day off. Instead of our regular programming Saturdays, our writers get a chance to write about living the greatist lifestyle and, basically, whatever they want. This is one of those awesome articles. Enjoy!

Finally you’ll have a worthy response to Captain Jack’s query, “Why is the rum gone?” And with Johnny Depp now starring in a movie called The Rum Diary, I guess you’ll have an answer for his new character, too. A perennial favorite of mine dating back to my mid-college days— okay, so only two years ago— rum-glazed banana French toast is one of the coolest sounding brunches to have in your arsenal. It tastes real good, too. Just look at the smiling faces of my friends after I made it for brunch. We had just run the Terry Fox 5k last Saturday, so I say, cheat day deserved. This particular recipe follows Dave Lieberman’s method prescribed over at FoodNetwork.com. Ingredients (serves 3-4):

  • 4 large eggs
  • ½ cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 pinches ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons rum
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 2 large bananas sliced thinly on an angle
  • 4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick) slices brioche, challah, cinnamon raisin bread or any moist and fluffy bread you like. (I used some whole wheat challah—even with cheat days I use healthier substitutions when I can)

Instructions: Part 1: The French Toast

  1. Mix up the eggs, milk, 1-tablespoon sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon together.
  2. Pour the egg mixture into a pan large enough to give you room to turn and soak the bread.
  3. Lay the bread slices in the egg mixture and let them soak, turning them several times, until the bread has soaked up all the egg. Turn them gently so they don’t break apart on you.
  4. Heat 2 tablespoons of butterin a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. When it starts to bubble, lay the soaked bread in the pan. Cook, turning once, until the bread is nicely browned and the egg in the center of each slice is cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve warm with the Orange-Rum Bananas.
  5. Note: If your skillet isn’t large enough to hold all the bread slices at once, cook them in batches. Before you start your first batch, preheat your oven to 200 degrees F (or “Warm”). Keep the cooked slices warm on a baking sheet in the oven while you cook the rest.

Part 2: The Rum-glazed Bananas (ooooh)

  1. Heat the rum, 2-tablespoons sugar, 2-tablespoons butter, and orange juice in a large skillet until the butter is melted. Add the bananas. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat so the sauce is bubbling gently. Cook until the bananas are softened, about 4 minutes.

I served the French toast with some strawberries to get that whole strawberry-banana combo going on. What combos would you try? Leave them in the comments below.