Fruit Salad with Whiskey Sauce and French Toast Croutons

Fruit Salad with Whiskey Dressing and French Toast Croutons

I was asked by my friend Jennifer Doman to make something different with peaches, since they are in season right now. Now, I could have gone the traditional route, and made a pie, tart, or cobbler…but I decided to do something else fairly traditional, yet give it my own “BellinieBits” twist! So here you go Jennifer, and everyone else – I certainly hope you’ll try this recipe! Easy, fresh, and wickedly delicious!

Fruit Salad:

2 or 3 large ripe peaches, thinly sliced

1 or 2 bananas, sliced

1 or 2 cups fresh raspberries

~~~Now, you can certainly use any other fruit with this salad, I chose the above because I love them all individually and also because I liked the variety of color. Blueberries, pears, grapefruit, kiwi, grapes, strawberries, and plums…all would work as well. Heck, you might even throw in some apples and oranges if you like too! Just use what YOU like!

Whiskey Sauce:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup white granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

2 TBSP water

¼ - ½ cup whiskey (use as more if you like a stronger flavor)

~~~Melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add sugar, egg yolks, and water. Stir to combine, and then cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves and mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat, and add whiskey. Mix well, and then cool before using.  You can store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. This sauce can be thinned out in the microwave for about 30 seconds if you’ve refrigerated it. It goes wonderfully over a variety of dishes like French toast, ice cream, pies, cheesecakes, fruit crisp, cobblers…once you taste it, you’ll want to use it on everything!

French Toast Croutons:

Perfect use for left over French toast! But here’s how I made it, if you’re wondering-

2 eggs

½ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup sugar

Dash salt

1 tsp cinnamon

6 pieces of bread

~~~Mix first six ingredients together in a small bowl. Dip bread one slice at a time into egg mixture, and make sure both sides soak in a little of the mix. Cook until browned on a greased skillet, then flip and brown on the other side. After all pieces are browned, cut into small crouton sized squares. Lay pieces on cookie sheet in a single layer and let dry out in a 250 degree oven until crunchy - about 1 or 2 hours, but check and stir every 20 minutes or so, as all ovens cook slightly differently.

Now it’s time to assemble the salad! In a large bowl, add all sliced fruit, and any other berries you are using. Spoon about ½ cup of the whiskey sauce over fruit and gently mix to coat all fruit evenly. Dish up servings into individual bowls and top with French toast croutons. Drizzle more whiskey sauce over each serving if desired. And by all means….ENJOY!