Thick-cut French Toast with Maple-Ginger Pink Grapefruit

With a zester or microplane, remove the zest from the grapefruit. Cut a small slice off each end of the grapefruit and stand it upright on a cutting surface. With a knife, remove the peel from the grapefruit in strips, maintaining the curved shape. Holding the grapefruit in one hand, cut out the segments of fruit between the membranes. Hold your hand over a bowl to catch any juices. When you are done, squeeze the remaining juices from the skeleton of the grapefruit into the bowl, and reserve.

In a small sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add the almonds, ginger, 3 tablespoons of the maple syrup, and the reserved juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until the consistency of light syrup, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Toss in the grapefruit sections. Stir very gently to coat the sections and set aside.

Beat the eggs with the milk, the remaining 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, and add 1 teaspoon of the grapefruit zest. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Dip 3 or 4 slices of bread into the egg batter and cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove to a heated platter or keep warm in a low oven. Dip the remaining slices in egg batter and cook as above.

To serve, place 2 slices on each of 4 plates and top with the grapefruit. For a little sparkle, toss the remaining zest with a little unrefined sugar and garnish each plate.