The Monday Treat – post one night stand Nutella French Toast

It’s been an interesting weekend for Sara who is recovering from the aftershocks of the office Christmas party after-party.

The office party was a sober affair. She sipped a glass of white wine and had intelligent conversations with superiors, and got out of there along with several of her colleagues at close to 10. At which point, they decided to go to a dive bar on the lower eastside to have a proper drink and relax. The text message circuit went into overdrive, and pretty soon, the whole office Christmas party had upped camp and moved over to the dive bar, where relaxing began in earnest and people even took off their jackets.

Tequila occurred.

The following morning, Sara woke up and lay for a moment scanning the events of the night. There had been tequila. And then what? Kissing in a cab. And then? A suspiciously delicious smell drifted in from the kitchen. She pulled on a t-shirt and tentatively peered round the bedroom door to investigate. There was a man. Dressed in a deconstructed office Christmas party suit. Cooking.

“Do you want a coffee?”

It was not the opener that she had been expecting, but, yes, she wanted a coffee. She nodded and took the cup from him, as she struggled to remember his name exactly. “Did we, you know –“

“No.” he said. “Really. No.”

“Ok, then.” She took a steadying sip.

His name was Sean. He worked on a different floor from her, and he had slept on the sofa. He handed her a plate of French toast, drained his coffee and headed off into the day. Thank god, Sara thought as the door closed behind him. Awkward.

She refilled her cup and decided to take the plate back to bed. Which is when she spotted the note on the counter top – call me sometime.

The French toast had Nutella in it.

Later Sara phoned with the news. “I just ate the best Nutella French toast, and, well something happened last night …”

Nutella French Toast (serves 2)

4 slices of bread (white is fine, but brioche is better)

• Make buttered Nutella sandwiches out of the bread. Cut each one in half diagonally
• Whisk the eggs with the milk and sugar (and cinnamon if using) until they’re combined
• Dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture and press lightly to let the egg soak in
• Fry in light oil until crispy (about 2 minutes per side)
• Serve with chopped strawberries, and a light dusting of confectioners’ (icing) sugar for extra fanciness