Thurman Rohrbaugh, a Violet Township firefighter and paramedic, can’t pinpoint exactly when the traditional Sunday brunch at the fire station began.
“I’ve been here for five years,” he says, “and the tradition of Sunday brunch was here before me.”
It’s a time when all of the station’s frontline workers can gather and share a meal – or at least a quick bite. Rohrbaugh says the team was so busy with runs and calls on the particular Sunday morning he was going to take photos of his famous French toast, that everyone ate everything so quickly he had to make a fresh batch just for us.
“The recipe is basic, with a few ingredients that I fiddled with since our new station opened in 2018,” Rohrbaugh says. “Over time I slowly added more sugar, less egg whites, more cream and less milk. It’s changed a few times, but this current recipe gets the most love from my crew. The egg dip is very custard-like since we’re generous with sugar the bread is almost caramelized.”
As far as what everyone else brings to the brunch table, Rohrbaugh jokes that there are hits and misses.
“I think each one of us can cook a decent meal, but we do have a few members with less than great reputations,” he says. “We typically reserve pizza for Saturday night, but if dinner was a bust (on any other day of the week) we aren’t above ordering a few. As long as the cook for the day cares about what they’re making, it will turn out okay.”
Recipe
Fire House French Toast
Recipe courtesy of firefighter and paramedic Thurman Rohrbaugh
Ingredients
- Brioche bread or Sara Lee white bread; 8-12 slices
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. salt
Directions
- Blend eggs, milk and cream. Then add the dry ingredients, whisk until evenly mixed. Pour the mixture into a shallow dish or cake pan.
- Preheat a griddle or skillet to medium heat and oil with butter.
- Dip each slice of bread on both sides in the egg/milk mixture.
- Cook on both sides for a few minutes until golden and appear caramelized.
- Serve with your choice of fresh fruit, whipped cream, butter and/or syrup.
Mallory Arnold is an editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
