Caramel Apple Upside-down French Toast

I've decided to come out of the pantry, and declare my food hobby. Ever since I was a kid, I remember coming up with food concoctions. By concoctions, I mostly mean milkshakes and sandwiches. For the most part, as far as I remember, my creations were edible. (NOTE: Bologna and sprouts, seasoned with a little ketchup, between two slices of bread does NOT translate into a tasty sandwich.) Nowadays, I would love to come up with an extravagant meal for the family, but am often content to simply whip up something quick and tasty to satisfy me. Good food has always interested me, though, and thanks to the wonders of cable television, I now have access to the Food Network. I shamefully must admit that other than Jazz games, I probably watch food shows the most. I know I just said I’m usually making something quick and easy, but every once-in-a-while I am possessed by the right combination of ingredients, stamina and desire to create a meal. Recently, I watched a show that gave me this recipe for some fancy French toast. I tried it out on my new cast iron skillet I got for Christmas, and it turned out pretty good.

Follow me, now, on my journey to some ultimate French toast:

First, I made a simple caramel sauce (butter, brown sugar, and cream), and added some dried cranberries and pecans.

I then added a layer of sliced apples, and spinkled on some cinnamon and brown sugar.

The apples were then covered with a couple slices of bread soaked in my french toast batter (ingrediants not revealed) and into the oven to bake.

This is what it looked like after it was done baking.

This was the tricky part. I pressed the skillet against a cookie sheet and then had to do a little whoop-dee-doo (a.k.a. flip the pan over), to get the goodness out of the skillet. Just look at that sweetness. It goes great with a ham and cheese omlet. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this magical mystery tour. Until next time. Adieu.