There's no better breakfast than "la tartine."

It's simple and perfect. A slice of baguette with some jam spread across it. A giant bowl of cafe au lait or, my favorite, hot chocolate accompanies it.

I developed a taste for it in France where I spent some time as a child. The summer I turned 13, I probably ate it daily for breakfast before a morning of French classes and afternoons exploring Paris. It's like Scotch tape and Christmas. I can't taste or smell, in the case of the tape, one without thinking of the other.

La tartine is best when the jam is slathered on thick and the bread gets dunked in the hot chocolate. I let the bread get soggy enough that a bit of hot chocolate might drip down my chin. And the jam, strawberry is best, is piled so high it might reach my nose.

It disgusts my husband. OK, he claims, it doesn't disgust him. It just raises an interesting parenting dilemma.

Here we've been teaching our daughter that it's not OK to dunk a hand, fork, lettuce, ravioli, taco in your milk. How can we now tell her it's OK to dunk and dip - but only sometimes, if it's breakfast and there is bread, jam and milk involved?

She's already got so much on her mind, he says (he's half joking). Should we pile on these exceptions, these new rules?

I say yes. And, despite his concerns, I believe I'm winning this argument. If only because she loves la tartine just as I do.

"Can I dip," she'll look at me, her bread covered with jam and her little cup with milk waiting.

I grin and nod.

"Oh yes you can."

And since I like to share recipes, here is one for my second favorite breakfast of all time: French toast from the Cook's Illustrated's "The New Best Recipe." This is what I ate Sunday morning.

I grew up with eggy French toast made on sandwich bread, maybe sprinkled with a little cinnamon. I like that version, but this is about a million times better. With sugar and vanilla, it's sweet enough to not need syrup, though I still pour it on. Best with challah bread.

1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 to 5 slices of day-old challah, 3/4 inch think or 6 to 8 slices of day-old, high-quality sandwich bread
Unsalted butter for frying

1. Heat a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium heat for five minutes. Beat the egg lightly in a shallow pan or pie plate. Whisk in the melted butter, then the milk and vanilla, and finally the sugar, flour and salt, continuing to whisk until smooth. Soak the bread without oversaturating, about 40 seconds per side for challah or 30 seconds per side for sandwich bread. Pick up the bread and allow the excess batter to drip off. Repeat with remaining slices.

2. Swirl 1 tablespoon butter in the hot skillet. Transfer the prepared bread to the skillet in a single layer. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute 45 seconds on the first side and 1 minute on the second. Serve immediately.

We usually go through about half a loaf of challah for one batch and freeze the other half for another morning.

Every Wednesday, a rotating group of moms write about what they're eating and what their kids are eating.

Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:

MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!

WEEKEND: Relax!