This is part one of a two-part recipe series we’ll call “Watch Beau Try to Manage a Food Blog during Finals Week of His Last Semester of Undergrad.” I’d like to thank my sponsors - stress and red wine - for making it all possible.

Things you’ll find in this series: delicious food that is super easy - like actually easy, not like when I make a wedding cake and say “oh it’s totally do-able” - you can do this dish in ten minutes with just a handful of ingredients. This series also features simpler photography – no frills and complicated food styling here – just the basics, because sometimes the basics are just fine. And sometimes the basics are a necessity when you’re shooting food and studying for a final and writing a script for a presentation and packing for a three week trip and booking Airbnbs in four different cities and apologizing to your boyfriend for being a nut job and trying to see your mom to say “sorry I won’t be there on Mother's Day, I hope my brothers don’t f*** it up this year.”

Sidenote: I'm writing this post from my cute little kitchen in San Francisco. We're having an incredible time and I'll be posting pictures... eventually!

So, avocado toast.

I first noticed this trend becoming a thing a few months ago, and apparently I was super late to the game. Hipster bars and gourmet markets have been slathering avocado on toast and charging $10 for a while now. Here’s how it works: they toast a piece of bread (!) and then they smash up some avocado (!!) and then they put the avocado on the toast (!!!) and then they ask you for lots of money for it. Look, I’m not saying I totally get it, I’m just saying I’ve got this great new sandwich idea called a PB&J that I think you all might be interested in, I’ll sell the recipe to the highest bidder.

I began researching the origin of avocado toast, because I thought it would be a fun look into how a food becomes a trend. It was a horrible experience. The internet is so dense and scary and to be honest knowing the origin of the avocado toast craze is not worth my sanity. So instead, a recipe. This one's fried because I obviously hate health. Oh and because I saw Joy the Baker frying avocados on Instagram a few weeks ago and I got all kinds of excited. Enjoy!

Fried Avocado Toast (makes 8 - 12 pieces of toast)

How:

Using a pairing knife, slice the avocados in half and remove the pit.
Cut the avocados into slices and set aside.
In a small bowl, toss together the bread crumbs, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.
Carefully toss the avocado slices in the bread crumbs and set aside.
In a medium pot over high heat, melt the oil. You don't need to use exact temperature measurements for this, but test to make sure it's hot enough by sprinkling a few bread crumbs into the oil. If it sizzles immediately, it's hot enough. Monitor heat and lower it if the oil begins smoking.
Place the avocado slices, a few at a time, into the oil. Let fry for about 1 minute on each side until golden brown. Use a fork to flip and remove.
Place the fried slices on a piece of paper towel or cloth to remove excess oil.
Slice the brioche into desired sizes.
In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, melt a small amount of butter and grill the brioche slices in it, about a minute on each side or until golden brown.
Dollop creme fraiche onto the grilled pieces of bread, followed by the avocado slices, sliced tomatoes, dill, and fresh pepper.

What:

1 loaf of brioche
Butter for grilling the bread (I used abut 1/4 stick for the entire loaf, 1/2 stick if I'm being honest)
1/2 cup creme fraiche
3 large avocados
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup coconut oil (you can use olive oil)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
Fresh dill
Salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper as desired