FRENCH TOAST BREAD PUDDING

Can you imagine - there is a way to legitimately eat bread pudding for breakfast!

Bon Appetit's French Toast Bread Pudding might even be enough to get me out of bed on a Saturday morning! The recipe was so tantalizing that I immediately jotted it down and made it on a lovely Saturday morning while visiting my mom. It was perfect with our first, and second, pots of coffee. Of course, I had to play with the recipe and ended up modifying it quite a bit.

FRENCH TOAST BREAD PUDDING

1 large loaf of French bread with crusts,
torn into 3/4-inch pieces
3 eggs
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of coconut milk
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp grated or ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon (preferrably saigon cinnamon)
1/2 cup of chopped and toasted pecans
1 banana, cut lengthwise
2 Tbsp of brown sugar

1. Butter an 11X7X2 - inch glass dish.
2. Put bread in dish.
3. Whisk together eggs, milks, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pecans to blend. Pour over bread and lightly press down bread to moisten.
4. Cover with foil and chill at least an hour.
5. Place in a cold over. Set to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove foil. Place banana pieces on top and sprinkle with brown sugar.
7. Return to oven uncovered and back until the pudding is puffed and golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
8. Serve fresh from the oven with warm Karo or maple syrup.