French Toast Casserole
I made this for visiting Hiram friends as sort of a pre-emptive apology for making them walk until their feet fell off. Walk uphill, that is. In the rain. With heavy books. From coffee shop to coffee shop. It's the quintessential Seattle experience.
schroederjt and Cathryn have blogged the weekend's adventures quite nicely.
This recipe is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I just love that nerdy guy with the apron.
French Toast Casserole
Casserole:
1 16-oz. loaf French or Italian bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
8 large eggs
2 cups whole milk - no substitutions
2 cups half-and-half
1 T sugar
2 t vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
Topping:
12 T unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
3 T corn syrup
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Adjust two oven racks to the upper and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Arrange the bread in a single layer on two baking sheets. Bake until dry and lightly golden, about 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Allow the bread to cool.
Butter a 9 by 13 baking dish. Layer the baked bread tightly in the dish (it says you should have 2 layers, but I had 2 1/2). Whisk together the eggs, milk, half-and-half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg and pour evenly over the bread. Press lightly on the bread to submerge. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together until smooth, then stir in the pecans.
Spoon the topping over the casserole, then spread it in an even layer. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet (very important! it's poofy!) and bake until golden, about 60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, or as long as you can stand it, before serving.
schroederjt and Cathryn have blogged the weekend's adventures quite nicely.
This recipe is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I just love that nerdy guy with the apron.
French Toast Casserole
Casserole:
1 16-oz. loaf French or Italian bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
8 large eggs
2 cups whole milk - no substitutions
2 cups half-and-half
1 T sugar
2 t vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
Topping:
12 T unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
3 T corn syrup
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Adjust two oven racks to the upper and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Arrange the bread in a single layer on two baking sheets. Bake until dry and lightly golden, about 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Allow the bread to cool.
Butter a 9 by 13 baking dish. Layer the baked bread tightly in the dish (it says you should have 2 layers, but I had 2 1/2). Whisk together the eggs, milk, half-and-half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg and pour evenly over the bread. Press lightly on the bread to submerge. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together until smooth, then stir in the pecans.
Spoon the topping over the casserole, then spread it in an even layer. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet (very important! it's poofy!) and bake until golden, about 60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, or as long as you can stand it, before serving.