Thursday Recipe

This week it's breakfast. Who doesn't want something warm and toasty on a cold winter's morning? This is a baked french toast that I make when we do breakfast at the office. The prep is easy and you can set it the night before and leave it in the fridge. Just pop the pan in the oven in the morning. Voila!

Ingredients

Butter for greasing baking dish
3 cups half-and-half or whole milk
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
12 (3/4-inch-thick) diagonally cut baguette slices from a day-old baguette

Accompaniment: maple syrup, confectioners sugar, or jam

Directions

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Generously butter a 13- by 9-inch baking dish.

Whisk together half-and-half, eggs, vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Arrange baguette slices in 1 layer in dish and pour custard over bread. Turn bread slices over once or twice to coat and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining tablespoon sugar and bake until custard is set and top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

**Notes - obviously I don't need to tell you all not to preheat the oven if you are going to refrigerate overnight, but wanted to throw it in there just in case