Inaugural Pecan Praline French Toast Casserole

A chilly, but very exciting weekend here in DC. To celebrate the Inaugural Weekend, we indulged in a few eats... In particular, we decided to cook up a belly-warming breakfast of french toast casserole topped with pecan pralines and a side of turkey sausage. Yum. In order to serve only a few people, we cut Paula Deen's recipe in half (but went full force with the pecan praline topping!). Even if you are going to go with a half recipe, I would suggest using about 3/4 of the "liquids" on the bread -- the half version was a little bit dry, but still delicious! (Her recipe also suggests a raspberry syrup, but we thought this was sweet and tasty enough as is):

Pecan Praline French Toast Casserole (Below is the half version):

Ingredients:

10 slices of French bread (cut from a loaf)

Butter, for pan

4 large eggs

1 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash salt

1) Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs).

2) Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

3) In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly.

4) Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices.

5) Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

6) The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

7) Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.

Praline Topping:

Ingredients:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above.

Eat hot and enjoy!!