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	French Toast Serves 4 Alternative Ingredients are listed in Red

	Qty	Size	Ingredient
	4	1½"	Slices Panettone Cake *
	4	1¼"	Slices Challah Bread **
	4	1"	Slices Texas Toast
	8	½"	Slices White Sandwich Bread
	6	lg	Eggs (4 whole, +2 yolks)
	1	cup	Whole Milk
	1	cup	Heavy Cream
	2	tbls	Natural Bee's Honey
	1	tbls	Pure Vanilla Extract (Double Strength)
	1	tsp	Fresh Grated Nutmeg
	¼	tsp	Salt
	4	tbls	Unsalted Butter
	Unwrap the Panettone cake completely.  Trim the dark bottom from the cake and then make four slices at least 1½" thick and dry then out in the oven***.  Wrap the rest of the Panettone up in cellophane and refrigerate to be used later. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, honey, vanilla, nutmeg and salt.  Poor the custard mixture into a pie pan, or any other vessel that isn't much bigger than the bread slice, and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375º (in convection mode if you have one).  Place cooling rack(s) on a cookie sheet and set aside.  Dip bread into mixture, allowing to soak for 30 seconds on each side, then place on the cooling rack to drain (and soak further).  Allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes before cooking. Over medium heat (about 325º if you have an Infrared Thermometer) melt 1 tablespoon (half a pat) of butter in a 10-12" nonstick saute pan or flat pan or griddle.  Place as many slices of bread at a time as will lie flat in the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes each side.  Remove to cooling rack and repeat for the rest of the slices, wasting no time between batches.  (For best results, wipe cook surface with paper towel before applying new pat of butter using a pastry or grill brush. As soon as all the slices have been sautéed/grilled, place them directly on center oven rack and bake for 5 additional minutes (per ½" thickness of the bread). Serve hot, directly from oven, sprinkled with sifted powdered sugar, and/or maple syrup and/or fruit and/or whipped cream. A dollop of whipped cream or even ice cream would turn it into a desert, however, Mascarpone Cheese is the traditional topping for Panettone. Enjoy. * Panettone is actually cake.  Therefore it needs additional thickness to stand up to handling, both once soaked as well as after it's cooked. ** Challah bread is also a little fragile because of the "corners" of all the braid puffs, as well as the fact that challah is an egg bread. *** We DO NOT want "stale" bread.  Laying bread out on a counter until "dry" does not dry out bread.  When bread dries out slowly it will lose a little moisture, but a lot of the moisture combines with oxygen and the starch to form crystals.  These crystals will dissolve and release their moisture when exposed to additional liquid, like milk or eggs (custard).  That's why high protein breads get soggy and deteriorate.  So rather than just setting the bread out to dry, place in 175º convection oven, turning at least once, until thoroughly dry (about 30 min).  With the addition of heat the moisture and starch don't have time to form crystals and a lot more moisture actually leaves the bread and more custard will be absorbed by the bread.