Maryana Vollstedt, author of The Big Book of Breakfast: Serious Comfort Food for Any Time of the Day suggests serving this recipe with another from the book: Oven-Baked Pepper Bacon.
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
8 slices (1 inch thick) day-old French bread
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with brown sugar. Add syrup and stir constantly until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in nuts. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange bread on top in one layer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well blended. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Bring dish to room temperature before baking.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake, uncovered, until golden on top and crispy around the edges, 50 to 55 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes. To serve, remove each slice with a spatula and invert onto a plate. Makes 8 slices
©Maryana Vollstedt, Chronicle Books