The Foodie Files

I made dinner for the gentleman of Dismas House this evening and we had such a wonderful time sharing a meal together (in fact, if you're in Nashville and looking for a place to get involved might I suggest giving their website a once over).  Since Davey works there, I had him ask around for meal requests over the course of the last week…when breakfast for dinner came out on top across the board I got straight to organizing my menu.  The centerpiece for the meal ended up being a really tasty Baked French Toast.  I found the recipe here and was delighted with how easy but scrumptious it ended up being.  

1 loaf of french bread
8 eggs
2 cups whole milks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBS vanilla extract

1 TBS Butter, For Greasing

For the topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
Syrup

Grease a large baking pan with butter.  Cut bread into cubes and evenly distribute them in the pan. Crack eggs in a big bowl and whisk together with milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.

Pour evenly over the bread.  Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight is ideal).

For the topping, mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Stir together using a fork. Add the butter and with a pastry cutter, and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.

When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour-plus or more for a firmer, crisper texture.

Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with warm pancake syrup and sprinkle with blueberries.