Saturday, December 10, 2011

Holiday Brunch

Our good friends from grad school are moving away in a couple of weeks so we had them over for a "goodbye brunch" this weekend.  I had thought about doing pancakes and a souffle, but seriously that is too labor intensive for something casual.  Plus we are going Christmas tree cutting afterward, so I wanted something relatively easy.

A couple of years ago little j and I had brunch with Aunts A & S, and they made this amazing french toast custard.  Yum!  I changed it up a little bit in honor of the season and made it with eggnog and then made an cranberry-apple compote.  It was the perfect combination of sweet and tart.  This is a keeper and would also be perfect for Christmas morning.

That Girl's Eggnog French Toast Custard

1 large loaf white bread (french or italian works great, but the crust should not be too crusty)
4 cups eggnog
4 eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350°

Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes.

In a large bowl, mix eggnog, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.

Butter a 9"x13" pan.  Put bread cubes in pan and pour the eggnog mixture over.  Push down lightly to make sure all bread is soaked in the eggnog.

Bake for about an hour.  Check halfway through and lay a piece of foil over the top if it is getting too brown.  A skewer inserted in the center should come out clean if it is done. 

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