Roses are red, violets are blue, i love french toast, how about you??

My mom got me some of the MOST AMAZING Italian Panettone (a type of bread) from Eataly, which is a delicious Italian cafe with a true Italian market in the back (quite expansive, actually).  Anyway, she had it shipped to me in Chapel Hill all the way from NYC for Valentine's Day!

House-made bread is a specialty at Eataly.

The Panettone was more than Miss A and I could handle and mom recommended making French Toast with it -- so we did.

It came beautifully wrapped!

And looks like this when you unwrap it... ours was HUGE!

This is honestly the simplest breakfast recipe I've ever followed - besides just popping something in the microwave.  I had always been intimidated by the thought of making french toast (mainly because I had no idea how you made it), but I recommend this to even the most basic of cooks!

EASY EATALY BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients:

The Eataly Panettone... mmmmm

6 1/2in-thick slices of toast of your choice (French bread is great, or sunflower seed bread)
1/2 cup skim milk
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of ground nutmeg
brown sugar and maple syrup (to taste)

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
- Combine milk, egg whites, vanilla, and nutmeg in a shallow bowl and beat.
- Dip the bread in the mixture, coating both sides.
- Spray a baking sheet/dish with vegetable cooking spray and place bread in a single layer
- Sprinkle brown sugar on top
- Bake for 10-12 minutes (or until lightly browned)
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar on top for a diner-worthy look!

Yum yum eat-em-up!

Next time I want to try variations, including: bananas, berries, pecans, etc!

...all images borrowed from the Eataly website, unless otherwise noted