Title: Oven-baked nutmeg praline french toast
 Categories: Brunch, Bread, Tried, Favorite
      Yield: 4 Servings
 
      8 sl Italian bread, cut about
           3/4-inch thick
      4 lg Eggs
      1 c  Milk or half-and-half
      2 tb Granulated sugar
      2 tb Orange liqueur
           -or orange juice
    1/2 ts Vanilla extract
    1/2 ts Nutmeg
    1/4 ts Salt
    1/3 c  Butter
    1/2 c  Chopped pecans
    1/4 c  Lt brown sugar,firmly packed
      1 tb Butter, melted
 
   Place bread in single layer in 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Whisk
  together eggs, milk, sugar, liqueur, vanilla, nutmeg and salt. Pour
  over bread, turning once to coat evenly. Refrigerate, covered,
  several hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place 1/3
  cup butter in 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan; place in oven to melt
  butter.
   Remove from oven; tilt pan to coat evenly with butter. Arrange bread
  in single layer in prepared pan. Bake, uncovered, about 25 minutes or
  until firm and golden brown. Meanwhile, combine pecans, brown sugar
  and 1 tablespoon butter in small bowl. Sprinkle over baked french
  toast. Broil, about 5 inches from heat, watching carefully, about 1
  minute or until topping begins to bubble.
  
   Variation: Omit praline topping (made with pecans, brown sugar and
  the 1 tablespoon melted butter). Bake french toast as directed, but
  carefully turn bread halfway through baking time. Do not broil.
  
   NOTE: Other toppings include softened cream cheese combined with
  maple syrup, sweetened whipped cream or butter with fruit preserves.
  
   Yield: 8 slices Serving: 2 slice Nutritional Information
                      per serving Calories 310 Total Fat 17 g Total
  Carbohydrates       30 g Protein 7 g Vitamin A 10 %DV Calcium 65 mg
  
  >From the recipe files of suzy@gannett.infi.net