Christmas Breakfast: Baked French Toast Casserole

It’s Tuesday and I only have 2 more work days until my own personal Christmas Vacation! I am so excited for the holidays. Last night I left Shaun at home and met up with Lindsey (of Two Girls, Two Pies) for a little ladies night to celebrate her newly engagedness! We did a little shopping on Fifth Avenue and then had a low key dinner at Chat ‘n Chew at Union Square, complete with macaroni & cheese and red wine. Perfection, no?

L and me, circa 2007

It’s no secret that I love breakfast (Don’t believe me? See this, this and this.). While Shaun is of the savory mind (read: he only likes eggs for breakfast), I don’t mind getting a little sweet. And since Christmas just isn’t decadent enough on it’s own, I felt it necessary to introduce a Christmas morning breakfast tradition a few years back (you know, in addition to all of the cookies). It’s the one time of year that I can justify this absolute glutton of a dish. It’s a baked French toast casserole, inspired by the Queen of All Things Butter herself, Ms. Paula Deen. After the first year that I made this dish, a bonafide Christmas morning tradition was born.

Hearty, nutty, sweet, it’s everything a good French toast should be. It’s moist but not too eggy. The buttery topping is rich, but hey, it’s Christmas. Am I right or am I right? This is all not even to mention that since you prepare it the night before and pop it into the oven to bake on Christmas morning makes it a snap to put together on the big day. You know, so you don’t miss a second of present giving and opening.

Baked French Toast Casserole with Praline Topping
*Adapted from Paula Deen
For the casserole:
1 loaf French bread, sliced
2 C half and half
1 C milk
8 large eggs
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
Butter, for baking dish
For the praline topping:
2 sticks butter, softened
1 C light brown sugar (I used Splenda blend)
1 C chopped pecans
2 tbsp light corn syrup
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg

In a 13x9 inch buttered baking dish, layer the slices of French bread until the entire pan is filled. (Note: For this version, I used a combo of French bread and special bread that my mom and dad eat - it works just as well).

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, half and half, eggs, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Whisk altogether, breaking up the eggs and incorporating the entire mixture together. Pour all over the bread, making sure to get it in between the slices.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, quickly make the topping. You can also make it the night before, but it may be cold and more difficult to spread over the casserole. Mix together the butter, brown sugar, pecans, corn syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. I threw it altogether in a stand mixer, but if the butter is soft enough it can easily be done by hand. Spread all over the top of the casserole. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve, enjoy and smile because it’s Christmas!

Though it’s so not necessary, I serve mine along with some real maple syrup. Why stop at cream, eggs and carbs?

So there you have it. A little peak at one of our Christmas traditions. Now tell me some of yours! What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

Five Minute Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal + Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Lucini Italia prize pack giveaway is...

Barbara Peters, who says her favorite Italian dish is Pizza! Congrats Barbara! Please send me an email at theavidappetite@gmail.com with your address and your pack of gourmet Italian goodies will be sent to you! And thanks to everyone who entered! Stay tuned next week for another great giveaway!

Meanwhile, I've been cooking up quite the fabulous breakfast this week.

After continuing to hit the gym 4 out of 5 weekday mornings this week (a new record for me, for sure), I realized that it's imperative to have a delicious and filling breakfast following a workout sesh. Though I whipped up some breakfast quinoa last week, when my supply ran low, it was time to ravage the pantry in search of an appropriate breakfast ingredient. And when I came across a large container of quick oats that I had purchased many moons ago to make monster cookies, I knew I'd found the makings of a quick and easy dish. (oh, and bonus that it wasn't set to expire until December!).

Five Minute Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal
1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk, or milk of your choice
½ C quick oats
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon
Swirl of maple syrup (this is obviously a technical unit of measure)

In a saucepan, bring the milk and salt to a boil. Add the oats and cook on medium heat for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Pour into a bowl, add cinnamon and syrup to taste and enjoy immediately. 

Note: the oats continue to absorb the milk even after you’ve taken it off the heat. If it gets to dry, mix in another splash of milk.

So there you have it, a super easy, filling and healthy breakfast, perfect for those post-gym days! The vanilla almond milk gives just a bit of sweetness and a whole lot of added flavor and the texture is more sophisticated than one of those instant packets.

So what do you think? How do you do quick and healthy breakfast? Please share since I'm always looking for new ideas!

Vanilla Cinnamon Quinoa

Today is a big day for me. I went to the gym for Day 3. I consider this a bigger accomplishment than Day 1 or Day 2. It's harder to stay motivated when you're sore and tired. And I have a confession. I hadn’t been to the gym or done any workout whatsoever (unless you count walking around Manhattan in search of food) since our vacation in Aruba. And we know that that was a fruitless endeavor since I spent the week eating cheesy, ham-filled bagels and giant slices of red velvet layer cake. Mmmm...cake.

Sure, I generally try to counterbalance my unflinching palette which is easily distracted by Belgian fries, shortcakes, pizza dip and carrot cake, with dinners like fish tacos or substituting thick and calorie-filled bread with deli flats. But in my experience the only way to truly counteract the pounds from packing on is to get my butt moving at the gym. It’s not pretty. It doesn’t seem to get easier to motivate myself to go. In general, I hate it. But it’s a necessary evil. The good news, though, is that my reward after the gym is a healthy, filling and delicious breakfast.

And since my famous scrambled eggs are unlikely to survive my morning commute, I turned to a new, protein-packed breakfast that would travel well and cook up as I get ready for work. The answer? Quinoa. If you recall, I first sampled quinoa in my provolone stuffed chicken with pesto article and it occurred to me that this versatile item could easily be made sweeter and less savory, essentially as a fun change up from your standard oatmeal.

So instead of cooking my quinoa in chicken broth, I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Dressed up with some cinnamon and vanilla, this breakfast is hearty, filling and tasty to boot.

Vanilla Cinnamon Quinoa
2 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk of your choice, I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, plus more for adding on top
1 C dry quinoa, I used the organic variety
brown sugar to taste, I used brown sugar Splenda rather than the real thing which I could eat by the spoonful
vanilla extract, just a splash to taste
cinnamon, sprinkled on top
chopped figs, or fruit of your choice (berries would also be great!)

In a mesh strainer, thoroughly - and I mean thoroughly - rinse your quinoa.

Meanwhile, bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the quinoa and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat to simmer. Though the original recipe that I referenced suggested covering the saucepan at this point, I recommend against this unless you want a reappearance of the Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man all over your stove. Take it from those with experience (ahem, me). Now I have a pile of sticky scalded almond milk all over my beautiful new stove. Bah. Anyhow, the quinoa will absorb most of the liquid in about 10 minutes or so. Once it has, stir in brown sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon to taste.

Top with fruit if ya like and enjoy!

So what do you think? Have you ever had quinoa for breakfast? What delicious eats do you start the day with?