Pain Perdu by way of Bananas Foster

Ingredients

Pain Perdu

• 2
  
  slices stale French (or other–see above) bread
  
• 1/4
  
  cup whole milk (or half-and-half or cream)
  
• 1
  
  egg yolk
  
• 1
  
  teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1
  
  tiny pinch of salt
  
• 1
  
  teaspoon honey
  
• 1
  
  tablespoon butter
  

Banana-Pecan Sauce

• 1
  
  tablespoon butter
  
• 1/2
  
  banana, sliced into rounds
  
• 1
  
  tablespoon brown sugar
  
• 2-3
  
  tablespoons water or dark rum–or a mixture of both
  
• 1
  
  pinch of kosher salt
  
• 1/4
  
  cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
  
• 
  
  a sprinkle (or shower) of fresh nutmeg
  

Directions

Pain Perdu

1. Whisk together milk, egg yolk, vanilla extract, salt and honey until completely blended.
2. Let bread soak in custard, turning it and pressing down on it as necessary, so that as much of the custard as possible is absorbed by the bread.
3. Preheat oven to 300. Heat butter in small skillet until sizzling. Brown the bread well on both sides. (Do not wash the skillet.) Place bread in a baking dish (or the dish in which you will serve the pain perdu if it’s oven proof) and place into the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes–until bread is cooked through and slightly puffy.

Banana-Pecan Sauce

1. Add a tablespoon of butter to the lovely browned butter that is left in the skillet after browning the bread. Briefly saute (over low-medium heat) the banana slices so that they are coated with browned butter. Sprinkle over the brown sugar, salt and pour in the water or rum. Raise heat slightly, and stir, being careful not to mush up the bananas, until the sauce reduces and becomes syrupy.
2. Remove bread from oven, Spoon bananas over bread, and pour over remaining sauce. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and shower with freshly grated nutmeg.
3. Laissez les Bons Temps Roulez!