Panettone French Toast

One of our Christmas traditions at our house is to buy a panetonne, the gorgeous Italian bread-that-could-pass-for-cake traditionally served at the holidays. It's sweet, delicious, and usually filled with pieces of candied fruit (the one we got this year is chocolate and figs) Since there's only two of us, we usually can't eat all of it. But last year, I hit upon the idea (and I know it's not my idea alone; nothing new under the sun and all that) of making some of the panettone into French toast.

It's super easy and makes a wonderful Christmas morning breakfast. Here's my recipe for two; be fruitful and multiply if you want to make more.

Panetonne French Toast

Ingredients
4 thick slices panetonne
4 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup milk
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 T sugar
pinch of salt
zest of one lemon
juice of half that same lemon (oranges work equally well, too)
splash of Grand Marnier (Triple Sec would work too and I bet bourbon wouldn't be bad either)

Also:
Butter for pan
Powdered sugar and/or fresh berries for garnish
Maple syrup

Directions
Set a griddle or large pan over medium heat; put a generous pat of butter on the surface. While the

butter is melting whisk together all the ingredients except for the panettone (d'uh). When the butter has melted, dip each piece of panettone in the egg/milk mixture. It will soak it up quickly, so no need to leave it soaking. Take each slice out, shake off excess mixture and lay on griddle or in pan. Let cook approximately 4-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness and how high you have your heat. In other words, just check your slices, when they're golden brown, flip 'em over.

Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and fresh berries if you have them. And yes, I know Sophia Petrillo would tell you that, "If God intended for us to eat like that, He would have handed us our teeth in a bag." But this is for a special occasion and you're not going to have it every morning. Mangia!