The Old Garden Inn
Bed and Breakfast Inn

Newnan, Georgia

Specialty Recipe

Sourdough Pecan French Toast
with Burnt Pecan and Rum Sauce

Ingredients - Sauce:

Cane syrup

Molasses

Dark corn syrup

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon maple flavoring

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Dash of salt

1 Tablespoon dark rum

1/2 cup toasted pecans

Ingredients - Egg Dip:

5 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Dash of cinnamon

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

Crusty sourdough French bread, slices

Ingredients - Pecan Cream:

8 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup pecans

1/2 cup whipped cream

Sauce: Blend at least three dark syrups in a heavy bottom sauce pan. I prefer cane syrup, molasses, and dark corn syrup. To always have a supply in the refrigerator, I suggest a cup of each. On a low to medium fire, add vanilla, maple flavoring, and butter. Add a dash of salt and, if available at your gourmet market, a few Tablespoons of vanilla or hazelnut syrup. Once everything is heated thoroughly, add rum and toasted pecans. (Toast chopped pecans in the oven at 375 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes.) Set sauce aside away from burner.

Egg Dip: Whisk eggs together with vanilla, cinnamon, and heavy cream. Place diagonally sliced French bread slices in flat pan and pour egg mixture over bread slices. Let soak on one side of bread for at least 10 minutes in refrigerator and then turn bread over to soak another 10 minutes.

Pecan Cream: Cream together cream cheese with sugar and pecans. Add whipped cream to food processor or mixer to soften mixture. If still too stiff to pull away from bowl, soften with heavy cream. Use only enough to slightly soften mixture. Chill mixture until assembly.

While preparing all the components of this dish, I heat my Teflon-coated grill very slowly. 3 to 5 minutes before grilling bread, I turn the flame to medium. Right before grilling, I spray the grill with non-stick spray and then, as I put the bread on the grill, I add a small amount of unsalted butter to crisp up the bread.

I use pretty opaque dishes that reflect the sauce on the plate. I begin by putting a small amount of sauce in the bottom of the plate. Next, I place 1/2 of a piece slightly off center and place the other half catty-cornered off the first half. I then place a nice rounded teaspoonful of the Pecan Cream off the side of the toast and a dollop of whipped cream on the other. Lightly dust dish with powdered sugar before garnishing. The dish is garnished with more toasted pecans and an edible flower.

Serves: 4 to 6

• You found this recipe on 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook. (www.virtualcities.com)