French Bread Pudding with Spiced Pears

When I asked Joel for a favorite recipe, he thought about it for about 1/2 a second and gave me this one. He says it’s to die for!!!

ingredients

French Toast

1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 loaf (1 pound) cinnamon bread, challah, brioche or any soft egg-enriched bread.
6 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Spiced Pears

1
The night before make french toast pudding.
2
Smear butter over the bottom and sides of a 13x9 baking dish. Tear bread into small pieces and scatter in the baking dish.
3
In small bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light then add the milk and vanilla and whisk well. Pour over the bread evenly. Tamp down the bread with a spatula to submerge each piece in the egg mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
4
The next morning, put cold dish into a cold oven with the foil still on. Turn oven on to 350° and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes or so.
5
In the meantime, prepare the spiced pears. Melt the butter in a wide frying pan, add the pears. Stir until pears are coated well with butter then sprinkle sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of fresh nutmeg. Cook about 3 minutes until the pears begin to soften. Pour in 1/3 cup of maple syrup, cook until bubbly, remove from heat.
6
To serve, spoon the bread pudding onto plates and top with spiced pears. Pass additional syrup at the table.