There's pannetone and then there's pannetone LOL. We went to Boston at the end of November and stayed in the North End (swoon...Little Italy). One of the outings we took was a culinary walking tour (Michelle Topor) which included stopping at a salumeria, bakery, coffee purveyor, liquor store and produce market. At one of the stops we were introduced to an imported pannetone that cost a small fortune, but mama mia! Heaven! Although I admit my pannetone is excellent, it wasn't as good as this one. I think the difference is in the raisins. I use golden raisins because that's what is readily available. "Authentic" pannetone uses sultanas, which are raisins that are the product of the Sultana grape, which grows in Turkey. The package was small and cost around $23.00. (She who is on the hunt for sultanas...I will make a pannetone to rival the one in Boston)

Oh yum, I love the stuff and my office staff asks for it regularly, they say it's a cross between flan and french toast. I use homemade bread, usually Grandma's Farmhouse White, which is sweet, dense and eggy anyway, much like challah, I cut about an inch thick because I want egg all the way through. I use all sizes of eggs, because I use whatever I currently have and that the chickens are laying. Even now I don't have hens, I get my eggs from the Amish, and they can vary greatly. I leave out the Cointreau entirely, so I'm sure it would be OK with more, LOL, you can have the part that I leave out of mine! And, just to gild the lily, I always have a shaker of powdered sugar at the ready, although my girls really want "fried apples" to go with it. Just some peeled and sliced baking apples, preferably MacIntosh for us, sauteed in butter and sprinkled with brown sugar when they are nearly done. Hey, it's got fruit and eggs, it's healthy1 (grin) Annie

Ann T, I often eat regular french toast with just butter, no syrup or jam, etc., I think it depends on my mood. Other times I want it covered with homemade peach syrup or something similar. I always make sure the egg mixture soaks all the way through, though, and then I have to cook it long enough that it's not soggy. Thanks, Marilyn, it looks like Paul's description answered my question. I was kind of wondering if the whiter middle part just tasted like bread or if some of the flavor permeated the slice. So, I'm guessing that the chocolate outer part is strong enough in chocolate flavor to allow for the "unsoaked" middle? So, Carol, you just ate yours "dry", no fudge sauce and pecans...? Annie

I love rye bread with cheese melted on top. If I could have a white bread sandwich I would have a grilled cheese with onion tomato and mayonnaise. I just love.the creamy mayonnaisey melty cheese flavour. I won't even spoil it for myself while I'm fantasizing about it by saying that I can't eat the white bread or mayonnaise... Sigh... my taste buds even remember the first time I had a grilled cheese with mayonnaise.