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["Lightly toast the pecan halves in a cast iron skillet and set aside to cool.", "Once cooled, coarsely chop.", "Using a serrated bread knife, slice up the challah bread lengthwise, then cut the pieces crosswise into 3/4"" slices.", "The bread should be slightly dried but not stale.", "In a large bowl combine the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt.", "Blend with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.", "(You could also blend the egg mixture in a stand up blender.", ").", "Heat up an equal amount of oil and butter (about 2 tablespoons total) in a large heavy pan or non-stick pan on medium heat.", "Once the butter just starts to sizzle, begin dipping the slices of bread quickly in the egg mixture.", "Do not allow the slices to soak!", "Add the bread to the pan, but do not crowd.", "Cook on each side about 1 1/2-2 minutes or until golden brown.", "Add more oil/butter if necessary to faciliate browning.", "*NOTE: Because of the high sugar content in this recipe, watch the pan carefully so that the French toast does not burn!", "Once cooked, place the French toast on a warming tray and repeat the process until all the bread is cooked.", "Transfer the French toast to a large serving platter, garnish with the pecan halves and sprinkle with powdered sugar.", "Dot with butter.", "Serve with slices of fresh seasonal fruit if you wish.", "Serve the warmed maple syrup on the side.", "If you wish, you can serve two types of maple syrup: regular maple syrup and maple syrup with rum stirred in (about 1 tablespoon for each cup of syrup).", "Yield is estimated."]
