How to Make Italian Christmas Panettone Pain Perdu by Cleo Coyle

A popular breakfast in New Orleans, pain perdu literally means lost or wasted bread. Traditionally it's made with thick slices from a crusty French loaf that's gone stale, but our readers may remember this special version of the dish from our Coffeehouse Mystery Holiday Buzz.

Holiday Buzz:
A Coffeehouse Mystery
 To learn more or buy,
click here.

Our amateur sleuth Clare Cosi cooks it up on Christmas morning for her longtime love interest, NYPD Detective Mike Quinn. Because of her Italian heritage, my husband and I knew Clare would use panettone to make her pain perdu. 

If you've never tried panettone, a slightly sweet Italian yeast bread enjoyed during the Christmas season, look for it in boxes like the one in my photo above. Boxed panettone can keep for months, but once it's out of its wrappings, this delicious bread goes stale fairly quickly. When that happens, simply follow my directions for a festive French toast--either for breakfast or dessert. See both serving ideas in my recipe directions. And...

May you eat with comfort and joy!

☕ ~ Cleo Coyle, author of 

The Coffeehouse Mysteries

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How to Make Christmas Pain Perdu: Italian Fruit Cake French Toast

A popular breakfast in New Orleans, pain perdu literally means lost or wasted bread. Traditionally it's made with thick slices from a crusty French loaf that's gone stale, which tells you where the name originated. If not used this way, the bread would be wasted, lost to crumbs or bird feed.

There are two reasons I chose this recipe for Christmas day. The first is a gift to my readers, many of whom just finished Holiday Buzz. In the book, my amateur sleuth (Clare Cosi) talks about her special plan to cook up this dish on Christmas morning. Although I mentioned the recipe, I didn't publish directions for it.

The second reason I'm sharing this with you today is much more practical. Fruit cake is a customary gift for this Season, so many of you may have it on hand, and pain perdu is a very tasty use for those leftover pieces that might be going stale.

The Italian version of fruit cake is a rich, sweet bread lightly laced with dried fruit called panettone. If you've never had panettone, look for it in boxes like the one in my photo below. Boxed panettone can keep for months but once it's out of its wrappings, this delicious bread goes stale fairly quickly. When that happens, simply follow these directions for a festive French toast.

Merry Christmas, everyone...

Eat with joy to the world!

~ Cleo

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