Served as dessert. Vegetarian dish.

1 loaf French Bread

1 quart Half-and-half

2 Tablespoons Butter, room temperature

3 Eggs

1 1/2 cups Sugar

2 tablespoons Almond Extract

3/4 cup golden Raisins (optional)

3/4 cup sliced Almonds (optional)

AMARETTO SAUCE

1/2 cup Butter, room temperature

1 cup powdered Sugar

1 Egg, well beaten

1/4 cup Amaretto Liqueur

Cook's note: When not using the Amaretto sauce, add 4 tablespoons of Amaretto liqueur to the bread mixture. Preliminaries: Break the bread into small pieces and place in a medium bowl. Cover with the half-and-half. Cover the bowl and let stand for 1 hour. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with the butter. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl beat together the eggs, sugar, and almond extract. Stir the mixture into the bread and milk. Gently fold in the raisins and almonds, if desired. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared dish. Bake 50 minutes, until golden. Remove and cool. Sauce: In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, combine butter and sugar. Stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is very hot. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg. Continue whisking untiln the sauce has come to room temperature. Add the liqueur.

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 1 1/4 hours

Serves: 6-8

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