Everyone loves brunch on the weekend--especially, it seems, in Brooklyn.  Here, if you're not out the door by 11, be prepared for a 2+ hour brunch wait.  Ahh, there's nothing like staring through the restaurant window at people slowly savoring their food, while you're outside, nearly fainting from hunger!  This is a scenario we desperately try to avoid.

Luckily, no matter how late I stay up the night before, I'm always awake by 9:30, because (if you haven't guessed this by now) my stomach dictates my life.  If we're not devouring Justin's chocolate chip pancakes with coffee and the Sunday Times, we're usually either at Rosewater or Juventino.

This weekend we stayed in for brunch both days.  We ate pancakes on Saturday and french toast on Sunday morning.  And not just any old french toast--baked brioche french toast.

I've saved this recipe for over a year.  I can only assume I waited so long because we go out to brunch so frequently.  There's really no other excuse!  After this weekend, we have a rival for the pancake Saturdays--now our question when we wake up has become:  pancakes, out to brunch, or baked french toast?  (Clearly, these decisions are so difficult that I should just bury my head under the covers and go back to sleep.)

I prepped the french toast on Saturday night, allowing the brioche to soak overnight in egg, milk, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and nutmeg (I never said this meal was particularly healthy--just really, really delicious).  The next morning, I sprinkled pecans and sugar on top and baked it for under an hour.  We then dug in.  The french toast is especially good when topped with a drizzle of maple syrup.  This coming weekend, make your own difficult weekend decision:  out to eat, french toast, or?  Do you have a regular at-home brunch dish? Please share in the comments!