Dawn Pia– Serves 4

My mother, the original Anney, spent over 38 years living in Hawaii. She lived on the Big Island, home of the Kilauea and Mauna Kea Volcanoes. Each year, my daughter Annie and I would visit her for vacation. Our days were filled with visits to the local beaches, swimming in crystal blue water, reading books about adventures with Stephanie Plum, and eating delicious food at local restaurants.

It was during one of our annual trips that I created Mauna Kea French Toast. On the base of sourdough French toast sits just the right amount of bananas. You get to decide what the ‘right amount’ looks like. A sprinkle of powdered sugar shows off the snow-capped mountain of Mauna Kea. It’s all topped off with raspberry syrup to replicate the molten magma that pours, to this day, from the Kilauea. It was a favorite for Andulka (meaning Little Annie), my daughter, and she continues to make it into adulthood.

Ingredients

• 4      Whole Eggs
• 2      Egg Yolk
• ½ C  Half-and-half, or milk
• ¼ C   Greek Yogurt
• 2 T   Vanilla extract
• 1 t    Ground cinnamon
• ¼ t   Nutmeg
•          Pinch of salt
• 4 slices Sourdough bread, preferably day old
• 4T    Butter
• Raspberry syrup, for serving
• 2      Bananas
• ¼ C   Powder Sugar

Directions

• Whisk together eggs, Yogurt, cream/milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.


• Place bread in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold bread slices in a single layer. Pour egg mixture over bread; soak for 2 minutes. Turn slices over; soak until soaked through, about 2 minutes more.


• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet, and set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook half the bread slices until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack; place in the oven while cooking remaining bread. Wipe skillet, and repeat with remaining butter and bread. Keep in the oven until ready to serve.
• Place toast onto a platter and slice bananas onto top of the bread slices, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and then drizzle with warm raspberry syrup.