Vanilla French Toast

• 8 eggs
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tb triple sec
• ½ tsp grated orange zest
• 8 thick slices good-quality brioche bread
• 4 Tb unsalted butter
• Confectioner's sugar
• Pure Maple syrup
• Fresh fruit for garnish

1. In a large shallow bowl, using a fork, beat the eggs until lightly frothy.  Stir in the cream, vanilla, orange zest and triple sec.

2. Place the bread pieces in a bowl.  Turn gently until they are evenly soaked with the bread mixture.

3.  In a large frying pan or griddle over medium heat, melt 1 Tb of the butter.
Add half of the bread pieces and fry until the undersides are golden, about 2 minutes.  Cut 1 Tb of the butter into several pieces and add to the pan.   Flip the bread with a spatula and fry until the second sides are brown about 2 minutes

4. Place on warmed individual plates.  Dust the top with confectioners' sugar. Serve hot with maple syrup.  

5. Garnish with fresh fruit and mint.

About The Stockbridge Inn

The Inn at Stockbridge is located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts - the heart of the Berkshires.  A town described by Norman Rockwell as "the best of America, best of New England." Stockbridge is surrounded with history, celebrity, romance and intrigue. Every season is stamped with its own beauty and charm: the green flower-filled lushness of spring and summer; a fall foliage palette without rival; the winter look of an old fashioned Christmas card. Take a deep breath, inhale the Berkshire mountain air, and slow your pace to match the town's character. A perfect Bed and Breakfast family vacation getaway.  Set back from the road on twelve secluded acres just one mile from downtown Stockbridge and close to the action in Tanglewood Massachusetts is the Inn at Stockbridge. The Inn is a Georgian-style mansion with large white pillars built as a private residence in 1906 and lovingly restored in 1982 as a bed and breakfast.