Is This the Best Breakfast in All the Land?

— -- For hard-core Bed & Breakfast lovers, the second “B” is just as important as the first.

And apparently, French toast reigns supreme when it comes to being the top banana at the breakfast table.

Bananas Foster-Style Banana Pecan Stuffed French Toast from Weller Haus in Bellevue, Kentucky, beat Citrus-Berry Breakfast Pizza from Cedar Crest Lodge in Pleasanton, Kansas, to win the top spot in the fifth annual BedandBreakfast.com Best B&B Breakfast Tournament.(Disclosure, I was a judge. My top pick was the New England Johnny Cod Cakes at Inn at Pleasant Lake in New London, New Hampshire).

Rounding out the four finalists are Sweet Georgia Peach, Blueberry and Moonshine Flambé Over a Short Stack of Johnny Cakes by Open Gates Bed & Breakfast in Darien, Georgia, and Sausage Waffles with Blueberry Sauce by last year's winner, Farmers Guest House in Galena, Illinois.

“The Banana Pecan Stuffed French Toast is the most requested item on our menu of nine entrees because I think our guests’ ‘sweet tooth’ kicks in when they stay here,” says Leanne Saylor, innkeeper at Weller Haus. “We were looking for a way to kick it up a notch so we added spiced rum and turned it into a Bananas Foster-style breakfast.”

If your travels don’t have you headed to Bellevue in the near future, the inn shares its recipe here:

Breakfast-Brunch

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 Loaf of French Bread

• 2 Large Eggs

• 1/3 Cup Milk

• 2 Bananas

• 1 /2 Cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 Cup chopped pecans

• 1 tsp. Vanilla--preferably Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla

• 1 Tbsp.Cinnamon (or to taste)

• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg (or to taste)

• 2 Tbsp. butter

• 1/3 cup Captain Morgans Spiced Rum

• 4 mini food -grade transfer pipettes

• Whipped Cream

• Powdered Sugar

1. Slice 1 and 1/2 of the bananas, place in a small bowl and pour 1/4 cup of the rum over the bananas. Reserve additional bananas for garnish

2. Cut off one end of the french bread and discard.

3. Cut the first slice of french bread 3/4" thick but only cut 2/3 way through the loaf. Make the next slice 3/4" thick but cut all the way through. You will repeat this process three more times and end up with four slices of french bread each with a pocket in the center.

4. Combine the brown sugar and pecans, mixing thoroughly by hand.

5. In each of the pockets, place a layer of the brown sugar/pecan mix. Reserve 1/2 of the mix as you will need for the final layer.

6. . Remove bananas from rum, place on a paper towel to absorb excess liquid.

7. In a separate baking dish, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk until completely mixed.

8. Place the 2 tbsp. butter on a preheated 300 F griddle.

9. Once the butter foams, dip each side of the bread into the egg mixture and place on griddle.

10. While bread is browning, prepare the food-safe mini pipettes. Using the 1.5 tsp. remaining rum, place the small end of the tube into the liquid, squeeze the bulb end to suction the rum into the pipette.

11. When the french toast is browned to your preference, approx 2 minutes each side, remove from griddle and plate 2 pieces per plate.

12. Garnish with the remaining bananas, powdered sugar and top with whipped cream.

13. If using the rum-filled pipettes, insert one into each slice of french toast. Do not squeeze rum into bread...that's up to the diner!