The Scottos' Easter brunch: French toast, crespelle

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with butter. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the milk and cream, season with salt and pepper. Fold in ham, pecorino and fontina cheese, leaving ½ cup of the fontina cheese for topping, add herbs and mix. Arrange half of the bread cubes evenly over the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Pour over half of the egg mixture. Add a second layer of bread cubes then pour the remaining egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of fontina. Bake strata in oven for about 45 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

For the crepes, add the flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, butter and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Whisk batter well to remove any lumps, and then let the batter rest for at least 1 hour to ensure tender crêpes. In a small, flat, round crêpe pan, heat the pan over medium heat and grease lightly with butter or oil to prevent sticking or, in the case of nonstick pans, to add flavor. With a ladle or small measuring cup, quickly pour a small amount of batter into the pan. Immediately tilt and swirl the pan to spread the batter in a thin, even layer that just covers the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes, and then check the doneness of a crepe by carefully lifting one edge and looking underneath it for a golden color with specks of light brown. With a spatula, loosen the edge of the crêpe from the pan, turn, and cook on the other side until golden. Crêpes are easily made in advance. Cool crêpes completely on baking sheets. Stack crêpes with parchment or waxed paper between each one. They can be refrigerated or frozen for later use.

To make the apple filling, melt the butter in sauté pan over low heat. Add the apples, sugar, and cinnamon, and sauté over medium heat until apples are golden brown on both sides. Fill each crêpe with 2 tablespoons of apple filling and top with 3 tablespoons of toasted almond mascarpone. Garnish crêpes with lemon zest and serve.

For the toasted almond mascarpone, whip the mascarpone and fold in the almonds.

To make the chetsnut honey syrup, melt butter and dark brown sugar together in heavy bottom saucepot. When bubbling, remove from heat then slowly add 2 cups heavy cream, whisking constantly, then add 3 ounces rum and chestnut honey. Bring back to a boil, set aside, and keep warm.

For the French toast, whisk together eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and half-and-half in a large bowl. Assemble sandwiches: spread 2 ounces Nutella on one slice of bread, place 2 thin chocolate candy bars on top and cover with a second slice of bread. Dip each sandwich in egg mixture making sure to coat both sides. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted and sizzling, add one sandwich at a time and cook until golden brown and crispy on both sides, about 3 minutes. Add more butter as needed to cook each sandwich.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F to keep sandwiches warm while others are being cooked.
5. To finish, dust French toast sandwiches with powdered sugar, top with chestnut honey syrup and serve immediately.