Fig and Cream Cheese French Toast

3 slices bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp
1 cup chopped fresh figs (about 10 small figs)
3 oz. softened cream cheese
1 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese
Zest of one small orange, divided
12 slices challah or other white bread, cut about ½ inch thick
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter, divided

Mix together bacon bits, figs, cheeses and all but ½ tsp. of orange zest until thoroughly blended. Spread the mixture on each of 6 slices of the challah and top with the remaining slices to make sandwiches. In a shallow dish, beat the eggs well and add milk, salt, and remaining ½ tsp. of orange zest. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. One or two at a time, place sandwiches briefly in the egg mixture, turning to coat both sides. Cook the sandwiches until they are browned on both sides. Add another tablespoon of butter for each round. Keep the sandwiches warm in a low oven while you are cooking the additional batches. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. Makes 6 servings, 325 calories, 17 g fat 2 g fiber per serving.

I always like a recipe that includes fresh figs. You can only make it in late June or early July when figs are ripe. The luxury of picking figs from the tree, and eating them for breakfast is a unique pleasure. My sister and I learned about figs when we moved to Florida. There were three mature trees in our yard. We picked figs and sold them for $.25 a quart. In the fall we picked up pecans from the trees in our yard and sold them. We felt very rich.