Panettone, per favore

When it comes to entering give-aways I'm probably one of the most unlucky people around. If I were to buy 100 tickets and there were only 101 purchased for the give-away, the prize would certainly go to the person who bought the other ticket.
That's why I was so surprised that I was selected to receive a free sample of Bauducco Panettone as a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program with Bauducco Panettone. I came home from a week long business trip to find a big box waiting for me on the kitchen counter. I eagerly tore into the box to find two 26 oz samples, one Bauducco Panettone with Sunmaid raisins and one with Hershey's chocolate chips. I've always wanted to try panettone, but have never been able to find it in my local grocery stores in the rural area that I live in. My husband looked at the boxes skeptically and said "Isn't that kind of like fruitcake?" I tried to explain that it wasn't as dense as fruitcake and had a different taste, but he had already wandered away to watch a football game on TV.
I promptly put the raisin panettone in the freezer for a later date and cut a slice of the Hershey's chocolate chip panettone and spread it was a smear of Nutella. The combination of the hazelnut spread and the chocolate chips was perfect and I decided it would be just as good for breakast the next morning, only toasted.
The Bauducco folks were nice enough to include recipes for French toast and bread pudding so since I'm a big fan of French toast, I thought I'd give that one a try.
Panettone French Toast
2 3/4 inch-thick slices of Bauducco Panettone (I used the Hershey's chocolate chip variety)
2 eggs
1 heaping tablespoon of sour cream
2 T milk
butter or margarine
1. Beat eggs, sour cream and milk in a shallow flat-bottomed dish (a glass pie plate works great). Place panettone slice in the dish for a minute then turn over to soak both sides completely.
2. Warm skillet over medium heat and add butter or margarine to grease the skillet.
3. Gently remove the soaked panettone from the dish and place in the heated skillet. Cook for about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes per side for a soft center, 3 minutes per side for a firm center.
4. Remove from pan and drizzle with maple syrup or powdered sugar.

I have to admit I was skeptical about adding sour cream to the bread dipping mixture but it turned out to give the mixture a smoother and heavier consistency than I get when I just use the traditional egg and milk,
It also coated the panettone slices a lot more thoroughly than I imagine the traditional mixture would.
The French toast was perfect with a drizzle of maple syrup cream. The combination of the orange and the chocolate chips was fantastic and the consistency of the panettone was just right, not too mushy or too hard.
Although French toast is usually for breakfast, I could imagine serving this as a dessert using smaller slices and topping them with vanilla ice cream and maple syrup. Yum!
Grazie mille Bauducco!