Bread Pudding
Southern Comfort
Bread pudding is one of those old dishes. It has certainly been around in some form another since bread was invented. Take some stale bread, an egg or two, a bit of milk, sugar, and a fire and cook the mixture. It's just bread baked in a sweetened custard. What could be simpler?
For many people it's also a major comfort food bringing back memories of childhood and family dinners. But I'm not one of them. I don't think my mother ever made it and though I've had it a few times I was never particularly impressed with what was typically a soggy mess. Neither was Q.
Q is one of my closest friends and an excellent cook. Even better, his taste buds seem to be near duplicates of my own. Whether sending me a recipe or recommending something in a restaurant, his sense of what I will especially like never fails.
A few days ago he got an urge for bread pudding but, like me, was unimpressed with most recipes. So, again like me, he came up with his own. His description of it sounded mighty good so I gave it a try. We're talking seriously good here.
Whole wheat adds a nutty sweetness and a degree of substance not found in most breads recommended for bread pudding. When well-toasted, as Q recommends, it stands up well to the custard and manages to absorb the flavors of the egg mixture without losing it's own character either texturally or in terms of flavor.
Apples are a common ingredient, but Q's use of cider takes it just a bit further and again adds sweetness without adding sugar. Ditto the raisins. The result is sweet but more a fruit sweetness than a sugar sweetness.
Lastly, the Dry Sac in the sauce is a perfect complement to the flavors of the pudding.
Bread Pudding
Recipe By: Q Correll
6 slice whole wheat bread
1 ea apple -- peeled and diced
4 tbsps sweet butter
4 ea egg
1/3 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c milk
1 c half and half
1 c cider
1/2 c raisins
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
***** Sherry Sauce ****
4 tbsps sweet butter -- softened
1/4 c sugar
1 ea egg -- beaten
1 1/2 ozs amontillado sherry
1 c whipping cream
Toast bread on both sides until ***well*** browned and cut into 3/4" cubes. You should have 6 - 7 cups.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced apple (should be about the same size as raisins) and cook for five to seven minutes.
Heat oven to 350F. Lightly whip egg and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Mix in milk, cider, half & half, vanilla, and spices. Add bread, apples, and raisins and stir. Pour into a shallow casserole such as a 9x13 rectangular Pyrex dish.
Place casserole in a larger pan in the middle of the oven and add enough boiling water to large pan to come half way up the sides of the casserole. Cook for 70 minutes, checking toward the end to be sure water doesn't boil away.
Sauce:
Cream butter and sugar together; blend in the beaten egg. Put mixture in top of a double boiler over gently boiling water and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in sherry. Cool to room temperature.
Whip cream until stiff. Gradually whip in egg sauce. Serve over warm pudding.
Notes:
Bread: Using whole wheat adds a distinctive nutty sweetness. The bread should have a light texture but fairly firm crumb.
Dry Sac is recommended as the sherry.
Bread pudding is one of those old dishes. It has certainly been around in some form another since bread was invented. Take some stale bread, an egg or two, a bit of milk, sugar, and a fire and cook the mixture. It's just bread baked in a sweetened custard. What could be simpler?
For many people it's also a major comfort food bringing back memories of childhood and family dinners. But I'm not one of them. I don't think my mother ever made it and though I've had it a few times I was never particularly impressed with what was typically a soggy mess. Neither was Q.
Q is one of my closest friends and an excellent cook. Even better, his taste buds seem to be near duplicates of my own. Whether sending me a recipe or recommending something in a restaurant, his sense of what I will especially like never fails.
A few days ago he got an urge for bread pudding but, like me, was unimpressed with most recipes. So, again like me, he came up with his own. His description of it sounded mighty good so I gave it a try. We're talking seriously good here.
Whole wheat adds a nutty sweetness and a degree of substance not found in most breads recommended for bread pudding. When well-toasted, as Q recommends, it stands up well to the custard and manages to absorb the flavors of the egg mixture without losing it's own character either texturally or in terms of flavor.
Apples are a common ingredient, but Q's use of cider takes it just a bit further and again adds sweetness without adding sugar. Ditto the raisins. The result is sweet but more a fruit sweetness than a sugar sweetness.
Lastly, the Dry Sac in the sauce is a perfect complement to the flavors of the pudding.
Bread Pudding
Recipe By: Q Correll
6 slice whole wheat bread
1 ea apple -- peeled and diced
4 tbsps sweet butter
4 ea egg
1/3 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c milk
1 c half and half
1 c cider
1/2 c raisins
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
***** Sherry Sauce ****
4 tbsps sweet butter -- softened
1/4 c sugar
1 ea egg -- beaten
1 1/2 ozs amontillado sherry
1 c whipping cream
Toast bread on both sides until ***well*** browned and cut into 3/4" cubes. You should have 6 - 7 cups.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced apple (should be about the same size as raisins) and cook for five to seven minutes.
Heat oven to 350F. Lightly whip egg and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Mix in milk, cider, half & half, vanilla, and spices. Add bread, apples, and raisins and stir. Pour into a shallow casserole such as a 9x13 rectangular Pyrex dish.
Place casserole in a larger pan in the middle of the oven and add enough boiling water to large pan to come half way up the sides of the casserole. Cook for 70 minutes, checking toward the end to be sure water doesn't boil away.
Sauce:
Cream butter and sugar together; blend in the beaten egg. Put mixture in top of a double boiler over gently boiling water and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in sherry. Cool to room temperature.
Whip cream until stiff. Gradually whip in egg sauce. Serve over warm pudding.
Notes:
Bread: Using whole wheat adds a distinctive nutty sweetness. The bread should have a light texture but fairly firm crumb.
Dry Sac is recommended as the sherry.
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