It's just so good!

I'm going to brag.

I make the best bread pudding I've ever tasted. I make the best bread pudding folks who have eaten have ever had. Or so they say. And so I think. ;-)

I'm catering an event tonight - beef  bourguignon, a simple salad with cranberries and almond slivers, and my bread pudding with bourbon sauce. Oh, those lucky ducks! And lucky me, too, since that's what I'll be having for dinner. Tee hee hee.

My house smells pretty divine right now - stew that's been on the stove for hours, and now the sweet, cinnamon smell of the bread puddings.

I just took them out of the oven and couldn't resist plucking one tiny piece of toasted, crispy, buttery crust off of what I think will be the extra pan of loveliness. Oh! The flavors melted in my mouth. I actually rolled my eyes and said out loud, "Damn, that is good!":-0

So, because I wouldn't want to be selfish, here's the recipe for my bread pudding. It doesn't have a fancy name - just "Bread Pudding". Spice it up as you would like - in the fall, substitute 1 c of the cream for 1 c of pumpkin puree; leave out the nuts or substitute pecans for your favorite; add chocolate chips; combine different kinds of fruit. It will be pretty hard to mess this up.  It has so much fat in it that it is going to taste delicious - pretty much whatever you add to it.

Enjoy! :-D

Cindy's bread pudding recipe

12-14 oz. French bread, broken into pieces

2 1/2 - 3 c. cream

2 c. sugar

6 Tbsp butter, melted

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 c. raisins, soaked in bourbon 1/2 hour (save the drained bourbon for the sauce)

1 1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional)

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Do not preheat oven.

Combine all ingredients.  Mixture should be very moist, but not soupy.  If too dry, add cream 2 Tbsp at a time. Pour into buttered 9x13 inch baking dish.  Place into non-preheated oven.  Bake at 350° for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking after 50 minutes, until top is golden brown and internal temperature is 165-170 F. If you don't have a food thermometer, make sure it appears set - not too jiggly - meaning the egg is cooked through. It won’t be completely firm when you take it out of the oven.  You might need to cover it with foil the last 20 minutes or so to let if finish cooking without getting too brown on top. 

bourbon sauce

1 stick butter

1 c. sugar

6 Tbsp cream

1/4 c. bourbon

pinch of salt

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in remaining ingredients.  Simmer until thickened, whisking often, about 3 minutes.