Friday, February 22, 2008

bread pudding with orange and vanilla on a snowy evening


Egad, it's snowing again. Too much snow already to get to the store for ice cream - but wait! I rummage through the fridge and cupboard for the ingredients for a nice, soothing bread pudding, which is even nicer than ice cream. Better yet, it makes a truly wonderful breakfast. And yes - I do have all the ingredients! Off we go.
You will need:
3 cups milk
4 T. unsalted butter
4 cups dry bread cubes ( I used Pepperidge Farm white bread)
1/2 c. sugar
seeds from a vanilla bean (optional)
zest from an orange
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 eggs plus one egg yolk, beaten
1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. brown sugar, to sprinkle on top
Other optionals: about a tablespoon of Grand Marnier, or rum, as a flavoring
Preheat oven to 350.
Put milk and butter into a pan and heat to hot. Turn off heat and add vanilla seeds, vanilla and other flavorings as wished, and the orange zest. Add the sugar and spices and beat with a wisk. Add a little of the hot milk mixture to the beaten eggs and beat, then slowly pour eggs into hot mixture, beating the whole time with a wisk. If you don't beat constantly, you might end up with scrambled eggs!
Place bread cubes into a casserole dish and pour the hot milk and egg mixture over. Allow to sit for ten minutes, then stir gently. Sprinkle top with brown sugar.
Place casserole in oven and bake for an hour.
Serve warm bread pudding with maple syrup or cream, or a caramel drizzle and a little ice cream. This is even better cold, for breakfast.


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