Try this for your Christmas dinner it is sure to be well received.
The trick is to really get the bread saturated.
a friend of mine gave me this recipie for bread pudding from the Commanders Palace in New Orleans (snipe optional :-)).
1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
5 eggs, beaten
1 pt. heavy cream
dash of cinnamon
1 T. vanilla extract (the real stuff!)
1/4 c. raisins
12 slices of fresh or stale French bread, cut 1 in. thick
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar til creamy. Add the eggs, cream, vanilla and cinnamon, beat til thoroughly combined. Stir in raisins. Pour the mixture into a 9 in. square baking pan.
Place the bread slices flat in the pan and let stand for 5 min, soaking the liquid. Turn the bread over and let stand for 10 min. longer. Push the bread down so that most of it is submerged. Don't break up the slices.
Set the pan in a larger pan and pour in enough water to reach within 1/2 in. of the top of the inner pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 min. Uncover the pudding and bake for 10 min., til the top is browned and the pudding is still soft.
Spoon the pudding onto plates and pass the Whiskey Sauce!
Whiskey Sauce
1/2 t. cornstarch
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
1 T. unsalted butter
1 T. bourbon or other whiskey
In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 c of water.
In a med. saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar (about 3 min) Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook til the sauce thickens slightly (about 3 min) Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon.
Serve the sauce slightly warm.
Walk in beauty,
Rebecca
