I love
traveling (except for the getting there and back again—where's a transporter
when you need one?), and I love trying new things. This month I've been through Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh and points between, and I came upon some
great food, either because someone pointed me toward it or I stumbled on it by
happy accident.
The
concierge at my small hotel in Philadelphia suggested Talula's Garden around
the corner, where I ordered a dish I won't even try to describe, much less make
at home. What I can say is that it was
memorable because it contained a wonderful range of ingredients, and each bite
tasted slightly different. (You can see the menu here.)
In a small
town in New Jersey, where I was staying with a friend, I wandered into a restaurant
called Sweet Lula's. I went in because
it was the first place I came to, and I was starving after a long day of
driving across Pennsylvania. Once inside
I ordered from their ambitious menu and nearly dropped my fork at my first bite
of their Roast Cod with Sage Brown Butter, it was that good. With grilled
endive on the side—you can bet I'll try that this summer (I think the trick is
to halve it and soak it in salted water so it doesn't cook too quickly on the
grill).
Dessert there
was bread pudding, and that's what I want to talk about here. I seem to remember eating bread pudding most
of my life, but when I went to look up recipes in my trusty cookbook collection
(both old and new books), most of the recipes I found called for dry bread
crumbs, and all I could think of was mush.
Lula's pudding was made with thick slices of bread. Luckily I returned from my East Coast odyssey
with a loaf of homemade apple cinnamon raisin bread, which worked just fine
(and the slices fit very neatly in a 9-inch square pan).
This recipe
is kind of a hybrid of French toast and custard, and it's easy to make.
OLD
FASHIONED BREAD PUDDING
Preheat the
oven on 350 degrees F. Butter a 9"
square baking pan (this works for slices of bread—if you want to tear up the
pieces you can use any pan you like).
Lay the
bread slices in the pan. This took eight slices. If you're using pieces, that's about four
cups. If you want to add raisins or even a dried fruit like cranberries, now is
the time.
Mix
together:
2 eggs
2 cups milk
(I used half milk, half cream)
½ cup white
sugar
Nutmeg or
cinnamon if you like
Beat the
eggs, then add the milk, sugar and spice(s).
Pour the liquid over the bread and let it stand until the bread pieces
are soaked through (a few minutes).
Bake for
20-30 minutes until the top is golden. I
added caster sugar to the top before baking, for a little crunch.
You can
serve this with whipped cream, ice cream or a sauce (Lula's offered whisky
caramel sauce!) It also kept
surprisingly well for a day or two.
I like the sound of that Sheila--almost like French toast, right? I had never liked bread pudding until we took a cruise where it was the specialty. Now I'm hooked!
ReplyDeleteOh YUM!!!! I have a loaf of bread that I made that has dried apricots and dried cherries in it. Your recipe will be perfect to use it up. My husband will love you for your recipe!! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFirst you mention Talula and then Lula. Interesting similarity.
ReplyDeleteI admit to not having made bread pudding, but it has attracted my attention.
I have a copy of a recipe from the Fresh Market site for "bread and butter pudding with hot whiskey sauce." Sounds yummy, doesn't it? But the actual recipe is crazy! They list the ingredients without differentiating between pudding and sauce items. It's complete chaos and unusable.
Your recipe sounds infinitely more sane and approachable.
Now all I have to do it figure out that hot whiskey sauce!
Wow, that Talula menu is impressive. Your meal there must have been a memorable treat. I agree with your happy approach to traveling: make every trip a culinary adventure. Nice, easy bread pudding recipe, too. As an alternative to the whiskey sauce, I'll bet you could pour a bit of whiskey (or another liqueur) into the milk/egg mixture and bake it into the bread, as well. Put a scoop of ice cream on top, please, and I'll get my fork!
ReplyDeleteSheila, this looks so easy, I'll bet I can make it with my gluten-free bread, too. A culinary adventure. If you can't "go," at least you can read about it, right? Yum.
ReplyDeleteDaryl / Avery
Great recipe. Sheila. I love all this Irish stuff and I just finished Buried in a Bog. Loved that too!
ReplyDeleteI am not usually a fan of bread pudding, but this sounds like something I would like. Years ago, a visiting friend insisted we go to a new restaurant because she had to try their famous bread pudding. It was fabulous! The top was a sugary crust infused with bourbon that was fantastic. I keep threatening to try to make it. Hmm . . .
ReplyDelete~Krista