Mystery Lovers' Kitchen welcomes Ellen Byron, whose first novel, PLANTATION SHUDDERS: A Cajun Country Mystery, will be published August 11 by Crooked Lane Books.
Leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of PLANTATION SHUDDERS!
WWMD?
WHAT WOULD MARTHA DO?
BOURBON
PECAN BREAD PUDDING
One
of my first jobs out of college was working as a cater-waiter for an
up-and-coming Connecticut food maven named Martha Stewart. I’ll never forget
the first time I met her. I took the train from Manhattan to Westport, cabbed
to a house that looked straight out of the 18th century, and stepped
into a living room filled with early American antiques. A woman was using a
crème brulee blowtorch to assemble a three-foot-high gingerbread townhouse that
sat on a table in the middle of the room. “Hi, I’m Martha,” she said without
losing focus on her task. “Welcome. The kitchen’s on the left.”
Thus began a two-year relationship that earned
me a few photos in a book called “Entertaining,” and wonderful memories of an
extraordinary woman.
That's the young Ellen, second from the left, next to Martha.
As
I wrote my first book, Plantation
Shudders: A Cajun Country Mystery, it became clear that I couldn’t set a
series in an area so famous for its cuisine without including a few recipes. I decided to make up my own, which proved
really hard. I was ready to give up. But then I thought, WWMD? What would
Martha Do? She’d power through until she
was satisfied with the results. I watched her do it at event after event. So
that’s what I did. My favorite of the three I created is Bourbon Pecan Bread
Pudding. It’s very boozy and very New Orleans. Thanks for inspiring me, Martha!
I hope I get to share the recipe with you someday.
BOURBON PECAN BREAD PUDDING
5-6 cups croissants, torn into pieces
½ cup unsalted, toasted, chopped pecans
3 large eggs
¾ cups sugar, white or turbinado – your choice
1 cup milk – any percentage is fine
1/3 cup Bourbon, plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Dry bread uncovered at room temperature for 12 hours. (You can also dry the bread in a 250 degree
oven for one hour.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter an 8” x 8” baking dish
Arrange the bread in the dish. Sprinkle the pecans over the
bread, making sure they’re evenly dispersed.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, 1/3 cup bourbon,
cream, vanilla, and salt.
Pour it slowly and evenly over the bread.
Cream the butter with the brown sugar and teaspoon of
bourbon, then dot the pudding with the mixture.
(Note: you can chill the pudding, covered, for anywhere from
an hour to a day before baking, but this is optional.)
Bake the pudding in the middle of the oven until it’s
slightly puffed and golden, and the middle has set – approximately 40 minutes.
You can top with a dollop of whipped cream, ice cream, or
hard sauce, but I like it straight up!
Serves 6.
Leave a comment below by midnight, Mon, Aug 10, for a chance to win Ellen's PLANTATION SHUDDERS prize package, including a signed copy of the book, an alligator cookie cutter, and beads for your next Mardi Gras party!
For more about Ellen and PLANTATION SHUDDERS, visit her website -- http://www.ellenbyron.com/ -- and sign up for her newsletter!
