For holiday side dish or dessert, proof is in the pudding
Saturday, December 02 2006, 12:54 AM EST
Contributed by: Maureen Clancy
BREAD WINNER
You need more than two hands to count all the glories of bread pudding.
For starters, there's the heavenly texture - creamy with crispy corners of buttery baked bread peeping out on top.
The vast variety of flavor possibilities is important, too, from chocolate-peanut butter to maple-pecan, apple, lemon, banana, bourbon, caramel and gingered pumpkin.
Bread pudding looks great; smells even better.
And how many foods can you name that have the comfort quotient of bread pudding topped with creme anglaise and poked with a spoon to release a warm pouf of fresh-baked goodness?
BLUE CHEESE BREAD PUDDING
On a more practical level, bread pudding is a good way to use up stale bread. It can be made with challah, brioche, croissants, cinnamon rolls, panettone, sliced white bread, country Italian, baguettes or even biscotti. It can be done with whole-grain breads to increase fiber.
It can be made ahead of time, freeing the cook for other last-minute duties. It can be made in a big, homey casserole or in precious individual molds, reversed out and plated with saucy swirls.
Sweet bread pudding is special enough for a holiday dessert, but a savory version can be a breakfast treat, a hearty dinner entree or a side dish that takes the place of stuffing.
"It's definitely satisfying and very versatile," said Tony DiSalvo, chef at Jack's La Jolla in San Diego. "You can put pretty much anything in it. Depending on the season, you can take it in any direction you want."
DiSalvo is partial to autumn bread puddings. His creation with sausage, chestnuts, chanterelles and black truffles is seasoned with fresh sage and topped with grated Gruyere cheese. The chef says it's a riff on a dish his Sicilian father used to make during the holidays.
"The only difference is that he added stock, and we do a custard base," DiSalvo said. "Then we bake it in a terrine, slice it and saute it so that it's crispy and has a textural component."
DiSalvo's blue cheese bread pudding is a hit with diners in the Ocean Room on the top floor of Jack's. "People really like to eat blue cheese with steaks. But we didn't want to do the usual sauce, so we came up with this idea," he said, adding that caraway seeds and shallots add interest to the pudding.
PRACTICAL PUDDING
Bread pudding debuted sometime in 13th century England as "poor man's pudding," so called because it used stale bread that was soaked in water, squeezed out, and dressed up a bit with flavorings.
A 1747 recipe pushed the envelope, calling for rosewater to be added to the custard. An 1849 version called for lemon zest and a slug of brandy.
Today, chefs, cookbooks and home cooks go crazy with creativity.
Scott Staples of Zoe in Seattle plays pumpkin both ways, accompanying seared scallops with a savory bread pudding with roasted pumpkin and sauteed oyster mushrooms, topped with a veal-based wine sauce; and whipping up a dessert bread pudding with reconstituted dried figs, pine nuts and an orange citrus creme anglaise.
At Henrietta's Table in Cambridge, Mass., chocolate bread pudding is gussied up with caramelized bananas and vanilla bean ice cream. San Francisco's popular Tartine bakery is renowned for bread puddings packed with fresh seasonal fruits and Scharffen Berger chocolate.
And in Washington, D.C., Firefly restaurant teams braised lamb shoulder with a pumpkin bread pudding with sun-dried tomatoes.
CHESTNUT, SAUSAGE AND SAGE BREAD PUDDING
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced leeks
2 shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon chopped sage
2 cups chestnuts, roasted and sliced
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
8 cups diced sourdough rye bread
2 cups half-and-half
5 eggs
1 ounce diced black truffle (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Yields 8 servings.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Butter 9-inch loaf pan and line with parchment. Heat olive oil in skillet over low heat and cook celery, leeks, shallots and garlic until softened but not browned. Add sausage; cook until browned. Add thyme, sage, chestnuts and Gruyere.
Place bread in large bowl and add vegetable-cheese mixture. In another bowl, beat eggs and half-and-half, and season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over bread. Mix well and place in loaf pan. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until pudding is set.
BLUE CHEESE BREAD PUDDING
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
4 eggs
8 cups diced ciabatta bread
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup minced shallots
8 ounces blue cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tablespoon caraway seeds
Yields 8 servings.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Butter 9-inch loaf pan and line with parchment. In bowl, combine cream, half-and-half, buttermilk and eggs. Add bread and allow to soak for 20 minutes.
In skillet, melt butter and saute shallots just until softened. Add to bread mixture. Crumble blue cheese into bread mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well and fill loaf pan with mixture. Top with caraway seeds and bake for 35 minutes, or until set. Cool and cut.
- Tony DiSalvo of Jack's La Jolla.
WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA BREAD PUDDING
1 loaf egg bread
1 stick butter, melted
1 pound white chocolate, broken into chunks
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, toasted
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
8 large eggs
Yields 12 servings.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Cut bread into cubes and place in mixing bowl. Toss bread with butter, white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Set aside.
In saucepan, heat milk, cream, sugar and vanilla and bring to a boil. Whisk to make sure all sugar is melted. Take off heat and let cool. In bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Slowly add warm cream mixture to eggs, whisking constantly.
Pour mixture over bread and let bread soak up liquid. Transfer mixture to deep baking pan. Place in larger pan and pour enough water into larger pan to come halfway up the sides of smaller baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top should be golden brown and firm. Let cool at room temperature, then refrigerate. Reheat in microwave when ready to serve.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
- Todd Nash of Dakota Grill & Spirits.
SAVORY BREAD PUDDING
9 cups day-old French bread, crust removed, cut in 3/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely diced yellow onion
1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded brussels sprouts
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 cups goat cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup pancetta, chopped and sauteed until slightly caramelized
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Yields 8 servings.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook for 30 seconds. Add brussels sprouts and stir for 2 minutes. Set aside.
In large bowl, whisk cream, milk, eggs, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add bread, brussels sprouts mixture, parmesan, sage, goat cheese and pancetta. Make sure all bread absorbs liquid and let sit for 20 minutes.
Melt butter and brush inside of baking mold or pan. Pour bread mixture into pan and place in oven, cooking for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Urban Kitchen.
Maureen Clancy is Food editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
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