Traditional New Orleans Bread Pudding

I have been lucky enough to experience two different types of authentic bread pudding - traditional New Orleans bread pudding and traditional English bread pudding.

During my sophomore year in college, I had the opportunity to travel to London over spring break to study Shakespeare.  The course I took that semester was called the London Shakespearience, and during the spring semester we studied plays and folios, and when we went to London we visited The Globe, Stratford-Upon-Avon, did some scene studies with Globe actors, and saw a production of Much Ado About Nothing.  And now you all know I am a Shakespeare nerd.  Besides seeing the sites, we also visited many pubs and I made sure to order a couple orders of bread pudding while there.

The following year, I went to New Orleans twice, once for an ultimate frisbee tournament (and Mardi Gras) and then went back a few weeks later for Alternative Spring Break, where we worked on building houses with Habitat for Humanity. Both experiences, while very different, were incredible. That was when I fell in love with the city and its food, and I made sure to stop at Cafe Du Monde for beignets and other restaurants in the French Quarter bread pudding.

The major difference between traditional English and New Orleans bread pudding is that with your English bread pudding, the milk and cream mixture are heated to create a custard, while the New Orleans bread pudding is usually served or infused with a whiskey sauce. Because I was making this bread pudding for a breakfast at school, I decided to forgo the whiskey sauce, but would certainly use Emeril's recipe for his whiskey sauce should I make this recipe again for a non-school function.

This recipe is beyond easy to make since most of your time is spent waiting for the bread to soak and then waiting again for the pudding to bake and set. You can use ANY type of bread for this recipe, from slices of white bread or a loaf of Italian or French bread. This is the perfect thing to make if you happen to buy loaves of bread at Costco, left them in the freezer for way too long, and then didn't know what to do with them. No bread is too stale for this recipe, just leave to soak until all cubes are completely saturated with this delicious cream.  The bread pudding was wonderful for breakfast warm, and I took some extras home to heat up with ice cream for dessert.  I love a recipe that can be used for breakfast or dessert :)

Bread Pudding

Serves 10

Prep Time: 1 hour

Bake Time: 30 min

Ingredients

-                1 loaf white bread (Italian, French, or classic loaf bread), about 6 cups, cubed*

-                4 tbsp unsalted butter

-                1 c heavy cream

-                3 c milk

-                3 eggs

-                1 c brown sugar, packed

-                2 tsp vanilla extract

-                1 tsp ground cinnamon

-                ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

-                pinch of salt

-                ½ c raisins

Directions

Pour the bread crumbs in a large bowl and melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Pour the butter over the bread and toss to make sure they’re coated evenly.

In a separate bowl, mix together the heavy cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and raisins.  Thoroughly mix and pour the cream mixture over the bread, tossing evenly to coat.  Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 30 – 40 minutes, or until the bread becomes very soft.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 in. pan.  Pour the bread mixture into the pan and bake in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes, or until the bread is slightly browned and set.  Serve warm and store in the refrigerator.

*Note: use the whole loaf, even if it isn't 6 cups.  You can fill the pan up since the bread won't bake up.  

Adapted from: Emeril 

1 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 11:13 AM

Pina Colada Doughnuts

Happy National Doughnut Day friends!  And what a joyous day this is!  Now that I am out of student teaching and have my days free, which means I have more time to spend on recipes, which results in more exciting and delicious things to create!  Plus, I think it's incredibly important to pursue one's interests, and although I'm currently working part-time, I'm glad I have a little more time to devote to the things I love.

Like doughnuts.

My absolute favorite doughnut is the Entenmann's chocolate frosted doughnut.  Whenever they're 1/2 off at Shop Rite I'll always get a box.  And eat the whole thing because no one else in my house will eat doughnuts.  When I bought my box of Entenmann's this week I noticed that today is the Salvation Army's National Doughnut Day.  This day was founded to commemorate the "Doughnut Lassies" who would serve doughnuts to the soldiers during WWI.  It was a way to raise funds and awareness of what the Salvation Army was doing for soldiers and other families who have fallen on hard times.  You can read more about Doughnut Day here, as well as other things you can do to support the Salvation Army.   Something as simple as donating your clothes after a spring cleaning could do a lot of good.

For National Doughnut Day, I wanted to make a doughnut that I know people in my house would eat.  Another recipe from my "To Make" board can now be crossed off - Pina Colada Doughnuts by Cherry Tea Cakes.  It's been about 90 degrees this entire week so I thought a nice, refreshing pina colada doughnut would be perfect for today.

The last doughnuts I made were doughnut holes, mostly because I didn't have enough time was too lazy to roll and cut the doughnuts out myself.  Again, I have a lot of time on my hands, so I was looking forward to a big cooking/baking project.  And believe me, these doughnuts are so worth your time!  To be honest, the process is done in about 30 min increments, so it does not seem like a lot of effort at once.  Just make sure you plan your time out accordingly.

Scalding the milk may seem like an unnecessary step, but it does help the dough rise by denaturing the proteins that inhibit the rising process.  Science!  This is where having a candy thermometer comes in handy, as you want to heat the milk to about 180 degrees F before removing it from the heat.

Also, when you're adding the flour to the dough, you want to add the last cup in about 1/4 cup increments.  This will prevent you from adding too much flour at once, plus it makes the dough easier to mix.  You want the dough to be sticky, but not so sticky that it doesn't come off your hands.

Speaking of sticky doughnuts, I was having a lot of trouble with these when I went to put them into the oil. They were sticking to everything and lost their shape.  To combat this, pat the doughnuts down gently after they have risen the second time, and keep them in the refrigerator just until you're about to put them into the oil.  That should help them hold their shape a little better in this heat and humidity.

To transfer the doughnuts to the oil, I would lift the doughnuts up gently around the edges,

place onto my slotted spoon,

and use the spoon to transfer the doughnuts into the oil.  I didn't get sprayed with hot oil once!  Frying things is so easy it's slightly terrifying.  Like, I want to do this all of the time.

While making the glaze, don't worry if it seems a little thin; the glaze will thicken up upon standing.  And make sure you sift your powdered sugar!  It will make incorporating the sugar into the melted butter much smoother.  Top with shredded coconut and you're all set!

These donuts are delicious without the glaze, but the glaze is what really makes it a pina colada doughnut.  The outside is crispy but the inside is soft and fluffy - absolutely perfect.  This is a really special treat to have around the house or to serve at a summer party.  Plus, you can make this recipe in increments, so even though it may seem like a big project, it's much more manageable when you break it down.  The donuts are best the day you fry them, so take about 30 minutes to fry them up the day you're planning to serve them.  Happy Doughnut Day everyone!

And yes, I filed these under "breakfast."

Pina Colada Doughnuts

Yield: about 18 doughnuts

Prep time: 3 hours (including rise time)

Cook time: 3 min per doughnut

Ingredients

For the doughnuts

-     ¼ oz package yeast

-     ¼ c hot water

-     ¼ c sugar

-     ¼ c shortening

-     ½ c milk, scalded and cooled

-     ¼ c pineapple coconut juice blend

-     ½ tsp salt

-     1 egg

-     4 c flour

-     canola oil, for frying

For the glaze

-     2 tbsp butter

-     1 c powdered sugar, sifted

-     ¾ c pineapple coconut juice blend

-     Shredded coconut to garnish

Directions

Dissolve yeast in hot water.  Cream together the shortening and sugar.  Add the scalded milk, juice blend, salt, and egg.  Add the flour about 1 c at a time and incorporate completely after each addition.  For the 4^th c of flour, add the flour about ¼ c at a time and combine using a spatula or your hands if necessary.  You want the dough to be slightly sticky, but not so sticky that it doesn’t come off your hands.

Lightly oil the bowl and the surface of the dough.  Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 60 minutes.   While the dough is rising, boil down the pineapple coconut juice to make the syrup for the glaze.  Keep the juice over low heat so it is barely simmering.  You want to reduce it to about ½ c, which should take about 30 min.

Turn dough onto floured surface and roll to about ½ in thick.  Cut with floured cookie cutters (I used a piping tip and a large glass…).  Place the doughnuts and doughnut holes on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper and cover.  Let rise for about 30 – 40 min. 

While the doughnuts are rising, make the glaze.  Melt the butter and remove from heat.  Stir in powdered sugar until incorporated.  Stir in the pineapple coconut syrup about 1 tbsp at a time until the glaze has reached the desired consistency (it'll thicken up when you let it sit).  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot to 350 degrees F.  Slide the donuts into the oil using a slotted spatula/spoon.  Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Remove from oil and allow to dry on a plate lined with a paper towel.  Once cool enough to touch, dip the doughnuts into the glaze (you may need to reheat it) and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.  Garnish with shredded coconut.

Adapted from: Cherry Tea Cakes

11 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 7:59 AM

Bacon and Cheese Grits

I've been craving comfort food lately.  First the waffles, and now these grits.  Plus I've been eating bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches for lunch for the past few days.  Last week was absolutely wild.  In 48 hours, I had 4 interviews, an offer at a tutoring center, and 2 callbacks (one for a second interview, the other for a demo lesson).  Over the past 4 months I had sent out over 60 applications and had heard nothing for those entire 4 months.  And then, by the end of last Monday, I had those four interviews lined up.  It's amazing how your life can be turned completely upside-down in a moment.  The interviews are for places all over North/Central Jersey, so within a few months I could be living somewhere new with a new job.  Or maybe I'll still be living at home, blogging.

Either way, it's a pretty difficult thing to wrap my head around.  I feel like I'm at a turning point here, as if I'm at the brink between young-adulthood and adulthood itself.  Many of my friends my age have had to make some pretty adult decisions over the past few weeks, and it looks like I may be doing the same this summer.  Even if these interviews don't work out for the best, I'm incredibly excited to have the experience and I'm looking forward to what ever lies ahead.

The moral of the story here is that when your whole world is up in the air, it's nice to have some thick, salty, cheesy, creamy, stick-to-your-ribs grits to bring you back down.

I love polenta.  It comes together in about 4 minutes and you can do anything with it.  It can be used for any meal of the day and you can boil it, grill it, or fry it.  The only thing you need to be careful of is you must be constantly whisking while you're pouring your grits (polenta) into the boiling water.  If you don't, it's going to clump up and won't be pleasant to bite into.  Once you have poured all of your grits into the pot, you can leave it alone and let it simmer so the grains soak up all of the water.  It doesn't get much easier than that.

The addition of milk makes the grits even creamier, and you could of course use whole milk or cream (I just didn't have any on hand).  And the more bacon you put into this recipe, the better it will be.  I mean, come on, everything tastes better with more bacon.  This is a simple recipe but incredibly delicious and the perfect thing to have heated up first thing in the morning.  I highly recommend making a batch right now, it will not disappoint :)

Bacon and Cheese Grits

Serves 2

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Ingredients

-     ½ c polenta

-     ½ c milk

-     2 tbsp unsalted butter

-     ½ c shredded cheddar cheese

-     5 – 6 strips bacon, cooked and chopped

-     Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Follow the directions on the polenta package to determine how much water should be used (I boiled about 2 cups).  Pour water into medium sized pot and bring to a boil.  Add the polenta to the boiling water and begin whisking immediately to avoid clumping.  Lower heat and bring polenta to a simmer and cover.  When all of the water has been absorbed (about 5 minutes), pour in the milk and stir, leaving to simmer until the milk has been absorbed as well.  Mix in butter and shredded cheese and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and add bacon.  Serve immediately.   

4 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 8:48 AM

How-to Make the Perfect Waffles (recipe included!)

This is another one of those family recipes (like the banana bread) that I've been debating with myself whether or not to post it.  This is one of those super secret family recipes that I was thinking of keeping to myself for when I get famous from the blog and write a cookbook and open a restaurant and people will be trying to figure out the secret recipe to my amazing waffles.

Yeah.  That's not going to happen.  So I'd figured I'd share this recipe because these waffles are amazing.

I think waffles are incredibly underrated.  They're so warm and comforting; it's a really nice treat to be able to pull one out of the freezer and heat it up before work.  Or, you can throw some fruit and whipped cream on it and call it dessert!

Here are some tips on making the perfect waffles (pay special attention to number 2):

• Sift your dry ingredients as if you're making any floured dessert. 
• Separate the egg whites from the yolks.  Whip the whites until they become fluffy and fold them in at the end.  THIS will give you fluffy waffles. 
• Don't let the waffle iron get too hot - and make sure you spray it!  With some irons, you can set the temperature.  Make sure it doesn't get too hot, you want your waffles  to cook evenly. 
• Make the entire batch at once!  Waffles are easier to freeze when they're whole rather than keeping the batter in the refrigerator.  
• Take care of your waffle iron.  I've even cleaned mine with an old, soft toothbrush.  You want to make sure all of those trenches in the waffle iron pan are kept clean, or else you're going to get a very unwelcome, burnt taste in your mouth next time you make waffles!

This is a recipe that belongs in your family's cookbook.  These waffles are wonderful on their own or with a little syrup or butter; I don't ever feel the need to mix anything in to make the recipe better.  How do you like your waffles? 

Waffles

Yield: about 10 waffles, depending on size of waffle iron

Prep Time: 20 min

Bake Time: 5 min

Ingredients

-     2 ¼ c flour

-     ½ tsp salt

-     2 tsp baking powder

-     2 tbsp sugar

-     3 eggs

-     2/3 c vegetable oil

-     1 ½ c milk

Directions

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl.  Set aside.

Separate your egg whites and egg yolks.  Add the vegetable oil and milk to the egg yolks.  Beat well and then add to the dry ingredients.  Beat to combine.

Whip your egg whites until fluffy and then fold in to your waffle batter.  Heat and grease your waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Pour the waffle batter into the center of the waffle iron and cook for about 5 minutes each.  Serve immediately or freeze to serve later. 

10 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 10:42 AM

Oatmeal

Remember how I said I go on food binges?  Like, how for weeks on end I'll have a grapefruit every day for breakfast or a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch?  I also mentioned having oatmeal for breakfast every day when I shared my baked oatmeal recipe.  I used to make oatmeal from the packets but I've realized that making it yourself is easier and healthier than buying those packets of the flavored oatmeal.

In college, I refused to eat any variety of oatmeal other than the maple and brown sugar kind.  I'd put a packet of that sugary stuff in a mug, fill it with milk, and microwave it for about 1-1/2 minutes.  It was super easy and there's nothing more delicious than a hot breakfast on a 10 degree day (who thought DC got that cold?).  However, when I came back home and wanted my family to eat oatmeal my mom refused to pay extra for the pre-packaged stuff and got the giant tubs of Quaker oatmeal instead.  I probably whined and lamented over the fact that plain oatmeal is disgusting, until I knew how to make it properly.

But let's go back to the pre-packaged stuff first.  Even though Quaker Oats has reduced the sugar in their packaged oatmeals by 25%, the numbers are still pretty outstanding.  260mg of sodium compared to the 0mg of sodium in plain oatmeal?  And 9g of sugars as opposed to 1g of sugar?  The old fashioned oats have 1g of protein and soluble fibers more than the packaged kind too...

So what am I getting at here?  I know I wanted to share a list of workouts and activities you can do to keep yourself healthy and active during the winter months, but there's more to it than just that.  Living a healthy life also means being aware of what you eat and making healthier decisions when it comes to what you put inside your body.  You'll feel amazing when you couple your workouts with healthy meals.  Also, I find that when I eat healthy first thing in the morning I tend to make better decisions about what I snack on for the rest of the day.

So here's how you make delicious oatmeal:

(Yield: 1 serving)

Ingredients
- 1 c water
- 1/2 c old fashioned oats
- pinch of salt (cut out if you're watching your sodium intake)

Bring water to a boil and add the oats.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 min, or until all of the water has been absorbed.  If your oatmeal starts bubbling and foaming, lower the heat or else the oatmeal will be slimy.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Now here's where it gets interesting...
Remember how I said that I loved the baked oatmeal because you could put anything in it?  Well the same is true for regular oatmeal.  I personally love to eat mine like hot cereal by pouring milk over it and sprinkling a tiny bit of brown sugar on the top (I just can't get away from the brown sugar!).  Instead of milk, you could serve it with yogurt and top it with any fruit or nuts you may have on hand.  Shredded coconut, bananas, and pineapple would be delicious, don't you think?

I hope you enjoyed this other side of the winter workout series!  How would you enjoy your old fashioned oats?

1 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 8:52 AM

Baked Apple Oatmeal

You saw how I used that homemade apple cider, but what did I do with that applesauce that went along with it?

At the beginning of fall I saw a bunch of recipes for baked oatmeal.  I was intrigued and pinned one particular recipe to try for later.  Well fall went on and I sort of forgot about it, until I had this applesauce and nothing to do with it.

I tend to go through phases with what I eat.  There are certain foods I will absolutely binge on for weeks and even months until I get so sick of them I won't want to eat them anymore.  A pretty recent one has been tortilla chips with sour cream/salsa/shredded cheese dip.  A while ago I was making these grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch almost every day.  Sometimes, if someone picked up a particularly delicious cereal at the store that day, I wouldn't even wait until the morning to have a bowl of it.  For a couple of weeks in the summer I actually branched out from my milk and cereal breakfast and explored other options.  I would have half of a grapefruit sprinkled with about 1 tablespoon of sugar every morning (and I'd sometimes finish the other half for second breakfast.  Oh how I love my second breakfast).  For the next few weeks, I'd make oatmeal every morning and eat it like a hot cereal, sprinkled with brown sugar.  Once school started oatmeal seemed to time consuming, so I went back to my cold cereal and milk breakfasts.

This is a delicious way to make oatmeal.  It takes about 35 minutes to bake, so if you're planning on eating it before work I'd make it over the weekend or the night before - it still tastes great reheated.  The thing I love about this recipe is how versatile it is.  You can use almost any fruit with it or sprinkle nuts on top instead of brown sugar.  If you don't use applesauce, I would recommend lining the bottom of the pan with slices of fruit, like banana or peaches.  Any other fruit you decide to add can be sprinkled on the top.  I encourage you to experiment with many different flavors, let me know if you find one that you absolutely love!

Baked Apple Oatmeal

Makes enough for 1 8x8 in dish

Ingredients

- 1 ½ c old-fashioned oats

- ½ tsp baking powder

- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon

- pinch of salt

- ¼ c maple syrup

- 1 c milk

- 1 egg, slightly beaten

- 2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled.

- 1 tsp. vanilla extract

- 1 ½ c applesauce

- 2 tbsp brown sugar. 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F and grease the bottom and sides of a 8x8 in pan.  In a bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract.  Spread the applesauce over the bottom of the pan, leaving a layer about a ¼ in thick.  Cover the fruit layer with the dry oats and then pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats.  Sprinkle brown sugar on top.  Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.  Let cool before serving.

Adapted from Annie's Eats

1 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 3:22 PM