Bread Pudding Favorite Recipe Shared By Nick Buron

The last of my Vintage Holidays talks was last night at the Fremont Public Library District, where I enjoyed sharing my stories and cookbooks with a wonderful, lively audience. I have a little break before the Valentine's Cakes ones begin, but I was featured along with many cookbook collectors and writers in an article for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette today. The writer, Patricia Lowry, is a collector herself and a definite kindred spirit. It was a pleasure and an honor to be included in that article:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09344/1019676-34.stm

You are in for a treat with today's recipe! In 2000, I attended a YALSA function in DC - an all day training where I kept ending up in groups with a funny, fast talking male librarian from Queens, NY. We have since done all day trainings of our own, a research project and more, with upcoming events planned- and have been very good friends since that trip to DC. Nick Buron and I found that it is possible to have a lot in common with people across the country - including having two sons, a love of cooking, Elvis, and young adult literature. Nick is a vegetarian and works out all the time (something we don't have in common!) but he is guest blogging today with a fabulous treat. Enjoy! -Amy


Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
From Quick Vegetarian Pleasures (1992) by Jeanne Lemlin ISBN: 0-06-096911-3

When I was young, a family friend made bread pudding and I was blown away. As a chocoholic from a young age, this was no easy feat as there is no chocolate anywhere in this recipe. It took me almost twenty years to eat, let alone find a recipe for, a bread pudding that was as wonderfully simple as what I remember from my youth. I have made this recipe at least twenty times since buying this cookbook (my favorite) in 1992 and I have slightly tweaked the recipe over the years and don’t even make the Bourbon Sauce all the time as it is extremely rich. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. -Nick Buron

Pudding
1 8-oz loaf day-old French or Italian bread torn into small pieces – about 8 cups (I prefer crust off)
3 cups of low-fat milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 shot whisky (Optional, my addition)
1 cup sugar
½ cup raisins (I don’t use them)
3 tablespoons vanilla extract (one tablespoon more then called for)
½ teaspoon nutmeg (My addition)
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

Bourbon Sauce
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon whiskey

1) Butter a deep 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
2) Tear the bread into small pieces and drop them into a large bowl. Pour the milk over them and stir to moisten. Soak 30 minutes. (About 20 minutes after beginning to soak the bread, preheat the oven to 350°F.) When finished soaking, break up the bread into bits with a large spoon.
3) Beat together the eggs, sugar, raisins, whiskey and vanilla. Pour into the bread mixture and stir thoroughly, breaking up any large chucks of bread that surface. Scrape the pudding into the prepared baking dish, smooth the top, and dot with the butter. Place the baking dish in a large pan and fill the outer pan halfway with hot water. Place both pans in the oven and bake for 70 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the pudding comes out clean.
4) Meanwhile, make the sauce: Melt the butter in a double boiler. In a small bowl, beat the egg, and beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Stir into the melted butter, and whisk the mixture until it becomes very hot, about 7 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from the heat and scrape into a bowl. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Stir in the bourbon.
5) Serve the pudding hot or warm in small custard cups. Spoon some sauce over each serving. Or serve room temperature or cold with no sauce.

Serves 8