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Mrs. Oh and Johnny Appleseed
For the purpose of this post Tobey will be known as Johnny Appleseed.
So this weekend I made bread pudding. Not just any bread pudding but I used the recipe from Ruth's Chris Steak House. Now friends I am a very competent cook - managed a bakery and deli for years and all. But this is one labor intensive bread pudding and I have a wealth of bread pudding recipes - so that is saying something.
Once I got the pudding together I toldTobey Johnny Appleseed that I was never making this recipe again. I am used to a few eggs, some milk and bam: bread pudding. Poor Tobey couldn't even make heads or tails of the recipe. Then my friends - I tasted it. Slap. Yo. Mamma. Butter even said this is better than Frodo's Limoncello bread pudding and yes Frodo was crushed. It is that good.
Anyways - I told Tob...Johnny Appleseed I would make the bread pudding again tonight IF he would help me out. I had the Whiskey sauce to make plus the puddingy part. I had three pots going at one time. Stirring constantly. Three pots. Johnny? He cut up bread. Oh and then he cored an apple and then he took the skin off said apple and then he chopped the apple. He had it rough my friends. Rough.
So this weekend I made bread pudding. Not just any bread pudding but I used the recipe from Ruth's Chris Steak House. Now friends I am a very competent cook - managed a bakery and deli for years and all. But this is one labor intensive bread pudding and I have a wealth of bread pudding recipes - so that is saying something.
Once I got the pudding together I told
Anyways - I told Tob...Johnny Appleseed I would make the bread pudding again tonight IF he would help me out. I had the Whiskey sauce to make plus the puddingy part. I had three pots going at one time. Stirring constantly. Three pots. Johnny? He cut up bread. Oh and then he cored an apple and then he took the skin off said apple and then he chopped the apple. He had it rough my friends. Rough.
So yeah - we are getting divorced now over bread pudding. If the judge is Chef Ramsay I'm gonna get the house!
I'm kidding (not really). But when I asked for his help - choppin' an apple wasn't what I had in mind - how about ya separate some yolks from their whites there buddy? How about you stir the sauce constantly while it cooks? But no. I did all the cooking at the same time whilst he chopped an apple. Bobby Flay? I have your next sous chef right here baby.
Alrighty - so you can go to Ruth's site and get the recipe and print it up or you can follow my layout of her recipe. Trial and error gives me wisdom and I would advise making the sauce first - give it plenty of time to cool. So here we go - and no - I ain't Pioneer Woman - you aren't getting step by step directional pictures - you guys know how to crack an egg and stir.
First up - the Whiskey Sauce
Put a pot of water on to boil and add a bowl on top of that - or if you have a double boiler - get that on the stove and ready to go.
In small pot put in 2 cups of heavy cream and 3/4 cup of sugar. Mix well and heat until it starts to boil. While the cream is heating: in a separate bowl place 8 egg yolks, 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract and mix well.
Once the cream comes to a boil slowly drizzle it into the bowl with the egg/sugar/vanilla mixture. Whisk constantly and drizzle slowly to temper the eggs. If you add the boiling milk to quickly you will make scambled eggs instead of sauce and you don't want that.
Now add your cream/egg mixture to the double boiler and cook for 8-12 minutes. Stir constantly. (This is where Tobey Appleseed was still cutting bread and hadn't yet started on the dicing of the apples.) The sauce will slowly start to thicken but not much. It will thicken up once it cools down. Strain the sauce and place in the fridge to cool. Once the sauce is cold add in add in 3 tablespoons of whiskey and mix well. I won't mention that I told Mr. Appleseed not to pick up whiskey because we had some Jameson's leftover from Christmas but as always he listened and picked up some Jack as well. Did I just digress?
Ideally you will want a loaf of bread cubed and let it set out for a day or so to dry out. The first time out I used half a loaf of french bread and about 4 croissants. I totally love croissants in bread pudding! The recipe calls for only 8 ounces of bread but a whole loaf works just fine.
So you have your bread cubed and now you will want to peel a small apple and dice it up nice and fine. I would advise peeling the apple first and then chop her up. Or you can go the labor intensive route like Mr. Appleseed did and section the apple and then peel all the sections individually and then chop it up. You decide which seems best for you. Go ahead and toss in 1 cup of raisins while you are at it. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup but I don't think that it is enough so I doubled it.
Set aside your bread/apple/raisin mixture.
In another bowl - this is like the third bowl by now isn't it? - combine 1 1/4 cup of sugar plus 1/2 cup of brown sugar and mix well to combine the sugars. Take 1/2 of this mixture and place it in a medium pot - you don't have to be exact in halfing the sugar mixtures. The half that remains in your bowl add: 6 beaten eggs, 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and salt, 1 tablespoon Vanilla and 1 tablespoon of Bourbon. Mix well and set aside. Oh. Don't use that ground up nutmeg stuff. Go get yourself a microplane and the actual nut nutmegs - it is soooo much better my friends. Trust me. Onwards.
The sugar that you put in a pot you will want to add to it: 2 cups of half and half, 2 cups of milk and stir well. Bring to a boil. Once your mixture boils take it off the heat as it can boil over very easily and you will have one big mess to clean up. Not that I know or anything.
Drizzle the boiled milk/sugar mixture into your sugar/cinnamon/egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour this into your bread/apple/raisin bowl and stir until the bread is all covered in the milk-egg goo. Let it sit for a few minutes so the bread can absorb all the goodness. Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if you have it (I didn't) and pour on the Whiskey Sauce. Now you can die and go to heaven a very happy camper.
Y'all this is simply the best bread pudding - heck dessert - I have had in a long time. Go. Make it. Let me know if you love it as much as I do.
~Mrs. Appleseed
