Sunday, November 4, 2007

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

I *STOLE* this recipe from another blogsite and hope to make it this evening for my hubby's return from the forest. He's been kind enough to spend the weekend hunting and gathering to try and fill our newly empty freezer. In his honor, I think I'm going to make a buffalo roast with potatoes, carrots, and the remaining delicata squash from our garden (man! I'm going to miss those!). This afternoon, I'm going with my friend Tracey to my new favorite place in the midwest: Whole Foods. I know it's very sad that I'm surrounded by scads of natural beauty with the fall colors, Great Lakes and all, but dammit! I love natural food shopping... I feel as if I have finally stumbled upon my people, where the cream puff eating, smoking, cheap beer swillers fear to tread. It's a bee-yoooooou-ti-ful day for a roadtrip!

Pumpkin Bread PuddingAdapted from Gourmet Magazine, October 2007
I made a few of my own adaptations to this, using only milk and no cream (to me, it makes no difference in dishes like this, so I figure I’ll save the calories), and doubling almost all of the spices. Oh, and I added bourbon, but you probably anticipated that.
1½ cups whole milk (Or 1 cup heavy cream plus ½ cup whole milk)¾ cup canned solid-pack pumpkin½ cup sugar2 large eggs plus 1 yolk½ teaspoon salt1 teaspoon ground cinnamon½ teaspoon ground ginger1/8 teaspoon ground allspicePinch of ground cloves2 tablespoons bourbon (optional)5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread¾ stick unsalted butter, melted* (can skip this step if using the second set of instructions)
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Gourmet’s Instructions: Whisk together pumpkin, cream, milk, sugar, eggs, yolk, salt, spices and bourbon, if using, in a bowl.
Toss bread cubes with butter in another bowl, then add pumpkin mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.
Alternate, Come On, Be Lazy With Me, instructions: While preheating oven to 350°F with rack in middle, melt butter in bottom of a 8-inch square baking dish. Once it is melted, take it out of the oven and toss bread cubes with butter, coating thoroughly. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the remaining ingredients. Pour them over buttered bread cubes in baking dish, stirring to make sure all pieces are evenly coated. Bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

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