Week 1: Bread Pudding (Katie)

I've been so excited to make this bread pudding and write my first post! Doing this blog together will be so fun!

I've seen a couple cooking blogs, so I think I know how this goes...First, here's the recipe Joelle sent us:

Ingredients:

6 slices day-old bread 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 cup raisins (optional) 4 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk 3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
3.	In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

I didn't have any trouble making the dish - very easy! The only changes I made was to use Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl bread and to leave out the raisins (Brent's request). Here is a picture of the dish BEFORE I put it in the oven:


It was a little hard to tell when the bread pudding was finished. I did exactly 45 minutes, and when I took it out and tapped it, I thought it still jiggled a little too much. But I tested it with a fork, and it turned out to be just right!


I thought the dessert was delicious! Joelle, you picked the right recipe for this week! It was perfect for someone who recently got their wisdom teeth out and can still only eat soft foods :)

Here's Joy and Brent about to take their first bite...


And they loved it! After they'd finished, I asked them to give it a grade and stars...here's the verdict:

Joy: 4 stars, A-
Brent: 4 stars, A-

Now my turn...


I was a little harder critic (that's the cook's job, right?). I would probably give this 3 stars and a "B." Although I thought it was delicious, I think there are still a lot of desserts I prefer (when I can chew :). And I think I've had better bread pudding too. Brent and I went to this restaurant called Molly Malones around St. Patrick's Day and he ordered the bread pudding...now that was divinity! I think maybe it was just richer, and perhaps had a sauce over it? I will have to check when we go again.

Overall though, I would definitely make this again. As Brent said, "I was ecstatic when I got an A- in college." YUM!

Thanks again for starting this blog, Joelle! I can't wait for next week!