Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The simplest and most delicious solution to a mediocre loaf of Trader Joe's white bread? Homemade Bread Pudding.
Like many monster tales, the easiest way to rid your village—or in this case, your kitchen—of something unpleasant is to transform it into something good. Now, normally, this would involve summoning a wizard of sorts to take care of the problem. However—with no wizard on speed dial—I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at making a classic: homemade bread pudding. This is the recipe I used, including the suggested changes of many reviewers.
Homemade Bread Pudding
6-8 slices day-old bread
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* Many reviews suggested substituting 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar for a richer flavor, the only reason I used all white sugar was because I had ran out of brown sugar the day before
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
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.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.
To top off the bread pudding I also made a Vanilla Sauce that was recommended by some. Personally, I felt that it was okay, but the rest of my family loved it. My biggest complaint about the sauce is it's consistency and appearance. Maybe in the future I will try to improve the aesthetics of it. Until then, I'm on the lookout for a more appealing topping.
Vanilla Sauce
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in the water, stirring until blended. Bring mixture to a boil and continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Serve warm.
For my first post on this blog I was quite frustrated about how difficult it was to take an appetizing photo of this dish. All my favorite food blogs have the most adorable pictures and hopefully, with a little practice and some experimentation, some day I'll be able to deliver.
My biggest worry for my blog thus far: will I ever be able to resist eating the sample plate after all the photos are taken?
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4 comments:
The key to great photography is great light. But when you're taking food pics, leave the flash OFF. It will just wash out the food.
Generally, you want to make sure all sides of the dish are lit so there aren't dark shadows. Try to study the pics in the food blogs you like and see where the light sources are coming from. That will give you a rough idea where to position yourself and your food when you're taking pics.
wow, you've made some serious photography strides since the early days, eh? gives me hope for my food photography!
Anne: indeed I have. haha. when making over my blog, i contemplated deleting my earlier posts, but realized that they would be a nice reminder when marking the growth of this blog and myself as well.
it's like those embarrassing, yet cherished baby photos we all have, i suppose.
This recipe sounds absolutely delisH I cant wait to try it!
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