A Midnight Snack

A Piece of Goodness

     Though, to clarify, this wasn't supposed to be a midnight snack. It was supposed to be a dessert that would last through at least one meal. It did not. It came out of the oven at 12:30 am and there was only one measly piece left by 1 am. That measly piece disappeared the next morning. No prizes for guessing who ate it. Actually, I shared it with my friend KK who is visiting (and no those are not her real initials for those who know her, but those are the initials correlating to what I call her, so those are the initials you will come to know and love - sorry for the convolutedness, everybody else).

     So, what is this short-lived food? It is Chocolate Bread Pudding. And before you roll your eyes and wonder why I am making another bread pudding, let me tell you that there is a poor loaf of Trader Joe's bread that has gone kind of stale in my fridge. What else would you have me do with it?

     Wonder of wonders, this bread pudding created a niche for itself outside the other ones I have made so far. Both the cinnamon bun and the peanut butter and jelly bread puddings were delicious, but they were rather heavy. They were more dense desserts, to be enjoyed in small pieces at leisure because a little went a long way (especially the pb & j). This bread pudding is different. It is light. It is not too sweet. It is something three people can finish in one sitting. Sorry other people I meant to share it with.

    
     For a spur of the moment - I completely made up the recipe dessert, this chocolate bread pudding turned out delicious. Like I said, it was light and not cloyingly sweet. Instead, warm out of the oven, it was chocolatey, a little chewy but soft, and delicious. The crusty bits on top were extra good crunchy chocolatey morsels. We had two helpings each easily and didn't regret it at all. I love when midnight experiments turn into delicious midnight snacks.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

4 pieces Slightly Stale Crusty White Bread (I used Tuscan Pane from Trader Joes)
2 Eggs, Beaten
1/3 cup Yogurt
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 tbsp Cocoa

Butter a loaf pan. Crumble the pieces of bread into 1'' by 1'' pieces onto a plate. In a medium bowl (or large tupperware), mix together the eggs, yogurt, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cocoa thoroughly. Add the bread to the mixture, and stir everything together until all the pieces of bread are coated in liquid. Cover the container, and allow the bread to soak in the liquid for at least half an hour. When you are ready to bake, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Dump the soaked bread and any remaining liquid into the loaf pan, making sure they are evenly spread through the pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the top looks set and firm. Allow to cool on a wire rack for five minutes, then serve straight out of the pan.

Back in the Kitchen

So much is gone!

     I am back! I am cooking again! This is so exciting. Having my first home-cooked meals after a long weekend of eating out felt really good. I missed being in the kitchen - even if it was only three days. So, what did I make for my very first day back? Something ridiculously easy. Something using the only groceries I bought on my first grocery shopping trip after coming back from Boston: milk, bread, peanut butter and jam. Could any other groceries be more important? 

      I am going to have quite a collection of peanut butter and jelly recipes. But, what can I do when peanut butter and jelly is such a great combination? My friend BJG was actually talking about how he ate pb&j's at the farm he was working on over spring break and how amazing they were, and I started craving them so much (hence the grocery shopping). But I wanted something more, something special - something like this dish. So now, while staring confusedly at the pictures, you ask: What is this dish exactly? It is: Peanut butter and jelly bread pudding! 

All pretty in pink.

     I was hoping it would be utterly original. I mean, I knew it wouldn't be. But just for that little bit of hope, I didn't even bother to look it up online, and I just made up the recipe the way I wanted. Of course, my friends looked it up and killed my hope (even Food Network has made a pb & j bread pudding). Still, mine was better! It is better! (There's still a piece left. Or at least half a piece.)   

     Do you know why I know it is so good it must be one of the best? I used Strawberry preserves, so there are delicious bursts of strawberry throughout. I used enough peanut butter that it tastes like my kind of peanut butter sandwich - super peanut buttery. And, there is that extra something I never even thought of. I used the bread I had on hand, which was Arnold's wheat bread with "Ancient Grains" (yes, that's actually what it is called). First of all, this made the pudding taste Exactly like my peanut butter sandwiches because I never buy white bread anyway. Those Ancient Grains though, they were the best little surprise. Crunchy and slightly savory, they undercut the sweet denseness of the pudding in the best possible way. I do love good food. 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread Pudding 

4 slices Wheat Bread with Grains, slightly stale is best (but I used half fresh and half stale...)  

1 1/2 cup Milk 

3/4 cup Peanut Butter 

1/2 cup Strawberry Preserves (or your favorite jam) 

2 Eggs, Beaten  

2 tbsp Sugar 

     Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees and butter a loaf pan. Then, crumble the four pieces of bread into a bowl so they are in about 1/2 inch pieces. In a separate medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, jam or preserves, milk, eggs, and sugar together. (I suggest an electric beater if you have one, it is hard to mix peanut butter into liquid with a spoon -- I ended up using my hands.) Dump the pieces of bread into the liquid and turn them so they are all soaking in liquid. Cover and let it rest for half an hour or until most of the liquid has soaked into the bread. Then, pour into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hr (until the top looks firm and is not liquidy anymore). Let cool on a wire rack for ten minutes. Cut slices or scoop out portions, and eat! 

Cinnamon Buns

Welcome to my Fridge, the place with the best lighting in my house :D 

Last Sunday, a friend brought cinnamon buns over to my apartment for an amazing after-dinner dessert. Regardless of my ravagings through the week, it is now Sunday again, and there is still a giant cinnamon bun and a half left in the fridge. (Note ravagings in picture.) What to do with probably-stale-though-still-delicious cinnamon buns? Bread pudding of course! It seems natural. I was hoping it would be original too, but on googling "Cinnamon Bun Bread Pudding," I found it had been done before. Ah well. Just because I didn't think of it doesn't make it sound any less appealing. I think the best part about Bread Pudding is that all you need is milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla and suddenly you have a whole new dessert out of apples or pound cake or whatever other messes you happen to have around! Hurrah for Bread Pudding.

So, I cut my cinnamon buns into teensy pieces. Then, I mixed milk, beaten eggs, and vanilla in one of my big tupperwares - I figured for an even bathe, the cinnamon buns should rest on a flat surface. And, I was out of large bowls. Then, I laid my cinnamon bun pieces into their bath. This entire process took five minutes flat. All foods should be this easy. This brings me to a confession. The only pan I own is a loaf pan. At home, I have lots of pans (or my mom does). But here, in my little college apartment, I haven't been able to justify spending the money on a lot of different kinds of pans. Instead, I cut everything down to loaf pan size! Which is why it is great that I had only 1 1/2 cinnamon buns left, just enough to make cinnamon bun bread pudding in a loaf pan. Everything works out in the end. Though, for normal people who own normal pans, you could easily double this recipe (I'm sure you're more likely to have 3 whole buns anyway, unlike me) and put it in a square pan or casserole dish. And, you can see the size of the cinnamon buns I had, so if you are using regular - not Jumbo Supermarket Size - cinnamon buns, you would probably need at least 2 buns where I used 1 1/2.

First piece of bread pudding, straight out of the oven! I wish this picture wasn't so yellow....

The cinnamon bun bread pudding was even better than I thought it would be, especially five minutes after leaving the oven. It was warm, soft, and sweet with a hint of cinnamony goodness. I love the egginess of bread pudding inside the and the little crisp bits on the outside. Also, I don't know why bread pudding containing 1 1/2 cinnamon buns seems so much healthier than cinnamon buns themselves. I think its the fact that the sweetness is cut down and it just seems so wholesome. Even cold, it made a delicious breakfast with a glass of milk. Sigh, if only I hadn't just given the last piece away.


Cinnamon Bun Bread Pudding
Makes 8 Servings


1 1/2 Cinnamon Buns

2 Eggs, Beaten

1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Milk 

Center a rack in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Tear apart or cut the cinnamon buns into 1 inch or smaller cubes. In one medium bowl, stir together the eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Lay the cinnamon bun pieces into the liquid mixture, making sure each piece is covered. Leave for ten minutes, to allow the cinnamon buns to soak in the liquid. Then, pour into the loaf pan and place in the oven. Bake for 55 minutes, or until it is set and does not jiggle when shaken. Cool on a wire rack for five minutes, then cut pieces and eat!