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! 

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Jam. One of the greatest bounties of the Earth.

     So, last night, I told you all about making pho. And, the pho was delicious (I had it again for lunch today). But, as is my wont, by midnight I was getting a little peckish again. I needed my sweet after my meal, and what sweet did I crave? Peanut butter and jelly. Peanut butter and strawberry jam may be one of the best combinations in the world (I'm sure someone disagrees and has some other jam of preference - but its still peanut butter and jam, and that is what is most important).

Making Peanut Butter even More Delicious.

     However, I didn't just want an ordinary PB and J. I wanted something special I had seen on Have Cake Will Travel. I love food blogs, don't you? They make such delightful things and give me so many great recipes. Well, this recipe sounded just perfect. It was for Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars: a layer of jam sandwiched between two layers of peanut butter cookie/cake-ness. It would only take half an hour in the oven and ingredients (with some substitutions) that I had on hand - and it sounded delicious.

     There was only one problem. I did not have that much jam left, and there needed to be enough for a substantial layer between the two peanut butter layers. Did that deter me? Of course not. What did I do? The only thing one could have done to this bar to make it more delicious. I made up my missing weight in jam with Nutella. Have you ever tried strawberry jam mixed with Nutella? With a spoon straight out of the mixture? I suggest you try it at least once in your lifetime. If you have a sweet tooth like mine, there is just nothing like a lick of that smooth sweet strawberry chocolate taste.

Ah, Deliciousness.

     So, how was my late night creation? Well, it was a layer of soft peanut buttery cookie, a sweet layer of chocolatey strawberry jam, and then more peanut butter cookie crumbled on top. Make your own conclusions people. Let me just tell you that I have eaten three - huge - pieces since it came out of the oven last night at 1 am. One of those pieces was my breakfast, and a most lovely breakfast it was. Try this with your favorite jam or other spread, obviously anything goes. But, please do try it because it is just full of comfort, happiness, and the absolutely perfect flavors of Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Peanut Butter and Jam Bars 
Adapted from Have Cake Will Travel 

1/2 cup Softened Butter or Margarine 
1/2 cup Sugar 
1 cup Peanut Butter (any kind) 
1 tsp Vanilla Extract 
1 Egg 
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour 
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt 
3/4 cup Jam or Jam + Nutella (I used 1/2 cup Jam, 1/4 cup Nutella, I believe) 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 8 in Square Pan (or your loaf pan and prepare to make two batches.)

In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and egg using an electric mixer. Then, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the mixture until it is just combined. Then, using your hands, spread 2/3 of the the dough into the prepared pan, pressing it down (or 2/3 of half the dough if you are using a loaf pan). Next, spread the jam evenly on top. Crumble the remaining 1/3 of the dough on top of the jam. Put the pan in the oven for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Then, place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Finally, cut the square (or loaf) into bars, and carefully transfer them using a spatula onto a wire rack to cool completely. (Repeat for the other half of dough and jam if you are using a loaf pan.) Try to wait for them to cool before you eat!