Pudding For Breakfast?

Seeley made a dessert pudding last week, but puddings don’t always have to be sweet.  With Easter coming up next weekend, many of us will have lots of leftover ham to find uses for, so I thought I’d put it in a savory bread pudding.  Eggs benedict bread pudding is just the thing.  You can even put it all together before bed and just pop the pan into the oven in the morning for an easy and delicious breakfast for the whole family. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 6 English muffins
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 cup milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

The first thing you need to do is butter a 9x13 pan.  This is probably a good place for me to say, do as I say, not as I do.  Yes I know that is a square pan in the picture, but trust me, you want a 9x13. 

Tear up half of your English muffins and scatter them in the pan. 

Sprinkle on half of the ham. 

Then half of the cheese. 

Repeat.  Muffins, ham, cheese. 

And now you see why I told you to use a 9x13 pan.  Then you don’t have to dirty two of them when you figure out the square one is too small. 

There we go.  Much better. 

Now for the custard part.  I like to mix it in a large measuring cup so that it’s easy to pour.  Crack in your 4 eggs.  (yeah, ignore the picture again.)

Whisk them together, and then pour in the half and half and the milk. 

Add the salt and pepper and whisk some more. 

Pour that over the bread mixture. 

Press everything down so that every piece is soaked with the custard, then cover the pan and refrigerate it for at least a few hours, or overnight. 

When you’re ready, preheat your oven to 350°.  Bake for 40-50 minutes.  It should be starting to brown on top, and a knife inserted in the center will come out clean. 

That needs to cool for 20 minutes before you cut into it, so while you’re waiting, go ahead and whip up some hollandaise sauce to drizzle over the top.  Now how’s that for pudding? 

How do you like your pudding?  Sweet or savory? 

Update on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 8:55AM by Taneasha

So after eating both the fresh out of the oven version, and the reheated leftovers version, I've decided this dish is much better after being chilled.  I would recommend making and baking it before bed, then refrigerating it overnight and reheating it in the morning.  Don't get me wrong, it's really tasty either way, but the texture of the reheated version is better. 

Intoxicatingly Indulgent Fudge

Pistachios are one of my favorite things, so when it comes time to think of something green to make for St. Patrick’s Day, they are always at the top of my list of ingredients.  This year, I decided to put them in fudge, but not just any fudge.  Bailey’s Irish Cream fudge.  What other kind of fudge would you make for St. Patrick’s Day, after all? 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 Tablespoons brown rice syrup (or corn syrup)
• ⅓ cup cream
• ⅓ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• Pistachios

Before you start cooking, butter a pan and set it atop a kitchen towel, then drop in 4 Tablespoons butter.

In a 3 quart or larger saucepan, place your sugar and syrup. 

Measure out the cream, Bailey’s, and water, then pour that over the sugar. 

Stir everything together over low heat. 

When the sugar is mostly dissolved, increase the heat to medium and continue to stir constantly until the mixture comes to a full boil.  Pop on a lid for 2 minutes. 

During that time, get a clean spoon or thoroughly wash the one you’ve been using, and get a small dish of ice cold water.  When you remove the lid, scoop a small amount into the spoon and allow it to drip into the cold water. 

When you’ve reached the right temperature, the mixture will easily come together into a ball that will just hold its shape, but is very pliable still.  If it’s not there yet, allow it to continue boiling, checking it again every minute or so. 

Turn off the heat and pour the hot mixture over the butter in the prepared pan.  This mixture is extremely hot so be very careful.  

While that’s cooling, line a smaller pan with parchment and set it aside. 

After that, it’s time to work on your nuts.  Break the pistachios out of their shells and remove any loose skin.  It just covers the pretty green color. 

When your mixture has cooled to the point that you can comfortably hold your hand on the bottom of the pan, it’s time to start stirring.  A wooden spatula is the perfect tool for this job.  Start on one side and begin scraping the edges into the middle. 

It’ll look like a broken mess at first, but eventually all the butter will be incorporated. 

Continue scraping and stirring.  As you do, the mixture will begin to become opaque.  But at this point, it’s still running in ribbons like a thick syrup. 

Keep stirring.  See it becoming more opaque?

Just a bit more, and when you see the texture start to change it will become less sticky and blob like and will start to hold its shape somewhat. 

It’s time for your nuts.  Sprinkle on about ⅔ of them. 

Stir them in and spread the mixture into the parchment lined pan. 

Sprinkle on the rest of your nuts and press on them lightly with your palm. 

My reason for making this fudge was really just because I thought it would be cute for St. Patrick’s Day.  I was surprised by how amazingly delicious it is.  It’s one of the best flavors of fudge I’ve ever tasted.  Definitely worth the trip to the liquor store, especially if you can get your hubby to go for you. 

What’s your favorite green food?