Wow. Looking back on some old CD backups from the late 1990’s, I found about a dozen letters I sent to family (mainly Mama and Papa but also Aunt Gladys and others). Interesting stuff. I also found some old recipes I developed when I worked at Weight Watchers. This Bread Pudding recipe actually got a perfect score in the Test Kitchen–I don’t think it ever managed to get printed, though. It was for a section of the magazine that was, I believe, abandoned. If it ever ran, it did so after I had moved on to work at Scenic Alabama. The recipe was a good one, though, so thought I would share it here.
Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce
3 cups milk
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
9 (1-ounce) slices French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Cooking spray
Whiskey Sauce
Preheat oven to 350`.
Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Add bread cubes; toss gently. Let mixture stand 30 minutes.
Spoon mixture into a 13-x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350` for 45 minutes or until pudding is set. Serve warm with Whiskey Sauce. Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1/10 of pudding and about 3 tablespoons sauce).
Whiskey Sauce
1 cup fat-free half-and-half
1 tablespoon butter
5 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Additional nutmeg, optional
Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan; stir well. Cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Gradually add half-and-half mixture to egg, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return mixture to pan. Cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and add bourbon.
Combine water and cornstarch; stir well. Add to half-and-half mixture; bring almost to a boil; cook 1 minute. Stir in nutmeg. Serve warm with bread pudding. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg, if desired. Yield: 13/4 cups (serving size: about 3 tablespoons).