KITCHEN MAGIC

Bread pudding

By DAVID SPITZER
Special to the Saipan Tribune

One of the most popular desserts on our buffets is our bread pudding. Pastry chef Henry Fellone had taken this New Orleans staple to a new height. The key is to use old bread, a day or two old. You do not need to use French bread; any flavorful bread will do. On any Sunday brunch at the Dai-Ichi you will find this, or the Special Chocolate version for a special occasion.

Prep Time: 2 Hours
6-8 Servings

5 10 inch loaves French bread
1 quart milk
6 whole eggs
1 – ½ cups sugar
¼ cup vanilla
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp nutmeg
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans

Slice French bread into one half-inch round croutons. In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, eggs and sugar. Using a wire whisk, blend these three ingredients well. Add vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Continue to blend until all ingredients are well mixed. Oil a 10-inch cheesecake pan. Press one layer of French bread croutons into the bottom of the pan, making sure there are no void spaces. Sprinkle a small amount of pecans and raisins over this layer. Ladle in one third of the custard mixture. Carefully press the custard into the croutons using the tips of your fingers. Continue to press until all croutons and custard are used up. You may find that one to two cups of the custard mixture will remain once the pan has been filled. This is normal and you must continue to add the custard, a little at a time, firmly pressing into the croutons until all has been used. This may take an hour or so. The bread pudding is always best if allowed to set in the refrigerator overnight before cooking. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the bread pudding pan into a larger pan filled with water. Cook in this water bath approximately one to one and half hours. Allow to cool and serve with a sabayon.

For Sabayon:

3 eggyolks
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup dry white wine
½ cup praline liqueur

Place two inches of water in a one quart sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring to a low boil, reduce to simmer and hold. In a heavy mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until creamy, approximately three to five minutes. Set aside. In a sauté pan over medium high heat, combine white wine and praline liqueur. Bring to a small boil and, whisking constantly, add into the egg mixture. Set the bowl on top of the sauce pan of water creating a double broiler, and continue to whip until mixture doubles in volume. Remove from heat and continue to whisk one to two minutes.

David Spitzer is the executive chef of the Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach.