Wishing a Happy Birthday to my Mom with bread pudding!

Today is my mom's birthday. It took me a really long time to think of a good recipe to post for her, because like all good moms she never thinks about herself, so even desert is about her family. Then I remembered how much she loves Rino's bread pudding. Rino's pudding has rum in it but I didn't think mom would have any rum around so this version is with out.

When you make bread pudding start out with some day old bread, cut the bread into bite sized pieces.
1 loaf day old bread, get something nice from the bakery, no wonder bread here!

4 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. Mexican Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
4 cups whole milk (you can use skim but you will lose the creaminess)
1/4 cup dried fruit, this can be apricots, cranberries, cherries, typically raisins are used
(If you want to add some rum flavor like Rino does, use 3 3/4 cups of milk and add 1/4 cup of spiced rum)

Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with the Pam for baking. Add the bread cubes in the pan. In a bowl, combine together the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well blended. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Let stand, pressing down on the bread to help it soak up the liquid like a sponge, until it is evenly soaked, about 20 minutes. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Scatter the fruit evenly over the top of the soaked bread. Set the baking dish in a large, roasting pan. (like the one you cook a turkey in) Add very hot tap water to the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake 45 to 55 minutes. (Check for doneness with a knife like when you bake a cake)

Serve warm, you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top if you want it to look prettier. Add a candle for birthdays!

Happy birthday Mom! You are the best mom ever!

Hush Puppies

When we were kids and we would go out for fish, we always had hush puppies.  I remember my Grandpa telling us that the name came from sailor's tossing them to the ship dogs saying "Hush Puppies".  Not sure if that is true but it makes me smile  :)

When we went to Newport, hush puppies were served with dinner at the Lobster Bake.  Matt had never had them before, I think he was in love!  
2 cups yellow corn meal
1 cup plain flour 
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk 
3/4 teaspoon Cavender's
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper blend 
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 cup peanut oil
oil to fry them in (peanut)

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add your eggs, oil, and buttermilk. Stir it all up until
the flavors are thoroughly blended. 

Turn your fry-daddy to 375. When it's hot you can drop your hush puppies in using a table spoon. Allow them to brown on all sides.  They will float when they are done.  

To have fun with them, add some chopped green onion, cheddar cheese, bacon bits or anything else you think sounds yummy.  

Panzanella by request

My friend Becki was telling me about a bread salad she had. This is a recipe for one that I like to toss together. The fun thing about salads is mixing it up, if you have a veggie that sounds good toss it in! If you want to go fancy with bread salad, here is a link to the bread salad served at San Francisco's famed Zuni Cafe.

1 (1 pound) loaf Italian bread
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup cucumber - peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar (you could use balsamic, I have an amazing champagne vinegar I recently bought which would lend a lighter flavor)

This is your base of ingredients, after that I would see what was hanging around! Little left over roasted chicken, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, experiment with extras, let me know how you do!

Pull apart or chop the bread into bite-size pieces.
In a salad bowl, combine the bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, garlic, basil, parsley and thyme. Add enough olive oil and vinegar to lightly coat, toss and serve. Toss in your extras.

Zucchini Bread

My friend Andrea made me a loaf of banana bread the other day, it was delicious. I started thinking about banana bread, and my mom made it when we were kids but we ate more zucchini bread, banana bread's cousin. I think the reason was that my dad is very allergic to bananas & my mom would never make something he couldn't eat. (Yes that is my cute Mom & Dad) This recipe is Paula Dean's, you can always trust her recipes because she is a Southerner. :)

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup water

2 cups grated zucchini

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Garlic Knots

We got home from our Wedding/Honeymoon last night, we ate the most amazing food, which I am going to try to create recipes for to share with you. Here are a few of the upcoming recipes:
Cream of Poblano Chile Soup
Creamy Parmesan Soup
Green Curry Chicken
Grilled Grouper
Lasagna Bolognese
The way my mind works, always thinking of food :), I am on to thinking of Thanksgiving. This first recipe is for the amateur cook. If you are lucky enough to be invited for dinner you won't want to show up empty handed. While you could bring a bottle of wine, offer to also bring the bread. (It will look like you tried!) Tell your host you are going to bring your delicious rosemary garlic knots. They sound harder to make then they are. You can do this & still have time to get all dressed up for the party.

1 (11 ounce) container refrigerated bread stick dough (I like Pillsbury)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Tie the dough into 12 knots and place them onto a cookie sheet. Brush the knots with the egg, and sprinkle the rosemary and garlic onto the knots. Bake the knots according to the package directions.