Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce or Creme Anglaise

I had an opportunity to sample both whiskey sauce and creme anglaise with bread pudding served at a Christmas buffet last year, and each was excellent in its own way. So, I dug up the most authentic recipes I could find, and include them  here.

Pudding ingredients:

• 3/4 c. raisins


• 2 tbsp. dark rum


• 1 lb. French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes


• 3 c. whole milk


• 1 c. half and half


• 3 eggs, beaten to blend


• 2 c. sugar


• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted


• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon


• 2 tbsp. vanilla

Pudding preparation:

Place raisins in small bowl. Pour rum over. Let soak 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 325. Generously butter 9x13 inch pan. Place bread in large bowl. Pour milk and half and half over. Let soak 5 minutes. Whisk eggs with sugar, butter, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Pour over bread. Add raisins and rum. Toss to coat. Transfer bread mixture to prepared pan. Bake about 1 hour.

Whiskey Sauce ingredients:

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter


• 1/2 c. golden brown sugar, packed


• 1/2 c. sugar


• 1 egg


• 3 tbsp. whiskey


• Whipped cream

Whiskey Sauce preparation:

Melt butter and both sugars in heavy saucepan over low heat stirring until sugars dissolve. Whisk egg in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in some of melted butter mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and whisk until smooth, 1 minute, do not boil. Whisk in whiskey. Spoon warm bread pudding onto plate. Spoon sauce over, top with whipped cream.

Creme Anglaise ingredients:


A versatile vanilla sauce, used with many different dishes. With the addition of chocolate and whipped cream, creme anglaise becomes chocolate mousse.

• 3 c. milk


• 8 egg yolks


• 1 c. sugar


• 1 tsp. vanilla extract


• 1/2 c. cold cream

Creme Anglaise preparation:

Boil the three cups of milk; rest. Beat yolks, sugar, and vanilla 3 minutes; it should fold like a ribbon.
Combine yolks and hot milk, then cold cream. When it reaches the correct consistency, strain; cool, refrigerate.

Spiced Stewed Apples

 
Awesome with roast pork or ham! Also excellent spooned over vanilla ice cream while still warm, with an added drizzle of caramel sauce.

Ingredients:

• 5 large cooking apples*


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 tsp cinnamon


• ¼ tsp nutmeg


• ¼ cup butter


• 2 Tbs water

Preparation:

Peel apples and cut into chunks. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle seasoned sugar over apples until evenly covered. Put seasoned apples, butter, and the 2 Tbs. water into a pot, cover and cook over low heat, stirring 2 or 3 times, for 20 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve hot with meal.
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*Common varieties of cooking apples: Granny Smith, Yellow Delicious, Gravenstein, Jonathan, Gala, McIntosh, Pink Lady

Christmas Possum

 

GLENNIE NELL'S ROAST CHRISTMAS POSSUM
From The Treasury of White Trash Cooking by Ernest and Trisha Mickler.

Ingredients:

• 1 possum, corn and milk-fed
  for one month prior, cleaned and dressed


• ½ cup vinegar


• Kitchen Bouqet™


• Persimmons jam


• 5-6 slices bacon


• 8-10 medium sweet potatoes


• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Immerse the cleaned and dressed possum in an enamel dishpan or basin, making sure it's completely covered. Add an half cup of vinegar and let soak in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, drain the water and cut the possum into pieces. Boil the pieces in salted water until done, but not falling off the bone (1-2 hours, depending upon the size and the age of the possum). When done, remove the pieces from water and allow to drain in a colander. This part of the process will remove most of the fat.

After the meat cools, rub the pieces generously with salt and black pepper. Then prepare a mixture of 1/2 jar of persimmons jam (any light-tasting jam may be substituted) mixed with two teaspoons of Kitchen Bouqet.™ Thoroughly coat possum pieces with mixture. Transfer pieces to large roasting pan.

Lay 5 or 6 strips of thick-sliced bacon or salt pork across the glazed possum meat, and surround with the sweet potatoes, which have been peeled and rubbed with oil or Crisco.

Put in preheated 350° F. oven and roast, covered, for 30 minutes. Then uncover and cook until well-browned, but not burned (approx. 30 minutes longer). Baste with drippings every few minutes during this phase of the cooking.

Afterremoving from oven, test the sweet potatoes for doneness with a fork. If not yet completely cooked, transfer them to a lightly buttered casserole dish and finish them off in 350° F. oven.

Victorian Comfort Food: Currant Cream Scones

 

Currant Cream Scones
Marilynn and Sheila Brass - a simple yet elegant addition to any Christmas celebration.
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INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups flour (plus ¼ cup for kneading dough)


• 1 tablespoon baking powder


• ½ teaspoon salt


• ½ teaspoon cinnamon


• ¼ cup butter


• ¼ cup sugar


• 2 eggs


• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream


• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest


• 1 cup dried currants, plumped in ¼ cup orange juice*


• ¼ cup sugar

PREPARATION

1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cover a 14-inch by 16-inch baking sheet with foil, shiny side up. Coat the foil with vegetable spray or use a silicone liner.


2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.


3. Cream butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine eggs and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and add to butter mixture. Add grated orange zest. Add sifted dry ingredients and stir until a soft dough begins to form. Squeeze orange juice from currants and incorporate fruit into dough with your fingers.


4. Place dough on a generously floured surface. Knead gently five times, turning corners of dough toward the center. Pat dough into a 1/2-inch thick circle. Using a floured knife, cut dough into 12 equal wedges. Using a floured wide spatula, transfer each wedge to baking sheet. Brush wedges with the remaining heavy cream and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until tops of scones are lightly brown and bottoms are golden brown. Place baking sheet on a rack and cool about 10 minutes. Serve scones warm with butter and jam. They are best when eaten the day they are made.

Makes 12 scones
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*To plump currants in tea, orange juice, or water, bring the liquid to a boil, immerse the raisins, continue to boil for 1 minute and set aside to allow them to absorb the plumping liquid. If needed immediately, place in plastic container and chill in freezer for 10 minutes. If not used the same day, refrigerate and use when needed.

Pineapple Yams

PINEAPPLE YAMS
Courtesy of LaDonna (Donna) Elvig, Snohomish County, WA

Ingredients:

• 1 40 oz. can yams (drained and mashed), OR 2½ lbs. fresh yams, cooked and prepared.


• ¼ c. brown sugar


• 3 Tbs melted butter


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 1 8oz can crushed pineapple


• 1 c. shredded coconut


• 1 c. brown sugar


• ¼ c. flour


• 1/3 c. melted butter


• ¾ c. chopped pecans

Preparation:

• Mix first 5 ingredients and spoon into lightly greased 8 in. baking dish.

• Mix the rest of ingredients & sprinkle over the top.

• Bake at 350° for 30 mins or until golden brown.

Mmm...Pumpkin Cobbler

 
PUMPKIN COBBLER 
Courtesy of LaDonna (Donna) Elvig, Snohomish County, WA

Ingredients:

• 1 large can pumpkin


• 1 12 oz. can evaporated milk


• 3 eggs


• 1½ cups sugar


• ½ tsp cinnamon


• ½ tsp nutmeg


• 1 box yellow cake mix (dry)


• 1 ½ sticks melted butter

Preparation:

• Mix together the first 6 ingredients and spread into a 13 x 9 well buttered baking dish.

• Sprinkle the cake mix over the pumpkin mixture and drizzle the butter on top

• Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean

Turkey Soup: An American Tradition

 

It's the day after Thanksgiving. Out there across the nation...millions of pounds of  leftover roast bird. What are we going to do with all that turkey? Sandwiches are fine, but a week’s worth of turkey sandwiches can get old, as many a brown-bag lunch carrying kid will attest to in the week after Thanksgiving.

If you’re of a mind to treat that leftover bird with a bit more culinary finesse than just a sandwich, below is an eclectic assortment of turkey soup recipes.

Pumpkin shortage? Why not try squash pie?

 

In case you haven't heard, stocks of canned pumpkin may be depleted by Thanksgiving, with potentially none left over for Christmas. This is not good...and combined with the fact that the U.S. Post Office will no longer forward letters from children to the N. Pole, that's a double whammy for the festive season.

I'd like to suggest a solution to the pie quandry: (I can imagine the expression on some people's faces as I suggest trying a squash pie this year). Before you get all hot and bothered about it, though, note that the pumpkin itself is a squash:

Pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds) (source)

So, if you're one of those kids who didn't like squash, who grew into one of those adults that doesn't like squash, understand that if mom had prepared  a hunk of pumpkin the same way she prepared that "other" yellow vegetable you loathe, you wouldn't have liked it any better. Because all winter squash tastes just about the same, with subtle differences we'll leave to connoisseurs.

The bottom line is that if you hate squash, but like pumpkin pie, a butternut or acorn squash will make a pie that tastes pretty much like the old standard. So if you're fresh out of pumpkin, but can get your hands on a winter squash, or even packages of frozen squash (check your grocer's freezer section), then everything will be fine.

Below are directions for preparing a squash pie, preceded by instructions on how to cook the squash beforehand (if you're using frozen prepared squash, after cooking it will have the perfect pureed texture).

PREPARING WINTER SQUASH

With a sharp knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise - you can tap your knife lightly with a wooden mallet if your knife is not going through. Scoop out the seeds. Lay each half of the squash cut side down on your board and slice again, to create quarters Then lay each quarter flat on your board, and slice off the peel with your chef’s knife. Alternatively,  you may peel each slice with a vegetabl epeeler, then cut each slice into cubes or pieces for cooking. Cook in enough water just to cover the squash. Before mashing/pureeing squash, drain any excess water that remains in pan.

MAKING THE PIE

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup sugar


• 1½ tsp cinnamon


• ½ each of tsp salt, nutmeg and ground ginger


• ¼ tsp each of allspice and ground cloves


• Two eggs


• 1½ cups cooked,pureed winter squash


• 1 2/3 cups whole milk or cream

Preparation:

Combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ground ginger allspice and ground cloves. Beat the two eggs, then mix with 1 1/2 cups cooked, pureed winter squash and 1 2/3 whole milk or cream. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into a pie shell. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes, until set. Cool and serve.

Rum Ball Muffins

 
Ingredients:

• 1¾ cups plain flour


• ½ cup sugar


• 4 tsp. baking powder


• ¼ cup of cocoa powder


• ½ cup of coconut (plus some for the tops)


• ½ tsp. salt


• ½ cup raisins


• ½ cup brown rum


• 2 eggs, lightly beaten


• 1 cup milk


• 4½ oz. of butter, melted

Preparation:

1. Soak the raisins with the rum for at least 2 hours.


2. Heat the oven to 400° F.  Line 18 muffin tins with paper cases or brush oil on the bottoms.


3. Sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Mix in the coconut and sugar.


4. In another bowl mix the milk, eggs and melted butter. Stir in the rum and raisins.


5. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once. Using a fork fold the ingredients together only until the mixture is uniformly moist (do not over-mix!)


6. Spoon the mixture into muffin tins and sprinkle the tops with coconut.


7. Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. They are ready when a skewer or toothpick comes out clean.


8. Place muffins on a wire rack to cool.

English farmhouse fare: Gloucester Cheese and Brown Ale

This has been served as a farmhouse supper dish since the Middle Ages, and still makes a nice precursor to a Christmas Eve meal. Here, mild cheddar has been substituted for the Gloucester (pronounced: GLOSS-ter) cheese to accommodate American tastes (and because imported Gloucester is expensive), but if  you wish to be 100% authentic, you can get double Gloucester cheese (which has a very strong, sharp taste) at most grocery stores with an international cheese selection. I have found it difficult to find single Gloucester, which is supposed to be milder.


INGREDIENTS:

- 1/2 lb mild Cheddar, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon prepared English Mustard (prepared from dry or potted)
- 1/2 cup brown ale
- 4 thick slices of wholewheat bread (artisan-type bread recommended)

PREPARATION:

Arrange slices of cheese in bottom of a large but shallow ovenproof dish and spread the prepared mustard over the top. Pour in just enough of the ale to cover the cheese. Cover with foil and bake in preheated 375° oven for about ten minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Meanwhile, toast the bread.  Top bread with melted cheese and serve immediately, with brown ale as a beverage, if you like. The toast may also be sectioned before the cheese is added, so as to be divided up between more than four persons.

Victorian Appetizer: "Angels on Horseback"

This was a popular appetizer or "savory" in Victorian times when oysters were both inexpensive and abundant.

INGREDIENTS:

- 8 oysters, shucked
- 8 bacon slices
- 4 slices of toast
- Unsalted butter
- Coarsely ground pepper
- Parsley or watercress to garnish

PREPARATION:

Wrap a bacon slice around each oyster and, and sprinkle all with coarse ground pepper.  Place on a broiler rack with the seam side down. Cook under hot broiler until bacon is crisp, then turn over to crisp the underside.

Cut two circles from each slice of toast and butter the circles. Place one roll on each circle of toast. Garnish with parsley or watercress.

This dish can be varied according to your tastes. You may marinate the oysters in any number of different mixtures before preparing, and the finished rolls needn't necessarily be placed atop toast, but can be speared with a toothpick, or served on the half shell. You can also wrap pitted dates in bacon and broil, serving these alongside as "Devils on Horseback."

Ralphie's Red Cabbage

If you've seen A Christmas Story [watch it online, here] you may recall that Ralphie's mother makes red cabbage on at least two occasions in the movie. In the first, the Old Man has just asked for some more red cabbage, forcing Mom to get up from the table, as Ralphie's adult voice comments, "My Mother had not had a hot meal for years..." In the second, Ralphie lifts the lid on a pot to see what's cooking. "Oh...red cabbage..." he murmurs. To which his mother replies, "You love my red cabbage, Ralphie!"

Ralphie's Red Cabbage

Ingredients:

1/2 c. water
1/2 c. wine vinegar
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
1 apple, cored, peeled, and finely chopped.
1 large head red cabbage, shredded.
1 T. butter (optional)

Preparation:

In a heavy pan, bring the water and vinegar to a boil with the sugar, herbs, and spices. Add the apple and the cabbage, and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat. Simmer on low, stirring occassionally until the cabbage is tender (check for tenderness after 20 minutes) but not too soft. Remove the bay leaf and the clove. Stir in a tablespoon of butter before serving, if you like.

Meatless Mincemeat

Chopped beef and beef suet have been a significant ingredient of mince pies since day one, hence the name mincemeat. A 17th century poem contains a verse which reads:

Drink now the strong beer,
Cut the white loaf here,
The while the meat is a-shredding;
For the rare mince pie
And the plums stand by
To fill the paste that's a-kneading.

Traditional Old English Mincemeat is well and good for some, but for those who don't eat meat, and for those who shudder at the dietary implications of introducing yet more fat into a holiday diet already high in fat and calories, here is a meatless alternative. In addition to being meat-free, the recipe is also much less involved than the traditional alternative.

Note: Not everyone will like mince pie. As a general rule, I would offer that if you don't like marmalade, fruitcake, or raisins, then there's a good chance you won't like mince pie. 

Ingredients:

This recipe is sufficient for 3 to 4 nine-inch pies, using 3-4 cups mincemeat per pie. Halving all ingredients should make enough mincemeat for two pies.

• 1 seeded orange


• 1 seeded lemon


• 1-1/2 cups golden raisins


• 1-1/2 cups dried currants


• 8 tart apples (Granny Smith are good)


• 3/4 cup mixed candied fruit peel, diced


• 1-3/4 cups apple cider


• 3-1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar


• 1 tsp. salt


• 1-1/2 teaspoons each powdered: cinnamon, allspice, mace, nutmeg & cloves


• Optional: Brandy, rum, sherry, or whiskey to taste.

Preparation:

Cherry Chews

Among several of her good points, was the fact that my ex-wife was (and probably still is) a baker of Christmas cookies galore. I hadn't thought about all those Christmas goodies of a bygone day for quite some time, when, out of the blue, the eating of a maraschino cherry called "Cherry Chews" to mind.

I don't recall the recipe (if I ever knew it), but I found one on the web that sounds just about like what she used to make. The cherry chews I remember had pink, almond frosting and maraschino cherry chunks, and they were (what else) chewy - the kind of sugary, chewy-good that will satisfy even the most decadent sweet tooth....

CHERRY CHEWS

1 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter

Mix above ingredients until crumbly. Pat into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

TOPPING

1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1 c. coconut
1 c. well drained maraschino cherries cut in half
1/2 c. pecan halves

Mix together and pour over first mixture. Spread evenly with pecans. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Ice with Cherry Almond Icing when cool.

CHERRY ALMOND ICING:

3 tbsp. soft butter
2 c. icing sugar
2 tbsp. cherry juice
1/4 tsp. almond extract

Add more cherry juice if needed to make icing right consistency.

Recipe via cooks.com.

Holiday Cheer Ice Cubes, and two festive drinks

Holiday Cheer Ice Cubes

INGREDIENTS:

• Oranges

• Pineapple slices

• Strawberries

• Maraschino Cherries, whole

• Cranberry juice cocktail

PREPARATION:

1. Slice fruit into small pieces (except maraschino cherries)


2. Place fruit in bottom of individual ice cube tray compartments. Add one maraschino cherry per cube.


3. Cover fruit pieces with cranberry juice cocktail.


4. Freeze until solid.


5. Add these jolly ice cubes to whatever beverages/punchbowls you like, or try one of these two:

Christmas Cranberry Cheer Punch

Contains alcohol

INGREDIENTS:

• 64-ounce cranberry juice cocktail, chilled

• 1 bottle red wine, chilled (substitute de-alcoholized wine, if you like)

• 1/3 cup bottled sweetened lime juice (suggested brand: Rose's)

• 1 liter bottle lemon-lime soda

PREPARATION:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large punch bowl.


2. Add Holiday Cheer Ice Cubes


3. Serve.

Christmas Cranberry Punch (no carbonation)

Contains alcohol

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups Vodka

• 4 cups cranberry juice

• 1-1/2 cups lime juice

• 2 cups water

• 3 tbsp. sugar

PREPARATION:

1. Combine ingredients in a large punch bowl.


2. Serve with Holiday Cheer Ice Cubes

Recipes via Suite101.com

Rachael Ray's Candy Sushi

I don't think the original intent of this recipe was for it to be a Christmas candy. However, if you select your fruit leather in red and green, and get red twizzler's, the result has that festive, X'mas look about it. I also venture that your Christmas table will be one of the relatively few that boasts Christmas sushi.

Ok - it's debatable whether it will be a hit with the adults. But the kids are gonna love it--

Recipe via foodnetwork.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
12 regular marshmallows
2 cups puffed rice cereal
4 fruit roll-ups (pressed dried fruit rounds, 8 inches) any brand, any flavor
8 strips licorice candy, any flavor – pieces should be 6 to 7 inches long, trim to match width of roll-ups

PREPARATION:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows. Stir marshmallows until completely melted. Remove mixture from heat and add cereal. Stir to coat cereal evenly in melted marshmallows.

Roll out the fruit roll-ups. Place 1/4 of the coated cereal onto each fruit roll up and spread and gather toward 1 side of roll up. Place 2 licorice twists onto the center of the spread out cereal mix. Wrap and roll the candy and fruit, maneuvering the licorice to the center of the roll, so that the finished product resembles a sushi roll. Repeat with remaining rolls.

Place a sharp knife into a bowl of very warm water. Cut candy sushi with warm knife and arrange on a plate then serve.

Cranberry-Citrus Christmas Punch

Cranberry Punch Recipe:

• 2 cans frozen cranberry juice, prepared*


• 1 can frozen orange juice, prepared*


• 2 16 fluid ounce bottles of ginger ale or lemon-lime soda


• Add fresh or frozen cranberries and oranges slices

Combine liquids, add cranberries and sliced oranges.

For an alcohol based version: add gin or vodka.

*or equivalent bottled juice