Creole' Bread Pudding Bourbonaise & Whiskey Sauce

[texascarl]

1 loaf French bread

1 & 1/2 cups half & half

4 eggs, beaten

1 & 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons bourbon (I use Old Charter 8 year)

1 cup dry apricots, chopped

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

fresh nutmeg, grated

3 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk the beaten eggs into the milk. Chop the apricots and soak in the bourbon & vanilla. Tear bread into chunks and soak in milk and egg mixture. Crush with hands to make sure milk has soaked through. Add sugar, apricots/bourbon/vanilla, cinnamon, and stir well. Pour melted butter into a heavy 9 x 14 baking pan to coat the bottom and sides. Add bread mixture, grate nutmeg over, add walnuts or pecans and bake until very firm, about 40 mins.

Cool pudding, cube it and put it into individual dessert dishes. When ready to serve, add whiskey sauce and heat in microwave for 45 seconds.

Whiskey sauce

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted in microwave

1 egg, beaten

2 ounces Bourbon whiskey (Old Charter, or your favorite pour)

dash of fresh nutmeg, grated

Cream sugar and butter and zap in microwave until very hot and well-dissolved. Add well-beaten egg very slowly and whip very fast so egg doesn't curdle.

Cool and add liquor, stir. Grate nutmeg

Serves 8

[ratcheer]

That sounds damn fine. Probably a diet buster, though.

Tim