Butterscotch Pudding

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Serves 8

FOR THE PUDDING:

• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 tbsp. powdered gelatin
• 10 oz. high-quality butterscotch chips, such as Guittard
• 2 tbsp. bourbon
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 3 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved

FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE:

• ⅔ cup sugar
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 2 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• Flaked sea salt, to taste

Make the pudding: Combine milk, gelatin, and 1 tbsp. water in a bowl; let sit to soften gelatin, about 5 minutes. Place butterscotch and bourbon in a blender; set aside. Boil cream, both sugars, salt, and vanilla seeds in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, add gelatin mixture, and stir until gelatin dissolves. Pour into blender, let sit for 5 minutes, and purée until smooth. Divide among eight 6-oz. serving glasses. Chill until set, about 4 hours.

Make the caramel sauce: Heat sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; cook, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber. Meanwhile, boil cream and kosher salt in a 2-qt. saucepan. Pour into caramel; cook, stirring, until smooth. Let cool; divide sauce among set pudding cups. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt before serving.

Banana and Dark Rum Bread Pudding

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Serves 12

 
FOR THE PUDDING:

• 1 tbsp. butter, to grease the pan
• 12 Mexican sweet pan rolls, seedless hamburger buns, or potato rolls (about 28 ounces total), cut or torn into 1-inch cubes
• 4 very ripe bananas
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 3 eggs
• ¼ tsp. Kosher salt
• ¼ cup dark rum, like Myers
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground allspice
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups whole milk

  FOR SAUCE:

• ¼ cup dark rum, like Myers
• 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Make the bread pudding: Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a 9"x13" casserole dish with the butter; fill with the torn bread.  

In a large bowl, mash bananas until smooth. Add sugars, maple syrup, eggs, and salt and blend together. Add ¼ cup rum, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, cream, and milk and whisk until incorporated. Pour the mixture over the bread and mix together gently. Refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes. If it starts to look dry, add a little milk to the bread. Bake for 30 minutes or until most of the custard is absorbed—the mixture shouldn't be too dry.

Make the sauce: Heat the rum and the condensed milk in a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly and darkens to a golden brown. Pour the sauce over cooked bread pudding in the casserole dish; serve with remaining sauce on the side.

Roma Eggs

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SERVES 4–6

• 1 loaf ciabatta or foccacia (about 15 oz.), split lengthwise and cut into quarters
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 cup homemade or store-bought pesto
• 8 slices prosciutto
• 2 Roma tomatoes, cored and cut into ¼"-thick slices
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 4 eggs
• ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 300°. Place bread cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet; brush with ¼ cup olive oil. Bake until lightly toasted, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and spread cut sides with pesto.

Heat remaining oil in a 10" skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto and fry, turning once, until crisp, about 2 minutes. Place prosciutto on bottom halves of bread. In same pan, add tomato slices and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes. Place tomatoes on top of prosciutto.

Bring a 10" skillet of salted water to a simmer over medium heat; add vinegar. Crack eggs individually into 4 small dishes. Slip eggs into simmering water; turn off heat, cover, and cook until whites are just firm, 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove eggs from water, and place on top of tomatoes and prosciutto; top with parmesan and pepper. Serve with bread tops on the side.

My Notes: Delicious and simple. They need a little sharpness though--either arugula, lemon zest, or balsamic would work well.

MXF 

Candied Pineapple and Cashew-Lime Pound Cake

Tasting Table

Yield: One 5-by-9-inch pound cake 

• 2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• ½ cup water
• 1½ cups finely chopped fresh pineapple (about ½ medium pineapple)
• 4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled (use the edge of a teaspoon to scrape off the skin) and finely chopped
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon at room temperature
• 1¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• Zest and juice of 3 medium limes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes (plus cooling) 

 

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, add 1 cup of sugar and the water and bring to a simmer. Add the chopped pineapple and cook until the pineapple is translucent around the edges, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the pineapple pieces to a medium bowl. Add the chopped ginger to the hot syrup, return to a simmer, cook for 2 minutes, turn off the heat and set aside.

Add the cashews to a rimmed baking sheet and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a large plate to cool.

Grease a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan with the 1 tablespoon of room-temperature butter. Add 1 tablespoon of flour and tap the pan to evenly coat the bottom and sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1¼ cups flour, the baking powder and salt.

To the bowl of a food processor, add the remaining 1 cup sugar and the cooled cashews and process until the mixture is very fine, about 15 seconds. Add the lime zest and pulse the mixture until it is fragrant, about ten 1-second pulses. Add the lime juice, eggs and vanilla and process to combine. With the food processor running, add the melted butter, processing until incorporated. Add the candied pineapple and pulse 4 times to incorporate. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add the dry ingredients, using a whisk to gently stir the batter together. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake the cake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°. Continue to bake until the center of the cake resists light pressure and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes more. Remove the cake from the oven. Return the ginger syrup to a bare simmer over medium heat, then strain the syrup into a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Discard the ginger (or save and eat like candy).

Run a paring knife around the edges of the pan to release the pound cake. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack. Use a pastry brush to coat the top of the cake with the ginger syrup. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

My Notes: I used store-bought candied pineapple (leftover candied pineapple was the impetus for trying the recipe). This turned out beautifully. Full of flavor, moist and such a lovely perfect color.

 

MXF