From Carolina Morning News, 10 September 2001
In Good Taste
Bread pudding makes a fine dessert
By Nan Lehmann
The First Annual Membership Meeting of the Cultural Council of Jasper County is at 7 p.m. Tuesday. We will meet at The Palms Restaurant and will order from the menu. It's dutch treat. Please do come, with or without a reservation, whether you are a member of the Cultural Council or not. Our guest speaker is Eric Holowacz, Executive Director of The Arts Council in Beaufort. I feel certain Eric will have some words of wisdom for us on how best to advance our non-profit organization.
Wednesday evening my Gourmet in Residence and I went out to dinner at Sigler's in Bluffton to celebrate my umptieth birthday. We enjoyed a sumptuous feast and topped it off with a delightful bread pudding dessert and coffee. I had their stuffed flounder, which is just about indescribable, and my G-I-R had mussels and mussels. Yes, twice. He had an appetizer which consisted of mussels and some pasta, and then an entree that was mussels, scallops and other seafoods in a rich broth with some more pasta.
But the star of the meal was the dessert. It was an extraordinary bread pudding with a fresh banana plus a thin slice of plantain. Really, it was kind of wonderful. I won't attempt to duplicate Sigler's bread pudding, but I do offer my own for you to try should you feel inclined.
At 10 a.m. Sept. 22, Dawn Duff will hold a fun workshop making jewelry at Linda Vnuk's Southern Sippin's at 202 West Main St. in Ridgeland. I had not known it, but Southern Sippin's space used to be a doctor's office. It's now a cafe, gift and antique shop in a cozy, rustic atmosphere. The cost of the workshop will include your choice of a delicious lunch and creating some jewelry. Call Linda at Southern Sippin's at 726-5262 for more information and reservations.
I am working hard to set up an opera for kids at Ridgeland Elementary and at West Hardeeville Elementary. Some of you may recall, I brought Opera for Kids to Thomas Heyward Academy several years ago. That performance was The Three Little Pigs, and all the music was by Mozart. It is a beautiful production and was very well received. This one is The Three Bears and the music is by Dr. Greg Boatwright. I had hoped to have this lined up for September or October, but it now appears that it will be in the spring of 2002.
Now, back to my bread pudding.
Bread Pudding
Butter (not margarine - the flavor won't do)
6 slices firm home-style bread, trimmed
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar, minus 1 tablespoon
2 ounces any kind of liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier) or apple brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
Any kind of stewed fruit, optional, or 4 tablespoons dried raisins or currants
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bread rather heavily and cut into one-inch squares. Scald the milk with the sugar, liqueur, and the vanilla extract. Beat the eggs until very light, and still whisking, pour the scalded milk over them in a medium stream. Put the bread in a deep 11/2 to 2 quart baking dish and pour the thin custard over it. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes. It should be lightly browned and puffed up. Unfortunately, it falls instantly, but don't overcook thinking you can change this. The pudding is done enough when a knife comes out of the center with just a little custard on it. Let the pudding settle 10 minutes and serve warm, with or without fruit sauce.
I used homemade french bread and did not cut off the crusts, even though the original recipes says to trim the bread. I like the crust; it's my favorite part of the bread. I found another recipe that says to use plain white bought loaf bread. Use about three cups of bread. Be sure that you watch the milk mixture the entire time it is on the burner, as it will boil over in a heartbeat. I used brandy, because that's what we had on hand. It is really delicious without any further adornment, but must be served warm. Do not - I repeat - do not heat this or any bread dish in the microwave. It will make it tough and virtually inedible. Use your toaster oven or regular oven. It must be refrigerated, though, so unless you have enough folks to eat it all at once when it is fresh made, be prepared to reheat.
I prefer to use currants rather than stewed fruit, but it is delicious either way. Just soak the raisins or currants in the brandy before you add it to the custard.
Don't forget the First Annual Membership Meeting of the Cultural Council at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Palms.
The writer is a homemaker, among other things, and lives in Ridgeland. You can reach her online at nanlehmann@aol.com.
Bread pudding makes a fine dessert
By Nan Lehmann
The First Annual Membership Meeting of the Cultural Council of Jasper County is at 7 p.m. Tuesday. We will meet at The Palms Restaurant and will order from the menu. It's dutch treat. Please do come, with or without a reservation, whether you are a member of the Cultural Council or not. Our guest speaker is Eric Holowacz, Executive Director of The Arts Council in Beaufort. I feel certain Eric will have some words of wisdom for us on how best to advance our non-profit organization.
Wednesday evening my Gourmet in Residence and I went out to dinner at Sigler's in Bluffton to celebrate my umptieth birthday. We enjoyed a sumptuous feast and topped it off with a delightful bread pudding dessert and coffee. I had their stuffed flounder, which is just about indescribable, and my G-I-R had mussels and mussels. Yes, twice. He had an appetizer which consisted of mussels and some pasta, and then an entree that was mussels, scallops and other seafoods in a rich broth with some more pasta.
But the star of the meal was the dessert. It was an extraordinary bread pudding with a fresh banana plus a thin slice of plantain. Really, it was kind of wonderful. I won't attempt to duplicate Sigler's bread pudding, but I do offer my own for you to try should you feel inclined.
At 10 a.m. Sept. 22, Dawn Duff will hold a fun workshop making jewelry at Linda Vnuk's Southern Sippin's at 202 West Main St. in Ridgeland. I had not known it, but Southern Sippin's space used to be a doctor's office. It's now a cafe, gift and antique shop in a cozy, rustic atmosphere. The cost of the workshop will include your choice of a delicious lunch and creating some jewelry. Call Linda at Southern Sippin's at 726-5262 for more information and reservations.
I am working hard to set up an opera for kids at Ridgeland Elementary and at West Hardeeville Elementary. Some of you may recall, I brought Opera for Kids to Thomas Heyward Academy several years ago. That performance was The Three Little Pigs, and all the music was by Mozart. It is a beautiful production and was very well received. This one is The Three Bears and the music is by Dr. Greg Boatwright. I had hoped to have this lined up for September or October, but it now appears that it will be in the spring of 2002.
Now, back to my bread pudding.
Bread Pudding
Butter (not margarine - the flavor won't do)
6 slices firm home-style bread, trimmed
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar, minus 1 tablespoon
2 ounces any kind of liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier) or apple brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
Any kind of stewed fruit, optional, or 4 tablespoons dried raisins or currants
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bread rather heavily and cut into one-inch squares. Scald the milk with the sugar, liqueur, and the vanilla extract. Beat the eggs until very light, and still whisking, pour the scalded milk over them in a medium stream. Put the bread in a deep 11/2 to 2 quart baking dish and pour the thin custard over it. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes. It should be lightly browned and puffed up. Unfortunately, it falls instantly, but don't overcook thinking you can change this. The pudding is done enough when a knife comes out of the center with just a little custard on it. Let the pudding settle 10 minutes and serve warm, with or without fruit sauce.
I used homemade french bread and did not cut off the crusts, even though the original recipes says to trim the bread. I like the crust; it's my favorite part of the bread. I found another recipe that says to use plain white bought loaf bread. Use about three cups of bread. Be sure that you watch the milk mixture the entire time it is on the burner, as it will boil over in a heartbeat. I used brandy, because that's what we had on hand. It is really delicious without any further adornment, but must be served warm. Do not - I repeat - do not heat this or any bread dish in the microwave. It will make it tough and virtually inedible. Use your toaster oven or regular oven. It must be refrigerated, though, so unless you have enough folks to eat it all at once when it is fresh made, be prepared to reheat.
I prefer to use currants rather than stewed fruit, but it is delicious either way. Just soak the raisins or currants in the brandy before you add it to the custard.
Don't forget the First Annual Membership Meeting of the Cultural Council at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Palms.
The writer is a homemaker, among other things, and lives in Ridgeland. You can reach her online at nanlehmann@aol.com.