When it comes to bread pudding, I always remember my mom's. I think she makes one of the best bread puddings, but I have never been able to duplicate it. She doesn't have a recipe, she says she just puts enough milk, eggs and sugar to moisten whatever leftover breads she has and pops it in the oven. Sounds simple enough, and I have tried playing with the 'blind method' and have gotten pretty good results, but still I come up short of mom's bread pudding. Maybe it is just because it is Mom's and it's one of those things that you remember from childhood. So I decided, especially since I started this blog, to find the right bread pudding recipe for me and my girls. Well, mostly Asi. She is my bread pudding eating buddy. The last batch I cooked following Reid's recipe, we basically ate it all, just the two of us.

The frugal ilokana in me just can't help but try to use up every bit of left over bread, including the ends. I have never been so glad for the ducks at Duke Garden; so now I don't have to save the ends for us, but for them. We go and feed the ducks during our walks sometimes, especially during the colder months when they don't get as much food. Reid's recipe called for Portuguese sweetbread, and Claudine, who also tried out the recipe used pan de leche for her bread pudding. Well, back to el cheapo me who insists on using up 'old' bread stored in the freezer. Here is the first version:

BREAD PUDDING I

I used days old french bread for this one. When it got too old and dried for anyone to eat but before it got moldy, I made this. First I sliced the bread.


To this I added:
4 cups Milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients and pour over the bread slices. Let stand for 15 to 30 minutes. Pour into a buttered dish and bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.
This one baked up beautifully, then slowly falls. It was crusty on the outside, and soft inside, but still not quite the flavor or texture I was looking for.




So on to the next version, which is based on Reid's and Claudine's take on bread pudding.

BREAD PUDDING II



For this version, I used 4 large frozen pan de sal, cut into 1 inch chunks.

2 cups evaporated milk
4 eggs
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Place bread chunks in a baking dish (I did not butter the dish this time) and sprinkle with raisins and pecans. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, then add the milk and seasonings. Pour the mixture over the bread and let sit for 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes and let it rest, uncovered for 30 minutes before serving.



Reid said to bake it covered, but I must have missed that part when I was reading his instructions, so I baked this UNcovered. It turned out just the way I like it, a bit crusty on top. The addition of butter and use of evaporated milk instead of whole milk made the dish so much richer, and oh so good! Some of the bread on top were drier than the bottom though, so I'm thinking I didn't put enough liquid. Next time, I will probably double the proportions and see how that works out. The raisins and nuts also added extra decadence to the pudding. Yummy!

Thanks Reid and Claudine!

You can tell by the number of soup posts lately that the weather has gotten cold. This is a thick and hearty meal that also provides a lot of warmth within. We had this with corn casserole, and it was wonderful! As usual, I had to make two pots, one spicy and the other not spicy for the kids. Here is the spicy version. For the kid's version I merely omitted the additional jalapeno peppers.



2 lbs. coarsely ground beef chuck
1 head garlic, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 20 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 20 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 8 oz. can of tomato paste
1 15 oz. can of red kidney beans
1 15 oz. can of pinto beans
1 15 oz. can of black beans
3-5 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
2 bay leaves
pinch of cinnamon
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat a large pot and brown the ground beef. Add the garlic and onions and sautee until fragrant. When the onions are translucent, add the mushrooms and sautee until browned on the edges. Season with oregano, cumin and chili powder then add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and beans including the liquid. Add the bay leaves. Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hour stirring occationally until thick. Add a pinch of cinnamon, salt, and pepper. At this point, I take some of the chili out for the kids' mild version. For the spicy pot, add the diced jalapeno peppers and half of the chopped cilantro. Simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occationally.

We like our bowls served with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

The second dish I made with the chicken dumplings is soup, with plenty of vegetables. The weather has gotten cold again, another reason why I didn't feel like going anywhere today, and soup seemed just right for a light but warm supper.



8-10 cups chicken broth
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5-6 round slices of fresh ginger root
1/2 pound of green beans, stringed and cut in half
1 pound of young spinach leaves
15 chicken wonton dumplings
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Oil

Heat the oil in a large pot and sautee the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Let it cook for 10 minutes, add the green beans and dumplings and cook until beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach leaves and adjust the seasoning. Stir the spinach into the soup just until they are wilted and the color changes to bright green, then turn off the heat.

Today was a lazy day, we didn't really do much but play on the computer and decorate our blogs. I didn't even feel like cooking really, but girls do have to eat, so I decided to fix something light for dinner tonight. I decided to make chicken dumpling and make it two ways. The first is potstickers.

Read the rest...

This was tonight's dessert, which was a collaboration with The Clone. She was bored and feeling neglected this afternoon, so to cheer her up, we decided to make cake.



2 cups Light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 1/2 cups Cooking Oil
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, salt, eggs, cinnamon, oil and carrots. Blend together with an electric mixer (blending by hand also works, I've done it when I don't feel like taking the beater out). Gradually add the flour, baking soda, and nuts (the Clone decided she didn't want nuts in the cake, but rather on top of the cake so we omitted this step this time). Mix well. Pour into greased and floured 9 inch round pans (you can use two or three, depending on how many layers you want). Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Since I used 3 round pans and the layers are thinner, I only had to bake for 35 minutes. Let the cakes rest for ten minutes after removing from the oven then turn them out onto racks to cool.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING



Jade made the frosting. She used:

1 stick (1/2 cup) Butter
2 bars Cream Cheese
approximately 2 cups of Powdered (confectioners) Sugar

Beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add confectioners sugar starting with 1 cup and adding a little bit more at a time until desired sweetness is achieved.

Frost cake. The Clone decorated the top with toasted and chopped Pecans.

I saw this recipe on Sassy's Blog and thought it may be a good thing to try. Cooking chicken as often as we do, the same recipes over and over again get tiresome, so it's always great to discover a new way of treating the same meat.



I had to make minor adjustments to the recipe though, since I didn't have liquid seasoning and didn't have time to go out to the grocery store.

1 whole chicken
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 head of garlic, chopped
1 large onion, sliced
3 cups tomatoes (I used frozen quartered tomatoes from my summer garden)
1 20-oz can of pineapple chunks (a little more than what's called for in Sassy's recipe, but I didn't want to bother about putting the other half of pineapples in the refrigerator. Knowing us, it will still be there growing something in a month or so, so better to use it now)
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
4 tablespoons of sugar
Red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons of butter
Salt to taste

I followed Sassy's instructions and marinated the chicken in half the garlic, 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 cup of soy. Then put the mixture over medium high heat while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

In a separate pan, I sauteed the garlic, onions and tomatoes in butter. I then added the sauteed vegetables and the rest of the ingredients to the chicken and simmered them until the chicken is tender, about 40 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and serve.

It was delicious! I couldn't get The Clone to try it though, she thought I was serving her the pig's feet I cooked last night :) She didn't trust me even when I swore it was chicken, so she just ate rice and nothing else. Actually, I think she was saving room for dessert.

I have been tracking Manang's posts on the unwanted parts of pork, and she got me hankering for something sinful, and I have been eyeing these pig's feet at the grocery store for some time but I wasn't sure how to cook them. So I too referred to Sassy's recipe for paksiw na pata.



I used dried lily buds like Manang since I don't have bulaklak ng saging as Sassy's recipe called for. As usual, I was the only one who ate this. Hubby tasted the sauce and liked it, but he said the rest of the stuff was too fatty. He put the sauce over his rice. Asi tasted it and liked it too. Jade and the Clone won't even taste it. Oh well, more for me. I had to put half in of it in the freezer though, so I won't overdo it. Still gotta watch the fats, you know :).

Here is one more, and promised to be the last mention of turkey. For a while anyway. I had made turkey broth and froze a quart of it for future use. The opportunity to use it came up when The Clone asked for soup this weekend. She loves noodles, and soup, but rather than giving her her usual dose of Ramen noodles I decided to give her something a little healthier.



Very simple to make, just add noodles to the boiling broth. The broth was so well flavored that I didn't have to add any additional flavoring except for a spoonful of sinigang mix (tamarind flavor) to add a bit of sourness. When the noodles are tender, add a handful of spinach, and cook just until the leaves wilt and change colors to bright green.

Jade and I added a dash of chili paste in our bowls, and it was delicious!