While looking for bread pudding recipes, it was quite a struggle to find one that incorporated quick breads, as opposed to the usual day old baguettes. I found a recipe for a pumpkin bread pudding brulee, which used the latter. Not exactly what i was looking for, but I read the recipe throughout anyway. I found a new technique that I was DEFINITELY going to experiment with, which turned out to be a huge success!! YAY ME!! I did eventually find a recipe from Bobby Flay that incorporated pumpkin bread, along with pureed pumpkin (Which you can replace the bananas and banana bread with in this recipe!), so I added the brulee technique from the other recipe and voila!! I used the Banana Bread Recipe that you can find on this website. I also served this with our Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Ice cream (Recipe found within as well). Enjoy!!!
Yields 16 Servings
BANANA BREAD PUDDING BRULEE
INGREDIENTS:
- 4C Heavy Cream
- 2C Whole Milk
- 12 Egg Yolks
- 2 Vanilla Beans, scraped (or 2T Vanilla bean Paste, or 2T Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla powder, or 2T Vanilla Extract)
- 1C Granulated Sugar
- 6T Maple Syrup
- 2C Mashed Bananas
- 2 Loaves Banana Bread, cubed
- 2C Brown Sugar (for the brulee)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 325*
- In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, cream, and vanilla bean and seeds (or whatever medium of vanilla you’re using) to a simmer.
- In a large bowl, whisk together yolks, sugar, maple syrup, and bananas. Slowly add cream mixture, constantly whisking to avoid scrambling the eggs (if you’re using vanilla bean, remove pod at this time and lay out on a dishtowel to dry. This may be used to make vanilla sugar!!)
- Place banana bread cubes into a shallow baking dish and pour the custard mixture over, allowing to soak in for about 15 minutes.
- Ladle into ramekins or custard dishes and place in a water bath (a larger roasting pan with HOT water that comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Or, you could just bake in the dish that you had them soaking in the first place. I prefer ramekins, since they’re individual serving sizes.
- Bake for about 1 hour, or until the tops start to turn golden brown and the center jiggles slightly. Remove from oven and water bath.
- Spoon about 1T of brown sugar on top of each of the bread puddings. Use a brulee torch or place under the broiler until brown and bubbly. Serve warm with some Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream.
Why conform to pop culture when you can WOW people with something different and off the beaten path?! With the resurgence of Salted Caramel EVERYTHING, its a nice change to check something unique out. Now, I know what you’re thinking-”DUDE!! Salted Caramel is the S**T!!!” Undoubtedly, it is pretty amazing. BUT Spicy Caramel Sauce is where it’s at. Truly. It has a veritable myriad of uses. I have made it for Apple Streusel Dumplings (recipe coming soon!), Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Ice cream topping, swirled on top of a Bourbon Buttercup Squash Soup, drizzled over Carrot Cake with mascarpone whipped cream frosting, talks of cocktails, BBQ mops, Pork loin glazes, and so forth. Enjoy this recipe and change it up a bit!! Don’t always go for what Starbucks tells you is hot (although I DO love me some Starbucks 
)
SPICY CARAMEL SAUCE
- 2C Heavy Cream
- 1C Apple Juice
- 2 Star Anise
- 8 Whole Cloves
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 4 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 3C Granulated Sugar
- 1C Water
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine cream, apple juice, and spices in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat, and let steep for about 20 mins. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl and keep warm while preparing the caramel.
- In a large saucepan over high heat, combine sugar and water. DO NOT STIR!!! Let this boil until it reaches a deep amber color. SLOWLY add the cream mixture, constantly whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and let stand 5 mins for sauce to thicken up. Keep refrigerated up to 2 weeks.
I have just discovered the joys of ice cream making at the restaurant, due to a gift from a friend (THANK YOU LIL DB!!!). The reviews all came back as “This is the best freakin ice cream I’ve EVER had!!” so, it may be a staple recipe!! The image above was our inaugural batch, served as a tasting with Spicy Caramel Sauce, whose recipe you can also find on this site! The key to this ice cream’s allure is this magical little bottle of yum:
MADAGASCAR BOURBON VANILLA ICE CREAM
INGREDIENTS:
- 1C Whole Milk
- 2C Heavy Cream
- 3/4C Granulated Sugar
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- 6 Egg yolks (8 for a richer custard like consistency)
- 1T Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Powder
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat milk, cream, vanilla, sugar, and salt until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, SLOWLY adding the cream mixture to temper eggs. Once all the cream mixture is incorporated, pour back into the sauce pan.
- Place saucepan over medium heat and constantly stir until mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon. Run your finger through the back of the spoon. If the sauce doesn’t run back into the stripe you just made with your finger, remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl over an ice bath. Whisk mixture until cool.
- Pour custard into ice cream bowl (this has been frozen for about 4 hours prior, preferably overnight) and churn to manufacturer’s directions (about 20-25 mins). Using a rubber spatula, place ice cream into freezable container and freeze for about 4 hours before serving. Yields 1 quart of ice cream.
Auntie got him a chef costume so he could play dress up with his sister, and he wanted to make mommy breakfast in the morning AWWWWW 
LOVE THIS GUY!!! <3
I went out on a date a while ago to this very trendy small plate restaurant. Although the date ended up yielding a friendship (which I’m ok with, too. making friends is always good!), the food was unforgettable. This dish left me with a foodgasm that was hard to quell. I NEEDED TO RECREATE THIS!! So I did! I made this for our Thanksgiving Eve get-together, and my brother-in-law (who is a very discerning food critic, to say the least!), LOVED it!! The kids even liked it, but that is definitely not saying much. They’ll pretty much eat a warm truck tire if you put bacon, sugar, or chocolate on it This is a simple, yet delicious and easy way to woo your dinner and party guests away from those gross ass chips and dip!!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 Frozen Puff Pastry Sheet, thawed
- 1-7oz wheel of Brie
- 1/4C bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/8C chopped pecans
- 2-3Tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 4 large grannysmith apples, cored, halved, and slivered (keep these in cold water with 2T of lemon juice until service)
DIRECTIONS:
- Unfold puff pastry sheet onto lightly floured surface. Gently press bottom of brie container into pastry just enough to indent and mark where the brie will sit. This will act as a guide to lay the rest of the ingredients down.
- Spread the brown sugar evenly around the inside of the circle guide. Then add the nuts and bacon. Lay the brie on top and gather the puff pastry up around the whole package. Make sure each gap is pinched together to prevent oozing during the baking process.
- Flip the brie over so that the folded part is on the bottom and brush the beaten eggwash over the pastry. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown all over. Drain apples, lay out on a dry paper towel to remove excess water and arrange in a circle around a medium serving platter. Remove brie from oven, place in the center of apple slices and serve warm.
Thank you all for your prayers …
Who doesn’t love homemade pasta?! It’s yummy and cooks up much nicer than that store bought dried stuff. If you have the time and energy to completely trash your kitchen, I would definitely recommend making this. This is actually a larger batch than the original recipe, but hey-why make a little bit? You’re going to love it. I usually will make a large batch, roll it out, and cut a lot of ravioli rounds with a cookie cutter (I don’t dig the pre-cutting ravioli attachment and besides, I can make dinosaur ravioli if I damn well please!!) and freeze them for later use. It’s much easier that way, as I have learned. I’m still new to the art of pasta rolling, but I have found that it is quite therapeutic and rewarding when you make your own. There are two methods to making this. The Mound method, which is more traditional, and the mixer method, for us lazy girls . Here’s what you need:
- 4 1/2 cups AP flour (I’ve also used this same recipe with wheat and it works out just as well) plus extra for dusting and rolling
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoons salt (I’ve used sea and kosher. Both worked fine)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup water
Traditional mound method:
- Make a mound of flour on wax paper. Make a well inside of the mound, just like you did when you were little and wanted your mashed potatoes to be a dam so your gravy didn’t spill out
- Add the eggs, olive oil, salt, and water to the well and beat gently.
- Slowly incorporate the flour from the sides until you have a firm, but not sticky, dough. If its sticky, add a little flour at a time until it loses the tack.
- Let the dough rest for 30 mins before rolling.
Lazy girl mixer method:
- On low speed, beat eggs, water, oil, and salt
- Slowly add flour, a cup at a time until dough loses tack and is smooth. Let rest 30 mins before rolling
I have a pasta roller, but you can also hand roll this dough as well. You can go all out traditional style and do it like a real Italian housewife from Italy by using the mound method and hand rolling, but I need quickness in my life. I’m always thinking about the next thing while I’m on the first thing, so the mixer and roller work for me. Just make sure that if you’re making ravioli via the traditional rolling method, that the dough is very thin (about the thickness of a credit card) so that it cooks properly. Here are some of the fillings I have tried already, but get creative and try some seasonal veggies or different meats in them!!
Pumpkin Ravioli filling (I made these with the wheat pasta dough and used a ghee sauce and they were OUTSTANDING!!):
- 2 cups roasted fresh, or canned pumpkin (if roasted fresh, try to use a sugar pumpkin.)
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
Grilled chicken and mozzarella:
- 2 grilled chicken breasts, chopped finely, or pulsed in the food processor
- 4 cups shredded whole milk mozzarella
Lobstah ravioli (I made an Old Bay Alfredo sauce with these…yummm)
- 1 lb lobster meat (claws and tail) pulsed in the food processor
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon peel (dash if freshly grated)
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