Easter Brunch

I love bread pudding. It's something that I get an opportunity to make maybe twice a year and yesterday's Easter brunch was one of those rare occasions. This is not my first post about how much I love bread pudding, but this one is better because it has a recipe:

2 15 oz. loaves of Italian bread
3-3/4 c half and half
1 c sugar
4 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted

Cinnamon sugar: 1/4 c sugar plus 1 tbs cinnamon

Those egg whites you'll have leftover after separating out the yolks can be used to make meringue cookies. Visit my website for a peppermint meringue cookie recipe and a recipe for cocoa meringues with chocolate ganache!

Now, on to the bread pudding.

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Remove the crust from the bread.

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Place the sliced bread on a baking sheet and brush the tops with melted butter.

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Put the bread under the broiler (I used the low setting) for about 4 minutes. Keep an eye on it!!

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Use the leftover melted butter to grease a 9x13 baking dish. Arrange the bread in the dish however it best fits. Press it down with your hands after each layer.

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I like to overlap the bread on the top layer just to make things interesting.

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Make the custard: Place eggs and yolks in a mixing bowl and slowly add 1/2 cup sugar while whisking. Set aside. Place the half and half with the other 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan and heat just until it starts to steam. Remove it from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Slowly pour the half and half mixture into the eggs while whisking vigorously. If you notice that the eggs have coagulated in your custard mixture, you can pour it through a fine mesh strainer.
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I like to add my custard to the bread in two parts.

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The first half of the mixture will absorb quickly. The second half of the mixture should be added a little at a time. Wait until it is fully absorbed before adding more. This took me over an hour of pouring and waiting to prevent it from overflowing. You can press the bread down with your hands or the bottom of another baking dish in order to release some of the air bubbles in between pours.

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At this point, you can either bake the bread pudding or wrap it up in plastic and refrigerate it to bake in the morning.

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When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Cover the bread pudding with the cinnamon and sugar mixture and bake for 45 minutes.

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I squeezed my own orange juice!

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This apple topping is made by tossing diced apples with sugar and sauteing them in butter until they turn golden brown. You can read my post on making your own whipped cream here.

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 I also made quiche! This one is spinach, onion and Swiss.

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This one is made with apples, caramelized onion and cheddar. I use a basic ratio of 1 qt of half and half to 8 eggs plus a little salt and pepper for 2 pies. You can pretty much add whatever other ingredients you want!

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As if that wasn't enough, I also made these. Pound cake, whipped cream and strawberries.