Bread Pudding With Rum Sauce
Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland 1 loaf Raisin Bread 2½ c Sugar 1 lb Softened Butter 5 ea Eggs 1½ c Milk 3 Tbs Vanilla 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg 1½ tsp Ground Cinnamon ½ c Pecans ½ c Water ¼ c Heavy Whipping Cream ½ c Dark Rum 1. Cube bread into 1” pieces and place in a baking dish. 2. Cream sugar and butter together then whip in 3 eggs, milk and vanilla. 3. Add in nutmeg and cinnamon. 4. Pour egg mixture over bread and add pecans, mix well. 5. Place foil over the top and bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes. 6. While pudding is baking, make the rum sauce by beating the remaining 2 eggs until frothy and set aside. 7. Cream remaining sugar and butter together and place in a double boiler and simmer. 8. Whip in water and continue cooking and stirring with a whip until silky smooth and sugar has dissolved. 9. Add about ¼ c of the butter mixture into the frothy eggs then slowly whip in that mixture back into the butter mixture. 10. Remove from heat and add the heavy whipping cream and rum. 11. Serve pudding warm with the rum sauce and fresh whipped cream over the top. Over the centuries, old, stale bread has been used to make sweets. My Mom and I made this for after dinner Christmas Eve. It was a hit so I had to share it. I found a sweet egg bread (brioche) with raisins for my bread and I used 1½ c of whole milk and 1 c of skim. The other thing I did was use ½ regular dark rum and ½ vanilla rum. We also served it with some fresh whipped cream with a little vanilla. It was some of the best bread pudding we had ever had. It was a major comfort food. 
Coffee Mousse
Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland 2 pkts Unflavored Gelatin ¼ c Cold Water 2 c Hot Strong Coffee ⅓ c Sugar pinch Salt 1 c Heavy Whipping Cream 1 tsp Vanilla 1. Mix gelatin and cold water together then add hot coffee. 2. Add sugar and salt and cool until slightly firm. 3. Whip cream and vanilla until stiff 4. Whip gelatin mixture until soft. 5. Fold in whip cream, pour into molds and chill. When I made this for the first time I let the coffee mixture get too firm so it was lumpy in the whip cream which gave it some texture. The 2nd time I made this I didn’t let the coffee set hardly at all and didn’t whip the whipping cream until stiff so it was more like a cappuccino jello thing. When I made the coffee for this I made it very, very strong the day before so it was chilled. Because of that, I added the gelatin to the coffee and then heated it in the microwave just enough to dissolve the gelatin and sugar. I left out the cold water. To garnish this you could top it with a little shaved chocolate and/or some cinnamon, some chopped nuts, or some fresh berries. You could also add in your favorite flavored coffee syrup or liquor to the coffee before chilling it. I chilled these in little soufflé cups but you could use any type of mold and turn it out on to a nice plate. I also have some little individual molds that I got handed down from one of my great grandmothers that would have worked well too. You could also just make it in a bowl and serve from that too if you wanted to be very casual. 
Gooey Cinnamon Rolls
Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland Dough 6 c Bread Flour 3 c Water (60°F) ¼ c Yeast 1 Tbs Sugar 1½ tsp Salt 2 tsp butter Topping ¼ lb Butter 1 lb Brown Sugar 1 Tbs Cinnamon 2 tsp Vanilla ½ c Almonds 1. Thoroughly mix 1 c flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water and 2 tsp butter in a mixing bowl with a wire whip. 2. Let set until slurry starts to raise 2x it size (about 45 min.). If water is warmer then 60°F, it will rise faster and can kill off the yeast. 3. Mix in remaining flour with a dough hook of a mixer. 4. Refrigerate dough overnight (for better flavor development 2 or 3 days but do not let go beyond 4 days because yeast will start to die off). 5. Next day Melt butter and mix with brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. 6. Roll dough into a rectangle about ½“ thick. 7. Spread ¾ of the sugar mixture over dough. 8. Roll dough into a log. 9. Cut into 12 equal pieces. 10. Grease an 11 x 15 rectangle cake pan. 11. Spread remaining sugar mixture with almonds in bottom of pan. 12. Place dough pieces on ends in pan. 13. Let proof for 1 hour. 14. Preheat oven to 450°F and bake for 20 min. 15. When done, place a baking sheet over the top, flip and remove cake pan. *These are very gooey and when they are just pulled out of the oven they are very hot so please be very careful. When making dough each ingredient is used for a specific reason. Bread flour is a high in gluten, which will form when mixing. The more you mix the more gluten formation. That’s good up to a point because the bread can start to get tough. The butter can be replaced with other fats/oil. The butter will make the bread tender. For some types of bread you can leave it out. The salt keeps the yeast under control. The sugar feeds the yeast. The yeast of course makes the bread rise. When at higher altitudes you want to use more which seems backwards. When you think about it there is less pressure to fight the yeast from rising. If it rises too much like a cake it will fall. This would also apply to anything that has a leavening agent. And the water hydrates everything. 
Banana "Puddin" Martha's Southern Cooking by Martha Faltynski Southern food is steeped in tradition. Generations of Southern cooks have made desserts the focus of attention, especially at pot luck suppers. One such tradition that I grew up with was Banana "Puddin". My momma would always fix this on special occasions (usually Sunday supper) but especially for our Church Pot Luck Night. I would love to share this recipe with you (and please, no instant pudding mixes): 3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/3 cups sugar Dash of salt 3 eggs separated 3 cups milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided 1 (12 ounce) package vanilla ('nilla) wafers 6 medium bananas 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar Combine flour, 1 and 1/3 cups sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Beat egg yolks and combine with milk, mixing well. Stir into dry ingredients; cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Layer 1/3 of the wafers in a 4 quart baking dish. Slice 2 bananas and layer over wafers. Pour 1/3 of the filling over bananas. Repeat layers twice. Beat egg whites (at room temperature) until foamy. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until blended. Spread meringue over filling, sealing to the edge of the dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. I hope you enjoy this recipe and maybe take it to your next pot luck. 
BAKED PEAR PUDDING 1 (15-ounce) can sliced or chunked pears 1 cup biscuit mix 1/4 cup chopped nuts 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 2 tablespoons lemon juice Drain and chop pears, reserving 1 cup pear syrup. Toss together biscuit mix, nuts, cinnamon and pears. Place pear mixture in shallow baking dish. Combine reserved pear syrup, brown sugar and butter. Heat to boiling. Add grated lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour over pear mixture. Bake in 375 F oven 30 minutes. Makes 4 servings. |
Chocolate Hazelnut Raviolis
Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland Pasta 1 c Flour 2 ea Eggs 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Water 1. Place flour on a smooth surface creating a well in the center. 2. Place eggs, salt and water in well. 3. With a fork, whip eggs while incorporating the flour into the mixture. 4. When the mixture becomes too clumpy use hands until dough becomes smooth. 5. Roll dough with a pasta roller into sheets set on #5. Filling 1¼ c Ricotta Cheese ½ c Nutella 1 ea Eggs 1 Tbs Confectioners’ Sugar 6. Mix all ingredients until well blended. 7. Place dollops of filling on pasta sheets in rows of 3 across. 8. Moisten another sheet of pasta with a small amount of water and cover sheet with filling. 9. Press sheets together around filling creating small squares. 10. Cut into squares and boil. Sauce 2 c Heavy Whipping Cream 2 Tbs Cocoa 2 Tbs Sugar 4 ea Egg Yolks 11. Place cream, cocoa and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil stirring so sauce won’t stick. 12. Temper egg yolks by spooning a small amount of hot mixture. 13. Turn temperature down on mixture and add eggs slowly while stirring. Do not let mixture boil. 14. Let sauce cook until it coats the back of a spoon. 15. Spoon over raviolis and enjoy! I use semolina, which is milled durum endosperm. This gives a better texture that won’t get as soggy. The pasta roller I found has an attachment that makes raviolis. I don’t have one but it looks like it will make things easier. This recipe will make a few raviolis so if you don’t want to use all of them they can be frozen. Let them dry a little before putting them in the freezer so they don’t stick. Try using almond paste and some cocoa or mini chocolate chips in place of the Nutella. Or you could try using orange zests in place of the Nutella. 
Fried Custard
Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland 1 c Milk 1 c Heavy Whipping Cream ½ c Powdered Sugar 2 ea Eggs 1 ea Egg Yolk 1 tsp Vanilla ¼ c Cornstarch 1/3 c Flour 1”x2” piece Lemon Rind 1. Place milk, cream and lemon rind in a pot and bring to a boil. 2. Remove from heat and let set for 30 minutes. 3. Beat eggs, yolk, sugar, flour, cornstarch, and vanilla until smooth. 4. Return milk mixture to a simmer and whisk in egg mixture. 5. Bring to a boil while stirring and reduce to a simmer until mixture thickens. 6. Pour into a shallow pan and smooth. 7. Let cool completely for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator. 8. Remove from pan and cut into shapes. 9. Coat in flour, egg then in cake crumbs then fry in oil. These little fried custards are a light and yummy but they can be hard to cut into shapes so I just scooped dollops with a spoon and dropped them into the flour then flattened them with my hands. I then dropped them into the egg and then the cake crumbs. I used a Sara Lee pound cake and ran it through my food processor and let the crumbs dry. I also used orange rind in place of the lemon. I then served it with lemon wedges to squeeze over the top. You could change the flavor by adding coconut to the cake crumbs or using chocolate cake in place of the pound cake. You could also add chocolate or some type of liquor to the custard in place of the vanilla. Be careful with the amount you add because it can make the custard runny. 
Lemon Curd Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland 6 ea Lemons 1¼ c Sugar 1 c Butter 6 ea Eggs 1. Grade and juice lemons. 2. Place the grated peel and juice in a double boiler with the sugar and the butter. 3. Beat the eggs and slowly add to lemon mixture when the sugar and butter are melted. 4. Whisk until combined thoroughly then continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats the back. 5. Do not let the mixture boil because it will cause the eggs to curdle. 6. Strain through a fine strainer to remove the peel. 7. Continue cooking in double boiler to a creamy consistency. 8. Cool and refrigerate. Lemon curd was traditionally served with scones at afternoon tea. It can be used as a filling in a cake or to fill pastry shells. Try folding it in to some whipped cream for a light frosting. You can also keep some around in the fridge for your morning toast or afternoon tea. There are many recipes for lemon curd. Some recipes will use just the yolks, which make it very thick and creamy. If you want to use just the yolks, use 12 yolks. Using the whole egg creates a lighter texture that will hold its shape better. 
Pavlova Patricia's Cafe - by Pat McClelland 3 ea Egg Whites ½ c Caster Sugar 1 tsp White Vinegar 1 tsp Corn Starch 2 tsp Vanilla Extract pinch Salt 1. Heat oven to 400ºF. 2. Whip egg whites, adding sugar a little at a time, until stiff peaks form. 3. Fold in remaining ingredients. 4. Place dollops of the mixture on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 5. Turn oven off and place cookie sheet in the oven for 40 minutes. 6. Top with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Pav, as the Kiwis down under say, is a traditional New Zealand desert that was made back in the mid ‘20s for the ballerina Anna Pavlova. It has a light and dreamy texture that should have a crispy shell and a marshmellowy center. This recipe comes from my brother-in-laws mother via his sister, who are all from New Zealand. I thought this would make a nice desert for Valentine’s day. Some of the recipes I found used lemon juice but I found that it didn’t come out as fluffy. Caster sugar is a fine granulated sugar. If you have a hard time finding it regular granulated sugar will do. Typical fruits used down under are kiwi fruit, strawberries, passion fruit and mangos. For a variation try folding in some cocoa powder at step 3. 
Rosie's Classic Banana Split Rosie's Diner - Susie Shaker (November 1, 2004) Nobody knows for sure who made the first Banana Split. What is known for sure is that the Banana Split is one of America’s most beloved desserts. It was probably your grandfather’s favorite at the local fountain. Your mother might have shared one with her sweetheart on a first date at the neighborhood hang-out. This Banana Split tradition lives on at your local diner. 1 Banana boat (bowl) 1 Banana Dryer’s Vanilla Ice Cream Hot Fudge topping Strawberry topping Butterscotch topping Whip Cream Crushed Peanuts 2 or 3 Cherries Split banana in half and place on both sides of banana boat. Place 3 scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream down the center of the boat. Top one scoop with Hot Fudge, one scoop with Strawberries, and one scoop with Butterscotch. Then, put a dollop of whip cream on each scoop. Finish with a sprinkle of crushed peanuts and three cherries. Remember, life’s short, eat dessert first. |
