Nana's Warm Bread Pudding with Whisky Caramel Sauce & Cream

My Nana belonged to a different generation, a generation of women who worked hard in and out of the kitchen, cooked without recipes and created masterpieces out of the simplest ingredients. This recipe was inspired by her....Thank You Nana!

Mini Warm Bread Puddings with Whisky Caramel Sauce & Cream

5            eggs

1-1/4c   granulated sugar

1tbs       vanilla extract

1tsp       ground nutmeg

1tsp       ground cinnamon

4tbs       butter, melted

1            pinch of salt

1c          half & half

1/2c      chopped pecans

5c         stale french or white bread, with crust cut into cubes

1c         whiskey caramel sauce*

Whipped Cream or Butter Pecan Ice Cream

*Make it easy on yourself, buy the prepared Caramel Sauce: Add 2 tbs of butter & 3 tbs whisky

to saucepan, cook off the alcohol, add about 8oz of caramel sauce and heat just until warm.

Using an electric mixer or whisk, beat eggs until frothy, 3 minutes with an electric mixer, about 6 minutes by hand. Add remaining ingredients except bread and beat until thoroughly mixed. Place bread cubes in large mixing bowl and pour egg mixture over them. Toss bread to coat with egg mixture and allow to sit at room temperature about 30 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. Butter your ovenproof mini mason jars or mini baking dishes fill with bread mixture and place in a shallow ovenproof baking pan. Place on oven shelf and add warm water to the bottom of pan, about 1/2-1 cup of water. Cover with buttered foil and bake in    preheated 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and raise oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake an additional 20-30 minutes until pudding is well browned on top and has puffed up. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature! with Whisky caramel sauce and the cream of your choice serves 8-12.



photo by justin smith



BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos

 

On my last blog I wrote I'd share a recipe for pulled pork burritos, but in honor of Cinco de Mayo, here's a great recipe for my pulled pork tacos. You know, I recently read Jack in the Box sold over 300 million tacos last year! 300 million!  As memory serves me Jack in the Box tacos were terrible. They were something my friends ate after the bars closed because 1) there was nothing else to eat, and 2) If you got sick you didn't waste much money, but with 300 million sold I thought I'd give them another try. I got it home and pulled it out of its greasy brown bag and this is what I found; a shell that tasted like a hybrid of cardboard, corn and plastic, with some kind of partially meat-like substance smeared inside. It looked like the shell had been clamped shut and deep-fried until vulcanized, then pried open with a tire iron and a half slice of synthetic cheese and lettuce forced inside. 300 million, Really?!!  

Now I'll admit my tacos aren't the healthiest, but they're filled with slow smoked pulled pork and fresh vegetables. Not an entree you'll want to add to your weekly menu, but tis the season as they say. Everyone loves tacos and who doesn't love barbeque? When you combine the sweet smokey pork with the crisp corn tortillas topped off with savory Queso Cojita, in my opinion you can't go wrong. They're homey and rustic and full of flavor, the way my Dad made for me when I was a little girl.

Serves 8 (2 tacos per person)

16 whole Corn Tortillas

1 lb cooked, smoked pulled pork

1/2 cup grated Monterey jack cheese

Canola oil

Hot Sauce (Chulula Or Other Brand)

2 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce

Pico de Gallo

Wedges of Lime

Queso Cojita, crumbled

To fry the tacos, heat an inch or so of canola oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Place pork and jack cheese in the middle of a tortilla, then fold tortilla in half. Hold the two sides together with a pair of metal tongs, then carefully lay the taco on its side in the oil. Use the tongs to hold the top down for a few seconds until it stays put. Turn tacos after 30 to 45 seconds, or until slightly golden brown (not too brown.) , drain on paper towels.

I like to serve these with freshly made pico de gallo, shredded iceberg lettuce, queso cojita,and finished with a squeeze of fresh lime

Pico de Gallo

5 roma tomatoes, diced

1/2  yellow onion

1  fresh jalapeno, diced (seeds and all)

4 ea scallions, diced

Juice of 2 limes

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl mix together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

(you could also add diced mango or pineapple for a different take on the pico de gallo)

This recipe yields about 2 cups

Are you planning to go out for margaritas this weekend? Getting in some practice for Cinco de Mayo? Well, after a crazy week where my husband was in a car accident that turned our SUV into a mini cooper and he walked away from the accident unscathed! We were in need of the ultimate  CME Margarita. We decided to stay home and make our own instead. Here's how: Fresh squeezed lime juice, home brewed simple syrup and yes....Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila. Hand shaken, poured into a perfectly salt lined glass. Yes, they were as good as they sound.  Actually, better.

  CME Margarita

1.75oz Tequila

1.5 oz Cointreau

2oz Fresh Lime Juice add *Simple Syrup to taste

Splash of Fresh Orange Juice

We served these with smoked pulled pork burritos, cause that's what I had in the freezer! I'll share this recipe in our next blog, and of course you can't have a margarita without chips, salsa and guacamole!

*Simple Syrup is a mixture of equal parts sugar and water, heated until the sugar dissolves and then cooled. It's commonly used in mixed drinks and in various dessert recipes.