Recipe - A Glorious Plum Pudding For Christmas PT 1

THE PUDDING MIXTURE
3 cup Crumbs from homemade type
white breada; crust on,
will do
; 1/2pound loaf, it
(lightly packed
; down)
1 cup Each: black raisins; yellow
raisins, and
; currants, chopped
1 1/3 cup Sugar
One half teaspoon Each: cinnamon; mace, and
; nutmegmore if
; needed
8 ounce Butter; melted (2 sticks)
4 lg Eggs; lightly beaten
Few drops of almond extract
One half cup Bitter orange marmalade
One half cup Rum or bourbon whiskey;
heated before
; serving
1 Sprig holly; optional
2 cup Zabaione Sauce

ZABAIONE SAUCE (FOR ABOUT
1 lg Egg
2 Egg yolks
1 small Pinch of salt
1/3 cup Rum or bourbon whiskey; (or
Marsala or
; sherry)
1/3 cup Dry white French vermouth
One half cup Sugar

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT SUGGESTED
A food processor is useful
for making the; such as a
round
; bread crumbs and chopping
the raisins;, bottomed
metal
; an 8cup pudding
container, mixing bowl; a
; cover for the bowl;
; a steamer basket or
; trivet; a roomy
; soup kettle with
; tightfitting cover
; to hold bowl,
; cover, and basket.

Timing note:

Like a good fruitcake, a plum pudding develops its full flavor when
made at least a week ahead. Count on 6 hours for the initial, almost
unattended steaming, and 2 hours to reheat before serving.

The pudding mixture:

Toss the bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl with the raisins, sugar
and spices. Then toss with the melted butter, and finally with the
rest of the ingredients, except, of course, the holly and Zabaione
Sauce. Taste carefully for seasoning, adding more spices if needed.

To microwave Plum Pudding:

Butter the dish you are cooking the pudding in, then cover the bottom
of the dish with a buttered piece of wax paper. Pour in batter. Cover
dish with plastic wrap and pierce the plastic with a knife in several
places. Cook at "defrost" (low speed) for 30 minutes. If your
microwave oven does not have a carousel which turns the dish during
cooking, stop the process several times during the cooking and rotate
the dish manually. Finally, cook at 5 minutes on "bake" (high speed).
Let the pudding set for a few minutes before unmolding. The pudding
is ready when it is firm to the touch. The microwaved plum pudding is
somewhat paler than its steamed counterpart.

To steam a Plum Pudding:

Use a special pan made for this purpose. You must have a container
with a very tight lid on it which will stay sealed throughout the
cooking. Steamingabout 6 hours: Pack the pudding mixture into the
container; cover with a round of wax paper and the lid. Set the
container on the steaming contraption in the kettle, and add enough
water to come a third of the way up the sides of the container. cover
the kettle tightly; bring to the simmer, and let steam about 6 hours.
Warning: check the kettle now and then to be sure the water hasn't
boiled off!

When is it done? When it is a dark walnutbrown color and fairly firm
to the touch. Curing and storing. Let the pudding cool in its
container. Store it in a cool wine cellar, or in the refrigerator.
Ahead oftime note: Pudding will keep nicely for several months.
Resteaming: A good 2 hours before you plan to serve, resteam the
puddingit must be quite warm indeed for successful flaming. Unmold
onto a hot serving platter and decorate, if you wish, with sprigs of
holly.

continued in part 2