Recipe - Bread Pudding (Commanders Palace Restaurant)

9 Slices 1" thick French bread
(crusts removed)
1 One half cup Whipping cream
Three fourths cup Granulated sugar
5 tablespoon Melted & cooled unsalted
butter
1/8 teaspoon Freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 tablespoon Vanilla
3 tablespoon Raisins
3 lg Eggs

OPTIONAL
6 lg Egg yolks, beaten
One fourth cup Granulated sugar
6 lg Egg whites
pn Salt
One half cup Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange bread in a 9" square baking pan. Beat
together remaining pudding ingredients in mixing bowl & pour over bread.
Let sit for 5 mins, then turn bread over & let them soak for another 10
mins.

Cover pan with aluminum foil & place in a larger shallow pan. Fill the
outer pan w/hot water so it comes halfway up the side of the baking pan.
Bake for 35 mins., then remove foil & bake for another 1015 mins. Custard
should still be somewhat soft w/a light brown top.

Optional Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter & lightly sugar a 2 One half qt.
souffle dish. Refrigerate until ready to use. Put the egg yolks &
granulated sugar in the top of a double boiler & cook, whisking constantly,
until the mixture is thick & lemon colored. In a lrg. bowl, combine the
yolk mixture w/2 One half cups of the cooled bread pudding. Beat the egg whites
w/a pinch of salt until frothy. Gradually add the confectioners sugar,
beating constantly until the mixture stands in stiff peaks. Add One half cup of
the beaten egg whites to the bread puddingegg yolk mixture & gently fold
the remaining egg whites into the bread pudding mixture. Fill the souffle
dish Three fourths full w/the bread pudding mixture & bake for 3035 mins until top
is golden brown. Serve warm.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini