Panettone Bread Pudding

You know how sometimes you are introduced to something new, and then you see it just everywhere and wonder how you went so long without knowing it even existed? This is my experience with Panettone. Panettone is a beautiful Italian cake that I've seen many people blog about and is all over the grocery stores and bakeries, but up until about a month ago I didn't even know there was such a thing. 

It really caught my attention when I saw Ina making this bread pudding with it on the Food Network. I've never really been a big bread pudding fan, but Brad and I had just recently had an amazing version at a local Mexican restaurant, so I guess I was in the mood.

It is delicious!! The almond and vanilla extracts give it an amazingly rich flavor. It made me immediately think of amaretto. It also looks beautiful with the little pieces of dried fruit and makes enough for the whole family. This would be the perfect ending to a holiday meal. We ate it after it had been out of the oven for about 30 minutes, so it was still warm, with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'm using every once of self control trying to restrain myself from running to the fridge and stealing a little bit more!

I hope you and your family and friends have a wonderful and safe holiday. See you in the New Year!!

Panettone Bread Pudding

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa  - Ina Garten

1 Italian Panettone, brown outer crust removed

Unsalted Butter, for greasing the dish

3 extra-large Eggs

8 extra-large Egg Yolks

5 cups Half-and-Half

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tsp Almond Extract

1/3 cup Sliced Almonds

• Preheat oven to 350℉.
• Cut Panettone into 1-inch cubes and spread out on a baking sheet.
• Toast cubes for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Grease a 9x13 in. baking dish with the butter, and place bread cubes inside.
• Whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, half-and-half, vanilla and almond extracts and sugar.
• Pour mixture over bread and allow to soak for 10 minutes.
• Scatter almonds on top.
• Place baking dish inside a larger dish.
• Fill larger dish with hot tap water until it comes about halfway up baking dish.
• Cover the entire thing with aluminum foil with a few holes cut in it so that it vents.
• Bake for 45 minutes, being careful not to spill any water into the actual baking dish.
• Remove aluminum foil and bake for and additional 45 minutes or until light golden brown and the custard is set.
• Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving (best warm or room temperature).

The Wifesaver

We did our first round of Christmas this past weekend. Brad and I are off to Georgia for the actual day, and then to Toronto for New Year's (family is all over the place!), so we decided to do our gift giving to each other while we were still home. We made a whole day of it - complete with a Christmas-style breakfast and dinner. Which is great for all of ya'll because I have 2 recipes that will be perfect for your holiday. We even spent all day playing with our "toys." I gave Brad that RockBand game, and I swear he stayed up till 3 am playing that sucker.

This first recipe is courtesy of my lovely mother-in-law, Terri. It is aptly named the Wifesaver because it can be conveniently prepared the night before, then baked up the morning of. It takes about an hour to bake, which was the perfect time for us to do some present opening. Even Suki got in on the action!

The casserole is hearty but not overly heavy. It has almost a quiche-like texture, combined with salty ham, sharp cheddar cheese and a crunchy cereal topping (the Special-K topping threw me a bit as well, but it was awesome!). Really delicious. Especially when it's paired with a nice fruit salad and croissants, like we did.

Since Brad and I are going to be spending the actual Christmas day with my family, this will be his first Christmas in 30 years away from his snow-covered home. He had requested that I try and make his mom's recipe as it was one of the things he will miss most about not being there on the actual day. It's funny how food is associated with some of our most cherished memories.

We are packing up here, but in the next day or so I will post the recipe for the most amazing Panettone bread pudding. Yum!

The Wifesaver

16 slices White Bread, crusts removed

1/2 lb. Canadian Back Bacon or Ham, thinly sliced

8 slices Sharp Cheddar Cheese

6 Eggs

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1 tsp. Dry Mustard

1/4 cup minced Onion

1/4 cup Green Pepper, finely chopped

1-2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

3 cups Whole Milk

dash Tabasco

1 stick of Butter, melted

approx. 3 cups Special K cereal 

• Butter a 9x13 in. glass baking dish.
• Place 8 pieces of bread on bottom of dish and cover with slices of back bacon.
• Place cheese slices on top of back bacon, then cover with remaining bread slices.
• In a bowl, beat eggs, salt, pepper, dry mustard, onion, green pepper, Worcestershire sauce, milk and Tabasco.
• Pour mixture over bread, cover and let stand overnight.
• In morning, Pre-heat oven to 350℉.
• Pour butter over casserole and cover with cereal.
• Bake, uncovered for 1 hour (casserole will puff up and some of the cereal may fall off, so I'd recommend lining your oven with foil or a baking sheet).
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Vanilla Crescents

On the off chance that your sweet tooth hasn't totally revolted and left for a healthier habitat, here's another one of the Christmas cookies I've been making this year. They are really simple and seem to be a huge hit with everyone. They are sweet and buttery and a great cookie to add to your repertoire. They are especially great because you only need 5 ingredients to make them. Perfect when you have somehow run out of eggs or other fancy ingredients and don't feel like braving the cold to get more.

Personally, I was out of about everything except these five ingredients and there was no chance I was leaving the apartment to run to the grocery. No, the weather in NYC was a balmy 53℉ yesterday, so it wasn't the cold. Let's just say although living 3 blocks from Bloomingdales is a blessing most of the year, it is not so fabulous a week before Christmas. Thank-you tourists for visiting our lovely city and helping our local economy, but please, please, don't just stand with you and 10 of your friends in the very middle of a busy sidewalk. If everyone visiting NYC knew they should move to the side and not create a major sidewalk traffic jam, I guarantee the perception of new yorkers would be much sunnier. Ahh - I feel much better having gotten that off my chest. :)

But back to the cookies - although these are very simple to assemble, you have to be extra careful when baking them, because they can get too toasty very quickly. I learned that the hard way when I had to trash my entire first batch. I also think the original recipe is completely off. It called for them to be baked at a higher temperature and for about 10 minutes longer than I ended up ever having to do for a batch. In the recipe below, I've tweaked it to the times that I ended up using. But if you attempt these, check them often and pull them out before they start to brown at all - by that point you will be too far gone. Just check to make sure that they are slightly firm to the touch.

Vanilla Crescents

Adapted from Food & Wine - Cindy Mushet

2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened

1 cup Confectioners' Sugar, plus more for dusting

1 1/2 tablespoons pure Vanilla Extract

2 1/4 cups AP Flour

pinch of Salt

• Preheat oven to 325℉; place one rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven, and one in the lower 1/3.
• In an electric mixer, combine the butter and 1/2 cup confectioners sugar for 5 minutes.
• Add vanilla, flour and salt just until combined.
• On a floured surface, spoon out tablespoons of the dough and roll into 3-inch strips. Form the strips into crescent shapes (make sure the ends aren't smaller than the middle or else they will brown quicker).
• Place cookies on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes (switching oven position halfway), or until the bottoms are golden and the tops are pale blond.
• Allow to cool on racks for 10 minutes.
• Place remaining 1/2 cup confectioners sugar in a small bowl (adding more as necessary), and roll warm cookies in it to coat.
• A few minutes later, repeat the sugar rolling process and allow the cookies to cool completely.

Mom's Molasses Cookies

I'm finally able to get out of bed and do some holiday baking - Wahoo!! Even though I'm battling the remains of a terrible cold, I'm not letting it keep me down and miss out on my favorite time of year. Plus, over the next few days I'm visiting some of those folks you don't see everyday, like my hair person and the piano tuner. So I'm being a tough girl and baking up some goodies. 

My mom makes these molasses cookies year round, but their spiced quality and pretty icing make them perfect for the holidays. They bake up thin and moist, which makes eating a dozen in one sitting an absolute possibility. The fresh tasting icing is the perfect contrast to the spiced cookie.

There is no rolling and cutting required. My mom uses a little melon baller to scoop out perfectly shaped cookies every time. When the icing has dried they package up nicely as well. I fit about a dozen into these cute little Christmas take-out style boxes that I got from the container store for like a dollar. Talk about a recession-worthy gift!

I'll be sending a slew of these to my friends far away, since my mom always ships them to me. Even after a few days in a box, they come out perfect and taste as fresh as the day they were baked. Happy holiday baking!!

Mom's Molasses Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

1 1/2 (12 Tlbs) sticks Sweet Butter, melted (if using salted version, omit additional salt)

1 cup granulated Sugar

1/4 cup Molasses (Grandma's Original Molasses recommended)

1 Egg

1 3/4 cup AP Flour

1/2 teaspoon ground Cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger

1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

3 cups Powdered Sugar

• Preheat oven to 350℉ and line 2 baking sheets with foil.
• Thoroughly mix together melted butter, sugar and molasses.
  
• Lightly beat egg and add to the mixture; blend well.
• Sift flour with spices, salt and baking soda, and add to mixture (batter will be wet).
• Drop tablespoons of cookie batter on foil, leaving approx. 3 inches between cookies.
• Bake just until they begin to darken; about 8-10 minutes.
• Transfer cookies to cooling rack.
• Using mixer, whisk together lemon juice and powdered sugar until a glossy icing is formed (may need more or less lemon juice, so add gradually).
• When cookies have cooled completely, cover in icing; let dry on racks.