New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding...

                                             New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding

                              (from Cook's Country Blue Ribbon Desserts)

      In honor of the Super Bowl, here it is as promised...!! Go Niners!!!


   Pudding:

  1 (18-20-inch) French baguette, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)

  1 cup golden raisins

  3/4 cup bourbon

  8 egg yolks

  1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

  3 cups heavy cream

  1 cup whole milk

  1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

  1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

  1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

  1/4 tsp. salt

  3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

  6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled


1. FOR THE PUDDING:

   Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 
   degrees. Arrange the bread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake,
   stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes, rotating
   the baking sheet halfway through baking. Let the bread cool.
   Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Grease a 13 by 9-inch
   baking pan. 

2. Meanwhile, heat the raisins with 1/2 cup of the bourbon in a small 
    saucepan over medium-high heat until the bourbon begins to simmer,
    2-3 minutes. Strain the mixture over a bowl, reserving the bourbon
    and raisins separately. 

   
   

3. Whisk the egg yolks, brown sugar, cream, milk, vanilla, 1 tsp. of the
     cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl.

 Whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup bourbon, and the bourbon used to plump
 the raisins. Fold in the toasted bread until evenly coated.Let the mixture sit
 until the bread begins to absorb the custard, about 30 minutes, tossing
 occasionally. (If the majority of the bread is still hard when squeezed,
 soak for another 15 to 20 minutes.)

4. Pour half of the bread mixture into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle
    with half of the reserved raisins. Pour the remaining bread mixture into
    the pan and sprinkle with the remaining raisins. Cover with aluminum
    foil and bake for 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, mix the granulated sugar and the remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
    in a small bowl. Using your fingers, combine the butter and cinnamon sugar
    until the mixture is the size of small peas. 

    Remove the foil from the pudding, sprinkle with the butter mixture, and
    bake the pudding, uncovered, until the custard is just set, 20-25 minutes.
    Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake until the top of 
    the pudding forms a golden crust, about 2 minutes. Transfer the pudding
    to a wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.

6. FOR THE SAUCE:

  Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. of the bourbon together in a
  small bowl. Heat the cream and granulated sugar in a small saucepan over
  medium heat until the sugar dissolves. 

Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low
and cook until the sauce thickens, 3-5 minutes.

 Off the heat, stir in the
remaining 2 Tbsp. bourbon, butter, and salt. Drizzle the warm sauce over
individual servings of the bread pudding. Serves 8-10 people.