Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Though bread pudding's roots reach back to Europe as a way to use stale bread, it is its place as a beloved dessert in New Orleans that had me pick it for the dessert at my July demo & tasting at The Quail & Olive this week...and I used fresh bread! Instead of the traditional bourbon sauce, I used the caramel and dark chocolate drizzles by Monin that Anni has in the pantry section of her store. Ingredients makes 12 individual puddings 6 cups bread (I used a soft white), torn into 1-inch pieces 1/3 cup organic dark brown sugar 1/3 cup maple syrup (from Runamok Maple ) 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup heavy cream 4 eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (from The Casa Market ) 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (from Diaspora Co. ) 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (from  Diaspora Co. ) 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated (from  Diaspora Co. ) 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom Also needed: muffin baking dish, parchment paper or muffin cups; sauces for drizzling Proced...

     This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Melissa's Produce . I received complimentary product for the purpose of review and recipe development, but all opinions are honest and they are my own.  This page may contain affiliate links. When I received a package from  Melissa's Produce * to take part in the 2020 #FamilyBakingChallenge I was intrigued immediately by the Butterscotch™ Pears. So, I picked their  Butterscotch™ Pear Bread Pudding as my first recipe to tackle.  I am already late to the party; the challenge started three weeks ago.  And I, of course, went completely off the rails, swapping out bread to use up some leftovers, substituting eggnog for milk, and adding in lots of holiday spices. Then I made a mahogany sage-infused caramel to pour over the pudding before adding the pears. But this was a smash hit with my trio. I'll get to my recipe in a moment. But, first, a little bit about the fruit that inspired thi...

  Today we're in our fourth week of a new blogging group; a fun group will be sharing recipes on Sundays. Low stress, just a great group of gals that I am happy to blog alongside. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating.  Today Stacy is hosting and she's given us the prompt of using holiday leftovers. Perfect timing really as we are still sheltered in place, and just had the four of us around the table, but I didn't really adjust the sizes of what I usually make. Whoops. In any case, here's the line-up of how the #SundayFunday bloggers are using their holiday leftovers... Chatpata Leftover Rice Paratha  from Sneha's Recipe Savory Bread Pudding from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Thai-style Turkey Glass Noodle Salad  from Food Lust People Love Turkey and Stuffing Quiche  from Palatable Pastime Turkey Cranberry Slid...

For D's class holiday breakfast, he wanted to bring bread pudding. He wanted to use quinoa bread , but I didn't have any more and didn't feel like making any. Sorry. But, I stirred in some cooked red quinoa and it looked just the same. He was satisfied; I was relieved. Off it went. I was inspired to bake a re-do since I didn't get to try any of D's bread pudding. I added some caramelized apples, fresh persimmon, and pomegranate arils that reminded me of carnelian and garnets. The bread pudding looked bejeweled. Ingredients 8-10 C cubed bread (I used a mixture of a French loaf and a wheat loaf) 3/4 C cooked red quinoa 4-5 large eggs 2 C eggnog 3/4 C + 2 T organic dark brown sugar 2 T pure vanilla extract 2 T organic almond extract butter 1 T spices (I used a mixture of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cardamom, and ground ginger) topping 1 T butter 1 T organic granulated sugar 2 apples, sliced 2 Fuyu persimmon, peeled and sliced pome...

 Adapted from Shauna Sever's Pure Vanilla Bread pudding is the quintessential revamp; it turns leftover loaves into something delectable. I had half a loaf  and three leftover naan. Perfect! 6 C cubed leftover bread 6 large eggs 2 C milk 3/4 C organic granulated sugar 1 T pure vanilla extract caviar of one vanilla bean 2 T dark brown sugar Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a baking stone. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and caviar. Stir in the bread and stir to coat. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with brown sugar and bake uncovered until the bread pudding is puffed and golden. Transfer to dish to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

What can you do with pumpkin cake that's on the dry side and a few pears that are on the mushy side? Revamp them into Pumpkin-Pear Bread Pudding...of course! 3 C leftover pumpkin cake or bread, cubed 3 large eggs 3 mushy pears 1/2 C organic granulated sugar Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a muffin tin or muffin stone. I used the latter. Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend it all together until the bread/cake cubes are softened and everything is moistened. Spoon the mixture into the muffin hollows and bake until the puddings are set, approximately 40 minutes. For dessert, serve with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. For breakfast, which is when we ate these lovelies, serve with a dollop of plain yogurt and a splash of maple syrup. And it was a great way to turn a quasi-kitchen flop into a wild success. Delicious!

I had a few more leftover waffles...so I decided to go with a sweet version after the savory mushroom bread pudding we had for dinner last night. Here's the basic formula to adapt with whatever you have on hand: leftover bread, fruit, spices, and enough beaten eggs to moisten the bread. I used: 3 C cubed leftover waffles; 1 C quartered strawberries; 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce; 1/2 C sliced almonds; 1/2 C unsweetened flaked coconut; 1 t ground cinnamon; 1 T ginger syrup; and 3 eggs, beaten. Mix all of the ingredients well until the bread is completely moistened. Press that into a buttered baking dish. Top with raw turbinado sugar. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the pudding is puffed and brown, approximately 40-50 minutes. Let cool slightly then serve in wedges, topped with a dollop of marscarpone. I sprinkled the marscarpone with some more ground cinnamon.

What do you do when you have leftover waffles? Make a bread pudding, of course! At least that's what I do. So when my friend made a barnyard-full of buttermilk waffles at her ranch during our mothers' day weekend, I tucked the leftovers into a container and took them home. Tonight, those became the main ingredient in our dinner, a savory bread pudding full of mushrooms, tomatoes, and herbs. Delicious and so, so easy! Here's the basic formula to adapt with whatever you have on hand: leftover bread, veggies, herbs, and enough beaten eggs to moisten the bread. I used: 3 C cubed leftover waffles; 1 C sliced mushrooms; 1/2 C diced tomatoes or tomato sauce; 2 T fresh dill, minced; 1 T fresh garlic, minced; 3 eggs, beaten; and freshly ground pink Himalaya salt and flower pepper. Mix all of the ingredients well until the bread is completely moistened. Press that into a buttered baking dish. Top with shredded parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the ...

To end our Mardi Gras feast I wanted to make a New Orleans bread pudding with bourbon sauce. But, alas!, when I braved the Dragon Cabin, clinked the bottles around, I only came up with Aquavit (a Scandinavian caraway spirit), Cynar (an Italian artichoke liqueur), Liquore Strega (an Italian saffron liqueur), Amarula (a South African liqueur made from the marula fruit), several bottles of tequila, some brandy, and a bottle of rum.  And I still have a bottle of vodka in the freezer from my Martian Martini Bar.  Hmmm...which, if any, of those would be the most like bourbon?  None are made with corn. I opted for the brandy, for the mere fact that it was labeled "French brandy."  I figured 'New Orleans' was more closely related to France than any of my other booze options. Though my intent was New Orleans bread pudding with bourbon sauce, I ended up making a Filipino bread pudding with chocolate chips topped with brandy sauce.  I write 'Filipino bread pudding' b...