Caramel Sauce, Whiskey and Wild Wild Bread Pudding

It's the season!  November has ended, Thanksgiving is officially over now and, contrary to what retailers would have us believe, the Christmas season has begun.  I have noticed, as I get older, that I am becoming more and more adamant about the fact that "Christmas" does not start until December.  The entire concept of Black Friday can kiss my back side.  Oye!  I stay home and eat left-over Thanksgiving pie.  (I love Pie day!)  Then again, I have usually finished my Christmas shopping before Halloween.  Not always, but most of the time.  Which leaves me free to spend the early part of December baking a myriad of Shortbreads, Candies and other small bites of delicious holiday cheer.

However, before I get involved in making the 6 Pumpkin Rolls that I need to hand out this year, I wanted to share one of my favorite winter time desserts.  One, incidentally, that I very rarely make.  Bread Pudding.

The problem is that I come from a bread eating family.  A serious bread eating family.  Every one of us consumes bread at truly alarming rate.  My niece's favorite summertime BBQ treat is a hot dog without the hot dog, meaning just the bun with hot dog fixin's on it.  I know it's in the family genes, because that was my favorite sandwich when I was little as well.  Ketchup, Mustard and Mayonnaise spread on bread and consumed with relish (when available) Whether it's homemade bread crumbs over Cauliflower, chunks ripped off a loaf and dipped in olive oil with dinner, or the proverbial left-over turkey sandwich after Thanksgiving.  The bread just seems to disappear around here in no time at all.  Thus there is never EVER any day old bread to make a descent bread pudding. (sigh)

But, I finally remembered to buy an extra loaf of Sourdough and hide it from myself a few days ago.  On some level, I think it's pretty sad that I have to hide bread from myself due to my lack of self control.  But it is what it is.  Maybe my subconscious mind will register the reward of bread pudding and it will assist me in resisting the temptation in the future.

Yeah, No.  Not happening in this lifetime.

I will admit that I prefer to have booze in my bread puddings.  I think it has to do with bread pudding's similarity to Christmas puddings, which are usually soaked in brandy and ignited. Alcohol just seems like a natural addition.  Be it Scotch with Butterscotch sauce, Bourbon and Egg Nog Sauce Sauce, Rum and ButterRhum Sauce, Brandy and Hard Sauce or, as in this case, Whiskey and Whiskey Caramel Sauce....  It's ALL kinds of good.   After all, 'tis the season to spread some Holiday Cheer, Right?  ;)

Irish Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce

Irish Bread Pudding
2 oz (56g) Unsalted Butter, melted
10 oz (284g) Sourdough Bread
1/2 cup (72g) Currants (you can use Raisins if you like)
1/4 cup (59ml) Irish Whiskey
1 3/4 cup (414ml) Half and Half
1 cup (200g) plus 1 TB Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
12 oz (355ml) Evaporated Milk
2 large Eggs
1 tsp Cinnamon

Whiskey Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 cups (300g) Granulated Sugar
2/3 cup (156ml) Water
4 oz (113g) Unsalted Butter, cut into chunks
1/4 cup (59ml) Irish Whiskey (I like Bushmills)
1/4 cup (59ml) Heavy Cream

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
Cut the bread into 1-inch thick slices and brush with the melted butter and place butter side up on a baking sheet.

Bake the bread for about 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn golden.

Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside.

In a small bowl, macerate the Currants in the Irish Whiskey, then cover and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine Half and Half with Sugar, Vanilla, Evaporated Milk and Eggs, whisking well to combine.

Add Bread cubes, tossing well to coat, then cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Butter a 13x9-inch baking dish.

Stir the macerated Currants into the bread custard mixture.

Pour the resulting mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Combine the remaining 1 TB Sugar with the Cinnamon.

Gently sprinkle the Cinnamon Sugar mixture over the pudding.

 Bake for 35 minutes, or until slightly puffed in the center.

While the pudding is baking, make the Whiskey Caramel sauce.
Combine Sugar and Water in a medium saucepan set over medium flame.

Stir until the Sugar dissolves and the syrup comes to a boil.

Let the mixture boil until it begins to turn amber brown.

When the caramel has reached its amber color, stir in the butter with a whisk (it will bubble and steam)

Once the butter has been melted into the caramel (the fat will prevent crystallization) remove the caramel from the heat and add the Irish Whiskey and Heavy Cream. (the mixture will bubble and steam again)

Pour into a heat proof pitcher and allow the caramel to cool. (I like to use empty honey bears for my cooled caramel sauces.... easier application)
Once the pudding has finished baking, and has cooled slightly, cut 3-inch square pieces and place in a bowl and drizzle liberally with Whiskey Caramel.

Add a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

Mangia!!
~~

Public Service Announcement From "Processed Cheese Free America"

This is Cheddar......


This is Cheddar on Sourdough.....


Any Questions?

I mentioned this, back on my "Lets Talk A Little Turkey" post. So it is time to visit that tried and true sandwich loved by so many.... Yeah Baby! I'm talkin' 'bout Grilled Cheese. My particularly favorite grilled cheese sandwich involves Sharp Cheddar cheese, which, while not quite as smooth when melted as say oh, "American Cheese" or even Mild Cheddar, gives you that punch of flavor as only good sharp cheddar can.

There are 4 things, in my opinion, that can take a Grilled Cheese to a whole new level:

• Sourdough Bread
• Prepared Horseradish
• REALLY Soft, slightly melted Butter
• Raw Cast Iron

There is just something special about grilling a sandwich in raw cast iron pan that cannot compare to any other form of cookware. Even enameled cast iron doesn't do the job as well. I think it has to do with the seasoning on the pan itself. Even a well seasoned cast iron pan is pitted. I think it facilitates better browning.

Awesome Grilled Cheese

Begin heating a Cast Iron Pan over medium flame, with a little pat of butter to season it before hand and to let you know when it's ready for your sandwich (when it foams, you know the skillet is ready)

OK, Brush both pieces of Sourdough with melted butter.

Spread with Horseradish on both pieces, I am pretty sure I use about 2 tsp (it might be a Tablespoon)

Lay down the cheese...

Press the two halves together, and brush the top facing slice with more melted butter.

Lay into the hot pan, buttered side down and brush the facing sourdough with the butter.

After about 1 1/2 -2 minutes, flip the sandwich over.

Grill for another 1 1/2 minutes.

Slice in half on a slight diagonal and serve warm... With Tomato soup... mmm Comfort Food!!!

Horseradish is an excellent accompaniment to the sharp cheddar, it goes even better with extra sharp. For a little extra zing - I sometimes mix the horseradish with a little Brown Mustard. So how do you like YOUR grilled Cheese??

Mangia!!
~~

The Pursuit of Happiness - Perfecting the Reuben

Food Origin: The Reuben Sandwich… this is going to be long.
Debate continues as to the origin of this sandwich. Some swear it was 1916 when Arnold Reuben, owner of Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York served the first Reuben. Others swear it was Reuben Kulakofsky of the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha Nebraska circa 1925. Still others claim it was Fern Snider of the Rose Bowl Restaurant, still in Omaha, in the 1956 National Sandwich Contest. Well, after a lot of reading and digging I have deduced, with my keen senses, the true origin of the Reuben sandwich.

It was Colonel Mustard in the Billiard room with a Candlestick.

Regardless of the WHO, the WHERE, or the WHEN, the Reuben is one of the quintessential sandwiches. This is noticeable by the fact that you can refer to it as “A Reuben” and people know you are talking about a sandwich and not the guy next door. All GREAT sandwiches have experienced this phenomenon, a Monte Cristo, a Grilled Cheese, a Muffaletta, and a BLT, just to name a few. Yes, like all these, the Reuben has taken the world by storm and can be found everywhere. Now that is not to say that all Reubens on the menus of the world are *good* Reubens, just that they exist. But truly great Reubens can sometimes be found in the most unlikely places. After all, one of the best Reubens I have had in my life came from a little “Chinese” deli in Riverside, California. Go figure.

There is yet another mystery regarding the famed Reuben… The Dressing… I was raised with Mayonnaise gracing my rye bread. Thousand Island, which seems to be the accepted norm now days, was not allowed in the house for my mother abhorred all things with hidden sugar, and let’s face it, Thousand Island dressing might as well be dessert it is so sweet. In my research, however, I discovered that the original Reuben was made with Russian dressing…

This presents its own set of issues…. There is NO single recipe for the elusive Russian dressing, from which Thousand Island was derived. Oh yes, there are recipes claiming to be original but they range from Mayonnaise based to Yogurt based to Oil based and back again, containing everything from caviar to chopped boiled eggs and yes, even sweet pickle relish and ketchup. (Thus, the connection of Thousand Island dressing is made.) One thing was abundantly clear though; Russian dressing is spicier than Thousand Island, since it contains Chili sauce or Cayenne pepper, an ingredient that was a standard in almost all the recipes I found.

It was at this point, however, that I realized that I was not going to really be able to produce a Traditional Reuben sandwich at home, since no one seems to know what one *really* is. So I have resigned myself to producing what I THINK is as close as I can get in the modern age…

I decided to tackle this by concentrating first, on the individual ingredients.

Corned Beef...
This year I was privy to the idea of steaming instead of crock-potting it. I decided to experiment after a little internet browsing through the LA times.

Simply place water and the spice packet, if you have one, in the bottom pot. (I used my wok, cause it has this nifty steamer grate… THANKS DAD!!! My dad is the guru of kitchen gadgetry)

Line the steamer basket with cabbage leaves (I use a Napa cabbage)

Place the meat on top with the fat facing up.

Cover and Steam for 50 minutes per lb.

Remove and slice after cooling slightly…. YUM!!!

I snitched some… Tender, Juicy and delicious!!!!!

Ok, the Corned Beef completed!!

Now, Dressing...I had purchased Annie’s Organic Thousand Island dressing as a base… Why? There were four reasons:

• It contains no High fructose Corn Syrup like all the others (It’s sweetened with good old fashioned sugar)

• It is based on Yogurt instead of Mayo or just oil, which I feel more closely resembles the Russian Salad dressing.


• Well… It’s organic, which always makes me feel better, since none of the other stuff is.


• Finally, it was on sale and actually cheaper than Wishbone, Kraft, Girards or Ken’s Steak house.

So, to my Thousand Island I added some Cayenne pepper (I resisted using Chipotle powder)
Dressing designed……

Cheese...

OK, Swiss is the cheese. There is no doubt about that. But I was being stubborn, if I was going use Swiss cheese, I wanted SWISS cheese… Thus I needed Emmental… The Original, that most U.S. Swiss, as well as the Norwegian Jarlsburg are modeled after.

Cheese chosen.....

Saurkraut….

Being of German, Dane, and Swiss descent; or DaSwiGerm, if you will (The 'w' is pronounced like a 'v'). I know my Kraut… Whether it be Zuurkool, Surkal or Kapusta (which is actually Polish). The point is that I love Sauerkraut; mixed in mashed potatoes, served over knockwurst/bratwurst, eaten directly from the jar with a fork, or on my Reuben. Love it!!! But I am picky…

A little about kraut… Sauerkraut is cabbage that has been lacto-fermented. The same way as cold process pickled cucumbers (Barrel Pickles). This process is performed in 3 phases utilizing the beneficial bacterial beasties (they are small) already contained in the cabbage leaf, lactobacillus being one of them. This family of beneficial bacteria is responsible for producing buttermilk, Sour Cream, Creme Fraiche, Yogurt and changing the 'pH' of most Cheeses. Thusly, sauerkraut should really only contain the following:

Cabbage, Water, and Salt, maybe with caraway seeds and a little sugar for those Bavarians out there.

My choice is usually Bubbies because is contains only those three ingredients.

Sodium Bisulfate, Sodium Benzoate and High Fructose Corn Syrup have no business in sauerkraut. For all the touted health benefits of sauerkraut, I would think the presence of artificial preservatives and HFCS would pretty much cancel those out.

Sauerkraut Selected……..

Bread…
Kimmel Rye bread made with Caraway seeds… This is where I deviated a little, I love Sour Dough, and I found a Sour Dough Rye with Kimmel (Caraway Seeds) so I was good to go!!!

Bread bought....

That's everything... WHEW!! Finally, on with the Sandwich…….

The Reuben

2 sliced Sour Kimmel Rye Bread

Unsalted Butter

Thousand Island Dressing (with added Cayenne) or Russian (if you can find it)

Emmental

Sauerkraut

Corned Beef

2 Skillets (sorry but your gonna need 2)

Sandwich knife (or a bread knife and a butter knife)

Let us begin….

Butter the bread slices on both sides and lay on a little waxed paper.

Slice your cheese fairly thin.

Portion out your Sauerkraut if making more than one sandwich. (this is heat and eat, no waiting)

Heat up both skillets. Please DO NOT use Raw Cast Iron for the corned beef and kraut, it will react and taste funny. I do, however, like to use cast iron for the bread and cheese.

Begin grilling or pan searing the bread in one skillet while heating the corned beef in the other.

When the beef is just about heated through move it to the edges of the skillet and add the kraut in the middle. (My skillet was too small so I removed it and tented it to keep it warm)

Flip your Bread and add cheese to 1 slice, then cover to foster melting.

Heat sauerkraut thoroughly, this will steam off some of the excess juices and dry it out a little so your bread will not become soggy half way through your sandwich.

Remove bread from skillet and apply dressing to the un-cheesed side.

Lay Sauerkraut on the cheese covered slice.

Lay down the Corned Beef next,

then the dressed slice of bread on top.

Press down lightly and slice with your knife on the bias…
Move to a plate and serve immediately with a chilled Harp or Guinness….

Mmmmmmm..... Happiness IS a well made Reuben.... and a Cold beer.
Yeah, the final pictures weren't great, but after smelling this thing cooking, I could not wait, so I only took two in hopes that they would come out, then I began eating with great exhuberance...

Mangia!!!
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