Brunch French toast features apples and cinnamon

It’s brunch season. Time to invite family and friends over for a meal that’s hearty but not too filling. Unless you want it to be, of course. It’s a relaxed way to entertain. Set out some of your favorite dishes such as quiche, colorful fresh fruit salad, scones, ham or sausage, and good coffee. And if you’re looking for some great dishes to serve, the new cookbook, “Gale Gand’s Brunch! 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend’s Best Meal” is a terrific resource. Gand, the co-owner of Tru restaurant in Chicago, was also host of the Food Network’s “Sweet Dreams” show about baking that aired until 2008.

She says her recipe for Baked Cinnamon-Apple French Toast falls “somewhere between French toast and bread pudding,” She preps it the night before, so all she has to do in the morning is pop it in the oven. Mmmm, we can just smell the cinnamon …

BAKED CINNAMON-APPLE FRENCH TOAST
6 medium apples (use an assortment)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up into small cubes, plus more for the baking dish
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 slices Texas toast (thick presliced white bread)
8 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
Honey butter (1 stick unsalted room temperature butter with a pinch salt and 1 tablespoon honey beaten in)

Peel, core and cut apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Heat butter in saute pan over medium heat until it starts to foam. Add apples and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.Lightly toast bread. Cut toast slices in half to make triangles. Butter 9x13-inch baking dish and arrange bread in two rows, overlapping in dish.
Beat eggs in medium bowl; then whisk in granulated sugar, milk and vanilla to make a custard. Pour custard over bread triangles and spoon apples over top. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.The next day, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover baking dish. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until custard is set and doesn't shimmy when you shake pan. It will puff up and brown slightly. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Serve in squares or large spoonfuls, with honey butter. Makes 8 servings.
(Recipe from "Gale Gand's Brunch! 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend's Best Meal," by Gale Gand with Christie Matheson)

Sausage, apple, and Cheddar bread pudding is holiday fare

We’re counting down the days. Until Halloween. Until the very-long-awaited election. Until the holidays, with their special meals and fixin’s. One recipe that caught our eye this week is rich with the flavors of apples, onion, sausage, and Cheddar cheese. It’s from a 2004 issue of Cooking Light, and while this dish could be defined as a bread pudding, it looks like it would make a great stuffing too. We’re always on the lookout for a new stuffing for the ‘experimental’ end of the bird. This could be this year’s holiday offering.

The folks at Cooking Light suggest leaving the peel on the apple for both color and texture. We’ll take them at their word. It looks like a great way to use leftover sourdough bread too.

SAUSAGE, APPLE, AND CHEDDAR BREAD PUDDING
Yield 6 servings

8 ounces turkey Italian sausage
2 cups chopped Granny Smith apple
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces (1-inch) cubed day-old sourdough bread (about 9 cups)
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in apple and onion. Cover and cook over low heat 5 minutes or until apple is crisp-tender. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
Combine milk, egg substitute, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in sausage mixture. Add bread, and stir gently to combine. Let stand 10 minutes. Spoon into 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until pudding is set and lightly browned.
Nutritional Information -
Calories: 308 (30% from fat) Fat: 10.4g (sat 4.9g,mono 3.4g,poly 1.6g) Protein: 20.7g
Carbohydrate: 32.4g Fiber: 2.7g Cholesterol: 50mg Iron: 2.5mg Sodium: 762mg Calcium: 256mg
(Marie Simmons, Cooking Light, October 2004)

Pepe's apple bread pudding has New Orleans flavor

When you live in New Orleans, you have to love bread pudding. One of our Internet friends, Pepe, so enjoys the wonderful bread puddings there, that he’s been inspired to develop his own versions. Today’s recipe, his latest creation, he describes as “awesome.” His wife agrees and wants to make this dish part of their permanent collection.

“This bread pudding is so delicious you do not need the sauce,” says Pepe. He doesn’t always make the rum sauce, but that is an option. He advises letting the bread get stale for a couple of days before cutting it up for bread pudding. “I find it absorbs the milk/eggs mixture better. I also like to press it down once it is all combined so it absorbs the eggs and milk well,” says Pepe.

And while he uses Washington Delicious apples in his pudding, there are many other choices, depending on what’s available in your area. One of our local apple growers here in Rhode Island suggests using a combination of different apples in baked dishes. Among the apple varieties that bake up well are Baldwins, Golden Delicious, Jonathans, Macouns, Pippins, and Rhode Island Greenings. Just to name a few. I like to choose whatever's in my fridge and take it from there.

Here’s Pepe’s recipe. Thanks for sharing!

PEPE’S APPLE BREAD PUDDING WITH RUM SAUCE

1/2 cup raisins
4 ounces rum
1-1/2 loaf of French bread, cut into cubes
2 Washington Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 ounces slivered almonds
2 ounces diced pecans
7 large eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can condensed milk
1 stick butter, melted

Place raisins in rum overnight; they will swell up and get nice and juicy. Pull raisins and reserve the rum.
I use a Pyrex baking dish, about 11 X 16, sprayed with butter. Spread cut-up bread cubes to cover entire dish. Sprinkle apples, raisins, almonds, and pecans all over bread.
In large bowl, combine eggs with sugar and mix well. Add milk, cinnamon, and vanilla and mix well. Add evaporated and condensed milk and mix until well combined. Add reserved rum and butter and blend well.
Wash and dry the orange. Rasp the orange peel (orange only not the white) and pour into mixture. Squeeze juice of the orange and pour into mixture. Mix it all well.
Pour egg mixture over bread cubes. Be sure to cover it all. Let it sit for about 30 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a fork inserted comes out dry. DO NOT OVERCOOK!!!! !!!
© 2008 recipe by Pepe of New Orleans.

Rum Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
4 tablespoons rum
Combine butter, flour, and sugar in saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and add rum. Serve warm over bread pudding.

Apple bread pudding is North Carolina festival winner

The apple festival is a delicious rite of autumn. And in fact, in Henderson, NC, one of the largest apple-producing counties in the United States, they have an apple festival each year. It goes on for three days, with a parade, grand marshal, apple queen, arts and crafts booths, and many food vendors. The works.

Every year too their local newspaper holds an apple recipe contest. This year Jay Farris won a prize for his apple bread pudding, which is brimming with Granny Smith apples and toasted pecans. And to top off that mouth-watering combo, he created a delectable sauce that’s flavored with apple juice and Calvados apple brandy.

Thanks to my friends on the AkaFallsInn_Hawaii Internet group for contributing this recipe – list owner Sonia Martinez of Hawaii, and Mary-Anne Durkee of California. They know a good recipe when they see one.

I can just imagine curling up by the fire on a cool fall evening with a big bowl of this pudding. It doesn’t get much better.

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA APPLE BREAD PUDDING
(Prize winner in Western North Carolina apple recipe contest)

2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups or 4 slices Fireside Restaurant bread (a local restaurant), or other white bread, toasted and cubed
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped and toasted pecans
1 cup peeled and diced WNC Granny Smith apples
For the sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup WNC apple juice
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup Calvados apple brandy (sub apple juice for no alcohol)
1 decoratively-sliced WNC apple (without the peel) for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 10-by-10 or 9-by-13 inch pan. Mix together granulated sugar, eggs and milk in a bowl, then add vanilla. Combine chopped apples and stir well. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 to 30 minutes (or until thoroughly absorbed).
In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter and chopped pecans. Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 to 50 minutes, or until firm or set. Remove from oven.
Sauce: Mix together granulated sugar, apple juice, butter, egg and vanilla in saucepan over medium heat. When simmering, add sliced decorative WNC apple slices. Add Calvados (or apple juice), stirring well. Reduce to about 1/2 cup of liquid and then pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold.
(Recipe 2008 from Jay Farris, Hendersonville, NC)

Apple bread puddings are autumn specialty

Fall’s in the air here on the Rhode Island shore. We love the crisp, cool weather, the sight of a few leaves turning on the trees, and the promise of fresh, crisp apples.

Also, on the bread pudding front, the apple recipes are ‘a comin’ in. We can’t wait to share them with you all. We like apple bread pudding as much as apple pie, so we can’t wait to try these new ways with apples. Topped with good vanilla ice cream, you can’t do any better. Today’s recipe is one of the easiest we’ve seen in a while, which fits in fine with everyone’s busy fall schedules. And because it contains no eggs or milk, this dish makes a fine vegan dessert. It was shared on Recipezaar by Cindi J, who also took the enticing photo. She first tasted the recipe years ago at a Pampered Chef party and has enjoyed it ever since.

APPLE BREAD PUDDING

6 cups cinnamon raisin bread, cubed (approx. 10 slices)
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 Granny Smith apples, sliced
1 (12.5-ounce) jar caramel sauce

Cube bread and toss with melted butter. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9x9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Slice apples thinly (you can leave peel on if desired), and evenly layer one-half of apples in bottom of prepared dish. Top apples with one-half of the bread cubes, making sure to layer as evenly as possible.
Pour one-half of jar of caramel sauce over bread and repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm. Serves 6.
(Recipe from Recipezaar 2008, contributed by CindiJ. Photo also by CindiJ.)

Spicy apple bread pudding is old-fashioned favorite

There’s something about an apple dessert that conjures up memories of great aromas coming from the kitchen. Add some spices such as cinnamon and ginger, and then a little molasses and it gets even better.

We couldn’t wait to try this wonderful sounding bread pudding that was sent to us from Nancy Bascom, who’s a member of the AkakaFallsInn_Hawaii group on the Web. Now, granted, apples don’t turn up on lists of fruits that are native to Hawaii, but since we were discussing bread puddings, people managed to find recipes they hadn’t seen in a long time and that were tucked away in drawers or cookbooks. Nancy said she has had this recipe for so many years, she can’t remember where it came from originally. Obviously it’s a keeper!

SPICY APPLE BREAD PUDDING

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups scalded milk
2 cups bread cubes
1/2 teaspoon ginger
Dash of salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup molasses
2 eggs, beaten

Mix apples, brown sugar, 1/4 cup nuts, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Put in buttered 2-quart casserole. Mix milk and bread cubes together. Mix remaining nuts, cinnamon, and other ingredients; stir into milk mixture. Spoon bread/milk onto mixture in casserole. Set in pan of warm water and bake at 305 degrees F. for 50 to 60 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.