Tummy Warming Desserts for The New Year

From Denny: Celebrity chef Ed Brown is back again to help us keep on the pounds. Oh, what a man! :) Seriously, we adore bread pudding of any variety here in south Louisiana. It stars daily at in-store lunch or deli menus since French bread is still a big hit here, embedded into the traditional French culture stemming from New Orleans. And, just this last weekend I saw the grocer putting out fresh clementines, a delightful citrus for which Chef Brown has a recipe too.

Oh, and when I'm out of fruit for a bread pudding, I often substitute our other fav fruit: chocolate chips. I'm especially a huge fan of Ghiradelli brand double chocolate chips from San Francisco, California. The double chocolate means there is more chocolate in relation to sugar. My complaint about most chocolate chips is there is so much sugar you can barely taste the chocolate and Ghiradelli puts out the smoothest most awesome taste.

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Cranberry bread pudding

From: Chef Ed Brown

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 vanilla bean, split and scrape insides, reserve pod for another time
• 3 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 5 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 French baguettes (day-old best), cut into 2-inch-thick slices
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen fine)
• 2 teaspoons soft butter

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

• In a large nonreactive bowl, combine vanilla, milk, cream, cinnamon, lemon, sugar, salt and eggs, whisk until well blended.

• Add the bread slices, raisins and cranberries, toss and soak for 40 minutes.

• Butter a 12-inch (ovenproof) ceramic deep pie dish with soft butter.

• Transfer bread and egg mixture to dish, be sure to have the fruit well distributed.

• Cover dish with aluminum foil, place in oven for 1 hour, removing the foil the last 15 minutes.



Clementines with Grand Marnier

From: Chef Ed Brown

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 15 each clementines, peeled, segmented
• 2 cups simple syrup
• 1 cup Grand Marnier
• 6 each mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons Grenadine

DIRECTIONS

Combine all except Grenadine and refrigerate 2-4 hours before serving. Serve in a glass pedestal. Just before serving drizzle Grenadine on top.



*** ALSO: 5 Recipes: Lemon Chicken, Portobello Fries and Sides

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