Chocolate Bread Pudding

Recently we headed over to our friend Janna's house for dinner. Our contribution to the meal was Chocolate Bread Pudding. I found a great recipe on www.foodnetwork.com by Wolfgang Puck. 

It is delicious and I highly recommend it(Personally I ate 5 of them in 3 days. Not proud of that, but it confirms that this recipe is worth while). 

One of the first things you will need to produce this recipe are individual ramekins. You can purchase them at most stores that sell bake ware. I purchased mine at Crate and Barrel for $1.95/piece. You only need 8 containers for this recipe. 

Then you will  need to set out bread the night before you would like to make this recipe. This allows the bread to dry out so that it will absorb the maximum amount of moisture. I cheated a little bit and took bread that I just bought and sliced into the oven on a low temperature. After about 30 minutes or so the bread was dry enough for me to proceed.

There are two parts to this recipe a custard and the soaking liquid for the bread.

The custard ingredients are as follows:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 1/2 ounces bitter chocolate

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups half-and-half

The soaking liquid:

1 1/2 cups half-and half

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

8 1//2-inch thick slices brioche (I just used a loaf of the oroweat white bread from the grocery store)

Extras for garnish:

Powdered sugar

Unsweetened whipped cream

In a double boiler (or you can use a stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water) melt the 2 chocolates. In a large mixing bowl (I used my kitchen aid mixer) beat the whole eggs and the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in the sugar and beat until fluffy. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, bring the half-and-half to a rolling boil. Slowly whisk into the egg mixture. Then, whisk in the melted chocolate. Chill over ice and refrigerate, covered, until needed. (This should be prepared the day before so that the custard will thicken or you can do in the morning if you are making dessert for dinner in the evening.)

Then ready to prepare the pudding, combine the soaking liquid ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the cocoa is completely dissolved. Cut each slice of bread into 2-inch circles (16 circles, I used my biscuit cutters.) Arrange the circles of bread in 1 or 2 dishes with sides large enough to hold the circles in 1 layer. Pour the soaking liquid over and soak well, turning so that the bread absorbs as much liquid as possible. I also made extra bread circles and stacked some of the puddings with 3 layers of bread instead of 2.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 8 3/4 cup ramekins or custard  cups.

To prepare the pudding, spoon a layer of custard (about 2 ounces into the bottom of each of the 8 cups. Using a slotted spoon, remove a circle of bread and set in the custard. Spoon over a second layer of custard, a second circle of bread and top with a final layer of custard. Repeat this procedure, filling the remaining cups with custard and bread, and then arrange the cups in a large baking pan. Fill the pan with boiling water, halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake 30 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until needed.

Dust the puddings with sifted powdered sugar and pass a bowl of unsweetened whipped cream.

*Also if you like to make your own whipping cream, you can just purchase heavy cream at the grocery store and mix it up with a hand mixer or kitchen aid mixer. Do not over mix as it can easily become butter.*

Enjoy!!!

Flemings Steakhouse

Evan and I had a gift card from our wedding for Flemings Steakhouse. There was not one in LA until recently when they opened the new LA Live center in Down town. This new center is directly across from the Staples center. It contains several restaurants, a Lucky Strikes bowling alley, a Conga Room, and of course now a Flemings Steakhouse. So we decided to use our gift card Saturday night and check it out. Once we arrived in the area we drove around to try and find parking under $20. After searching we eventually gave in and payed $20 to park. Then we proceeded to the steak house. I ordered the Filet Mignon medium with a side of the Flemings Potatoes. The Flemings Potatoes are scalloped potatoes crusted on top with cheese. Evan got the daily special of Butter Fish with rice pilaf and a side of Asparagus. Most of our dishes where under cooked. The asparagus tasted raw and crunchy. I am a big asparagus fan and I love my asparagus crispy, but this was barely cooked at all and had no flavor. The scalloped potatoes also were not cooked all  the way through. The top part was done, but underneath, was undesirable raw potatoes. Also I ordered my filet medium, but it came out medium rare and was red and bloody most of the way through. The steak was still good, but I do prefer my steak to be a little better cooked. Evan's fish was good, but not for $31. Our favorite part of the meal was the brie cheese they served as a starter with the crostini's. As for nice restaurants the atmosphere was standard and what is expected of a place like this, but if Evan and I were on our own dime we would definitely not choose to come here again.

The Nickle Diner

The Nickle Diner is in downtown Los Angeles a few blocks from where I work. My co-worker Lalaina and I love to go there every few weeks. If you love home cooked food, that is done well, than this is the place for you. Lalaina and I both have a love for BBQ pulled pork and this place has the perfect dish to cure our cravings. We usually get the BBQ pulled pork sandwich with skinny french fries. The sandwich is piled high with BBQ pulled pork and topped with coleslaw on a toasted sesame seed bun. Lalaina opts for the coleslaw on the side, but I like mine big and messy. It is a great place where everything is home made and done well. Including the red velvet cupcakes or the home made ding dongs. If you work down town you will have to give this place a try.

www.5cdiner.com

New Year, New Beginnings

Well I have taken a bit of hiatus from the site. My friend mentioned that I needed to upgrade the site and since I haven't had time I stopped doing the blogs. Well in the New Year I decided to keep the blog up and worry about upgrading when and if I get the time.

Anyways, tonights blog is quick and easy. If you ever have those nights were you work all day, go to the gym, and come home and don't want to cook? Than this is the meal for you.

First you need to have a few things on hand that you can pick up at the store. I usually have some of these things around most of the time. We love the Whole Foods line of canned soups and always have some in our pantry. A small side note, Whole Foods Soups of contain no MSG. If you didn't know or didn't realize most other soup lines do contain MSG including 95 different Campbell's soups (also note that MSG can be disguised as autolyzed yeast extract). We also usually have or easily can get a loaf of bread (multi grain or whole wheat is healthier), tomatoes, cheddar cheese, prosciutto (or you can use bacon or even deli sliced turkey), and a green vegetable (our choice asparagus).

Now we are just minutes away from our meal. First we boil water in a steamer and clean asparagus. Then we place in the top of the steamer and put the lid on. Cook your soup in a pan on medium to low. Next assemble a grilled cheese to top off the meal. I personally like to slice my cheese thin on the cheese slicer then place it on the bread with the prosciutto on top and 3 thin slices of tomatoes. Melt a pat of butter in a frying pan on medium to medium high put the grilled cheese down and let it cook on that side until golden brown. Then add a little bit more butter to your pan and flip the grilled cheese over. Remove everything from the heat and now we toss our asparagus in a little butter or olive oil and salt and assemble on plate with the grilled cheese. Quick and Easy!!! Which is good cause if you are like me after the gym you are starving. This whole meal can be done in 10 minutes. A great time saver. Enjoy!!!