Challah Bread Pudding with Chocolate and Raisins

My goodness, it's been way too long since I wrote in my blog! Where did all the time go? Not that I really mind 2009 coming to an end, but I feel like the last few months have just flown by! With 2010 right around the corner and New Year's resolutions popping up, I felt it time to get back on the ball and start writing again. And, I have the perfect recipe for it! Dave Lieberman's Challah Bread Pudding. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes and it's really super easy. In fact, I not only made it once, but twice over the weekend! The first time was for Christmas at our friend Raquel's house and the second was for Joey's reunion party. I am pleased to say that both times it was a hit. That's really saying a lot for anything put up against Raquel's food!

When I was preparing this, I made it two ways. One with the bread sliced in 1 1/2 inch slices, which is what the recipe calls for (pictured above); and, one with the bread in 1 1/2 inch cubes (pictured below). While the taste is the same, I prefer the bread cubed, which is great because it actually was a mistake on my part. I love it when mistakes turn into happy accidents!

This is a dish everyone should try. It's so creamy and delicious and honestly is not all that hard to make.

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted in microwave
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 6 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 loaf challah bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch slices or cubed
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine warmed milk and melted butter with the sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until incorporated and smooth.
3. Line a large baking dish with two-thirds of the challah slices. Sprinkle with half the chocolate chips and half the raisins. Top with remaining challah slices, layering them one on top of the other, and then remaining chocolate chips and raisins, making sure the chips and raisins get inside the layers created by the challah slices.
4. Pour milk mixture slowly over the top of everything and let stand until the bread has absorbed almost all of the liquid, 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Wrap the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and cook 10 to 15 minutes longer until set in the middle and lightly browned on top.
6. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Notes

Try to use as deep a baking dish as possible as this tends to really puff up and spill while cooking making a huge mess of your oven. I learned this the hard way.

Blueberry Peacan Crumble

One must really take advantage of the fresh fruit that's in season during the summer. Now Max, Joey and I LOVE blueberries. (Well, Max likes his one at a time, so I guess we should say, "Max loves a blueberry." See the video below.) Blueberries are truly at their best during the summer and they are much cheaper than other times of the year!

I have tried so many crisp and crumble recipes and always failed. I finally found one courtesy of one of my favorite Food Network stars, Dave Lieberman. Let me tell you, Dave makes some awesome desserts. This is one of my new favorites. It's just delicious. Heat it up and serve with vanilla ice cream or fat free whipped topping!

Ingredients

For the topping:

• 4 ounces pecan pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups rolled (old-fashioned) oats
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• A couple pinches salt
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butte,r cut into small pieces

For the berries:

• 2 pints fresh blueberries
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. For the topping: Put all topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your hands until mixture sticks together in small clumps.
3. Pour the blueberries into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Squeeze the lemon juice over the berries, sprinkle the sugar and flour over them and toss until the berries are coated with sugar.
4. Scatter the topping over the berries in an even layer. Bake until the topping is golden brown and the berry juice is bubbling up through the topping, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Now for a special treat, here is a video of Max's first blueberry.

Sweet and Sour Braised Brisket

Sometimes what looks good on the Food Network and on paper does not come out the way you had hoped. That was the case with this recipe. It looked so delicious when I saw Dave Lieberman make it, but I was very disappointed with the end result.

I diligently got up super early on Sunday morning to get this thing in the oven. 6:30!!!! That's a challenge on week days, let alone Sunday! Anyway, I followed the instructions - browned the beef, sauted the vegetables. It smelled delicious! When I pulled it out of the oven, though, I was so sad. After 10 hours the liquid had actually increased and the meat was not all that tender. I was going to write this recipe off until last night.

I came home and Joey had our leftovers all plated up and ready to go for dinner. I was amazed at how delicious this dish had become! The meat was flavorful and tender. YUMMO! As Rachel would say.

If I were to make this again, I think I would do it in the crock pot rather than the oven. I would also decrease the liquid a bit. I don't know if I love beef brisket, but this really did make some great leftovers and, to us, that is just as important as the first time we have something.

Ingredients

• 1 (6-pound) brisket, upper portion
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• Few stalks celery, cut into big chunks
• 3 medium onions, peeled and cut into eights
• Cloves from 1 head garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
• 26-ounce box strained tomatoes (recommended: Pomi)
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Rub brisket generously with salt and vegetable oil.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil to evenly coat pan and when the oil is hot and is just beginning to smoke, add the brisket and brown on both sides. Transfer the brisket to a shallow baking dish. Add the vegetables to the saute pan. Cook until they brown and start to soften, about 5 minutes. Then pour the vegetables over the brisket.

Whisk together the tomatoes, sugar, stock and vinegar in a mixing bowl then pour it into the same saute pan. Cook for a few minutes to get all the flavor out of the skillet, and then pour over the brisket. It should be at least 3/4 of the way submersed in the liquid. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 8 to 10 hours until tender and the meat begins to fall apart. Slice thinly and serve with veggies and cooking liquid.

Serves 8 - 10

Boston Lettuce Avocado Salad and Lime Dressing

We love the Food Network and one of our favorite chefs to watch is Dave Lieberman. Dave makes some really delicious food at a very low cost. I have to say that I think his forte is salads. Now what's to a salad? Not much, but don't you ever just want to make one that is a step above your average iceberg lettuce with some low-fat ranch dressing thrown on top? Dave always makes a salad something a bit special. I made this one on Sunday and we both really loved it. The dressing went perfectly with the avocado.

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 2 small to medium heads Boston lettuce, discard any wilted leaves
• 1 Hass avocado, pitted
• 1 large bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• Leaves from 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

For the dressing:

• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• About 20 grinds fresh black pepper
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Instructions

Pull the lettuce leaves from the head, rinse gently under cold water, and lay out on clean towels to dry. Use a spoon to remove the flesh in 1 piece from each half of the avocado. Thinly slice the avocado flesh into thin wedges.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients.

Arrange the lettuce leaves on a plate and top with the avocado wedges, scallion, and cilantro. Finish with a healthy drizzling of the dressing.

Servings: 6 - 8

Note: I love having Varla Jean and Calvin cook with me. They LOVE nibbling on the greens that I feed them. If you have little feathered friends, please be aware that avocado is poisonous for them. DO NOT LET YOUR BIRDS NEAR AVOCADO!!!