Thursday, November 1, 2012

Coconut Butternut Bread Pudding

Lynne Rosetto Kaspar is one of my idols. The host of The Splendid Table is not only a wonderfully engaging radio personality but a brilliant chef as evidenced by her Stump the Cook segments. Listeners call in with five ingredients from their fridge and she has to come up with a new dish the listener will actually eat by adding only three free ingredients (not including salt, pepper, and water). It's absolutely brilliant.

Therefore, I dedicate this recipe to Ms. Rosetto Kaspar, particular since I started...sort of...from her Impromptu Savory Bread Pudding recipe. The recipe has a mild sweetness and can be served as a breakfast or dinner side dish. Or...more likely...you can sit by yourself in the corner with a spoon and finish it in a single setting. Yeah, it's pretty good.

Coconut Butternut Bread Pudding

1-2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
6-8 cups of stale French or Italian bread
1 cup raisins
1 cup pureed butternut squash
1 cup grated coconut
2 cups milk
4 eggs
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ginger

  1. Preheat the oven to 350oF.
  2. Melt the butter or margarine and spread it in an even layer in a 9x13 inch glass baking dish.
  3. Tear the bread into medium chunks, about 1 inch square, and put them in a single layer in the pan, completely covering the bottom of the dish.
  4. Add raisins evenly to the bread.
  5. Whisk together the squash, coconut, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices until smooth.
  6. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes until the milk mixture is completely absorbed.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pudding is just set. The pudding should be firm but just barely moist in the middle.