Pineapple Coconut Bread Pudding with Buttered Rum Sauce

It's almost the start of the New Year so I've been thinking about what my 2014 New Year's resolutions will be. This got me to thinking about what they were for this year and then I remembered that my resolution involved baking. And I quote (from my blog entry on Jan 16, 2013), "I have decided that 2013 is the year I take on more challenging recipes. Recipes that push me out of my comfort zone and hopefully make me realize that yes, I CAN do it. It will also help me understand different techniques of baking that I haven't dabbled in yet. (Or I'll learn from my failure with the new techniques.)"

 

I've done pretty well this year with trying new recipes that weren't my usual go tos (cookies & brownies.) In fact, I've never made a bread pudding before and lookie here! While it's not complicated, I did get to try something new!

 

I brought this to a holiday party and people raved about it. I used a basic recipe and added a couple ingredients to the bread pudding and then added a buttered rum sauce. I think THAT'S what made people rave. :)

 

Have you thought about your 2014 resolutions? Do they involve baking?

Pineapple Coconut Bread Pudding with Buttered Rum Sauce (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients for Pudding:

3 eggs

1 cup white sugar

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

12 slices bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used country-style white bread)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

 

Ingredients for Sauce:

6 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons white sugar

4+ teaspoons of rum

Directions for pudding:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 baking dish. (Or use ramekins.) Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in pineapple, butter, coconut, and raisins. Stir in bread until well coated. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake in preheated oven until bread is fluffy, about 40 minutes.

Directions for sauce:

When pudding is ready to be served, melt butter in a pan on the stove and stir in the sugar and rum. Once completely melted, drizzle over the bread pudding while warm and enjoy. 

Bake well and prosper!

Pineapple Pumpkin Punch

I love the name of this drink since it's an alliteration. It's rather fun to say especially when you add the fact that it's with pecans. Just say it out loud and enjoy the consonants spitting from your mouth.

 

Or not...

 

Here's something you can enjoy: Photos of fall.

I had wanted to go up a little north of NYC to be a leaf peeper for the past two weekends and finally, yesterday, I got to go on a lovely day trip to Cold Spring, NY.

Cold Spring is a quaint town with a lovely view located on the Hudson River.

I'm so glad I got to catch the last bit of fall foliage before winter really settles in.

 

If it's still fall in your neck of the woods, here's a good punch to make for fall parties. If made a day or two ahead, the spice from the cinnamon really develops which nicely compliments the rum and pumpkin.

Pineapple Pumpkin Punch (adapted from foodnetwork)

Ingredients

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

cinnamon sticks

1 29-ounce can pure pumpkin (about 3 1/2 cups)

2 limes

Splash of rum, for serving

Pineapple chunks and/or pecans, for serving

Directions

Combine 12 cups water, the brown sugar and cinnamon sticks in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the pumpkin and return to a simmer. Meanwhile, remove the zest from the limes in wide strips using a vegetable peeler; add the zest to the pot and simmer 15 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate until the liquid is cold and the pumpkin pulp settles to the bottom, 2 to 3 hours.
Working in batches, slowly pour the liquid into a fine-mesh strainer set over a pitcher (repeat if necessary to strain out all the pumpkin pulp). Discard the pulp and lime zest. Return the cinnamon sticks to the punch and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Erika's Extras: you can actually serve this warm if your prefer. I also found that the punch has a better cinnamon flavor after a day or more in the fridge.)
Pour the punch into ice-filled glasses. Add rum, pineapple, and pecans. Serve with the cinnamon sticks. 

Bake well and prosper!

Cornbread Muffins (with cheese and pineapple!)

Hi! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I was on vacation in Morocco. Yes. Morocco! And then I got stuck in Madrid for 3 days. Which all equaled a fun adventure!

In Morocco the one main thing that is served at every meal is mint tea (with sugar added. Yum!)

It always came in a lovely pot with colorful glasses. The proper way to pour it is from high above so the tea can be aerated (which is a tricky thing that I slightly mastered.)

As for Moroccan desserts, oranges and small pastries are the norm. Occasionally there were other options with more French influences like Nutella crepes, but the small pastries were the best. Here's a photo of a pastry shop in the souks of Marrakesh.

Tons of honey bees swarmed around this display which didn't deter my friend from buying some. I must admit that I was a little grossed out. But aren't all the colors lovely? That's one of my favorite things about Morocco. Tons of vibrant colors everywhere you looked.

 Olives stand.

 Pottery shop.

 Dress shop.

Colorful door in the Atlas Mountains.

 

All in all it was a lovely trip and I would like to go back someday. But for now I am happy to be back in NYC, the best city in the world for me. :)

Cornbread Muffins (sent by my mom)
1 C flour
1 C cornmeal
¾ C sugar
¼ C baking powder
1 t salt
4 eggs
2 sticks melted butter
1½ C creamed corn (1 can)

1 C crushed pineapple (drained/strained)

1 C grated cheddar cheese

Mix eggs.  Add dry ingredients.  Add melted butter.  Add corn, pineapple, and cheese.  You can use cupcake liners or not. Fill each muffin pan cup 3/4 full. Bake at 325° for about 25 minutes.  Makes 24 muffins.  Let cool almost completely before removing from pan (non-stick preferred).

Bake well and prosper!