Individual Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding

II like to fly by the seat of my pants,  and I tend to be a little unpredictable sometimes. The biggest misconception to this is when I eat at a restaurant. There are 3 Things I will order if they are on the menu every single time! Risotto of any flavor, Duck Confit and Bread Pudding. The last being my most favorite dessert ever, so if they mess it up it is curtains on that place. 

I like to make bread pudding when I have extra baguettes laying around, however day old croissants make for a fantastic result too! You can really customize it to whatever you have on hand.

Cooking sometimes is about basics and then just "chefing" it up sometimes. Bread Pudding is no different it's always the same basic custard that you flavor accordingly and add any mix ins you'd like. 

Ingredients for basic custard

4 eggs

2 cups milk

1 cup sugar ( I used light brown)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

6 cups cubed and toasted bread

The following are your mix in's you can put anything in theses:

1/2 cup chocolate chunks

1/4 cup chopped spicy sweet pecans

1 banana diced

Gather all your ingredients so you'll be ready to roll.

Next combine your sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon together. Whisk until combined and then I add a small pinch of salt to balance the sweetness. 

Then add in your toasted and cubed bread pieces. It will look soupy at first but as it sits it will almost all be absorbed.

Add in your mix in's

Let it sit for about 20 mins to a half hour. This will allow enough time for the liquid to soak.

Like magic it's almost dry now. Next butter one large dish or small ramekins and spoon and press in as much filling as you can into them. They will puff up as they cook and then settle as they cool so place them on a sheet tray just in case they decided to flow over. 

Bake at 350 for about 35-40 mins. They will no longer be wet but nice and spongy with a crispy top. If you can wait let them rest for 10 mins. If not remove them and top with caramel sauce and whipped cream and have them for breakfast... Ice cream is also really good on them!

Happy Cooking!

THE steak.

Only a few things can actually make me swoon, a perfect steak is one of my top three! We have all had a good steak at a nice high end steakhouse and thought that was pretty spectacular and all, but you will know if you have had THE steak. The kind of steak that is cooked so perfectly that it leaves you speechless. My perfect kind of steak has to have a good balance,  a crispy well seasoned crust, a soft bright pink center, and in some cases a rich sauce that leaves you wanting more.  This recipe has it all. Learn the steps to make a perfect steak at home, that taste better and is a fraction of the cost of a steakhouse.

Start off with your steak. you want a nicely marbled steak, this means nice and bright pink beef with lines of fat running through it. When I order out I usually go towards a fillet or a rib eye, that's just my personal taste. My hubs goes for a porterhouse and its just as amazing! You can cook any cut with this method just repeat to your self Fat = Flavor and your results will be awesome. I like thicker steaks because I think you can get a good crust to center ratio which makes me happy.

Season the hell out of them! It does not have to be 800 seasonings, just simple coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper are perfect. We want the steak to stand alone and we are simply trying to enhance the natural flavor of the beef, not hide it.

Get a heavy saute pan, I usually go towards a stainless or cast iron pan for steaks, You will get a much better crust than with a non-stick pan. Heat that baby up! You should only be able to hover your hand over the surface for a second because the heat will be radiating off it.

Add a neutral flavored oil. Canola or grapeseed are both good choices and have what is called a high smoke point. This means it will be able to handle a higher heat before it starts smoking. Once you add your oil it needs to heat up, a good visual for this is, as you tilt your pan you will see streaks or ripples in the oil. This lets you know that it is Go time.


Lay your steaks in the pan leaving enough room around them so they can cook with out touching. Once they are in the pan DO NOT MOVE THEM! Most people fall in to two categories the flippers or the trusting ones. I can guarantee you this, if you leave it alone magic will happen. The natural sugars in the meat will caramelize and the seasonings will form this sweet and salty crust, and it will all take place if you just leave it be. Proteins will let you know when they are ready to flip. Have ever cooked fish or chicken and half of it sticks to he pan? It was not ready. If you HAVE to peek, use a pair of tongs and gently lift a corner of the steak just enough to check if it easily is ready to turn, if there is any resistance or sticking, put it back down. This should take about 4 mins per side for nice medium-rare

Flip your steak and give it another 4 mins on the other side. One flip is all you get.

Remove the steaks from the pan, place on a warm plate and immediately tightly cover with foil for 10 mins. The foil will keep it hot and resting will allow time for all those beefy juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

while it is resting lower your pan heat. All that crusty bits in our pan are going to make the beginnings of this Brandy peppercorn sauce.  Those bits are what the french kitchen calls Fond. Fond is flavor. If you think about building a good dish you need different levels of flavor that build like a staircase. The fond is the first step, and we are stepping it on up to heavenly so we have a few more levels to add.

Brandy Peppercorn Sauce

1T. crushed peppercorns

2. T brandy (Bourbon would also be good)

3 T heavy cream

1 Cup beef stock

1 T unsalted butter

1/2 of a large shallot minced

if needed add a tablespoon more oil, only if your pan is dry. Now add in your minced shallots, we want to cook these until they are nice and soft. ( adding sweetness and a little bite from shallots, another level of flavor)

De-glaze. This means to scrape and incorporate the  flavors of the fond. We are using our Brandy for this. If your using a gas stove turn your heat off while you add it in, to avoid removing your eyebrows :) We are now going to cook this Brandy until it is almost evaporated, a matter of seconds really.

Now to add depth of flavor we are going to add a little beef stock, this will add volume and complement the beefy flavor of our steaks.

Now for our peppercorns. Crush them up just enough so you still have big pieces of peppercorns for your sauce.  Toss them in and again let it reduce by about half.

Now this is good as is, but we want to make it a little more luxurious. Add in the heavy cream. Stir to combine and them the butter. This technique of ending a sauce with butter is what will add that silky richness that will coat your mouth as you eat your steak. It creates the Wow! factor for your sauce. Taste for seasoning, which should be damn near perfect by now, but if you feel it needs more salt and pepper, feel free to make it to your taste. Let it cook and thicken until it coats the back of a spoon.

Remove foil and plate your steak. Drizzle your peppercorn sauce right over the the tops and enjoy. That my friends is what I'm sure heaven will be like.



Happy Cooking!