New Years Resolutions: Panettone Bread Pudding

I've thought long and hard about my New Years resolutions and I thought I'd share them with you. Please hold me accountable!

1. No more candy!
My favorite candies include Shock Tarts, Sour Grapefruit Wedges and Twizzlers. My mouth is salivating now at the thought of eating some chewy, tart, sugary candies. But I'm better than that.


2. More recycling, less waste. I was inspired by this Sunset article:
http://www.sunset.com/home/natural-home/zero-waste-home-0111-00418000069984/

3. Go to the library more. The library is such a great resource, it is difficult for me to walk out of Borders spending $76.

4. Make more "family time". No excuses, put down the laptop, endure the 3.5 hour drive or the $300 plane ticket. Family time is worth any expense.

5. Finish projects. I have about three unfinished crocheted blankets, curtains that are pinned up and ready to sew, necklaces that I've designed but haven't yet strung. It's all about the last 20%.

Speaking of the last 20%, I've been holding onto this recipe for a while. Bread pudding originally seemed unappetizing to me, the thought of soggy bread just sounded like yuck. After eating Tartine Bakery in SF's bread pudding, my whole world of soggy bread is just wrong turned a 180. If you have had Tartine's bread pudding you'll understand how the mushy bread disguised with cream and butter and a caramel sauce is good enough to disguise a dog bone.

Panettone bread pudding was originally my sister's original idea. She made it and reported to me that it was amazing. We were supposed to make it together in the last week but family, an engagement and the holidays made it too hectic to wrap up this recipe.

Finally, I fiddled with the recipe at home a couple of times and adapted an amaretto sauce recipe from Giada. I do not like my bread pudding overly soggy and sweet so I've cut back on a lot of the cream, eggs and sugar. If you prefer more "moisture" in your bread pudding double the milk, half and half, eggs and sugar and you will still have a warm, citrusy, amazingly satisfying Panettone Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce.

Ingredients:
2/3 loaf of panettone (cut into cubes)
4 tbs cold butter
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange zest

Amaretto Sauce
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 cup amaretto liquor
4 tbs butter
1 1/2 tbs sugar
2 tsp corn starch

This dish is buttered, you just can't tell.

Take the cold butter and grease a 9x13" baking dish. Toss the panettone chunks into the dish.

On low heat, pour milk, half and half and sugar into a small pot. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Turn off the heat and add the eggs. Whisk the eggs into the milk mixture. Stir in the orange zest and vanilla.

Pour egg mixture over the bread and let it sit for an hour. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

After an hour, put the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Pull back the bread to make sure all of the liquid has been cooked up.

 

To make the sauce, put butter in a saucepan and melt it on medium low. Add the half and half, sugar, and amaretto. Once combined, whisk in the corn starch until sauce begins to thicken.

When ready to serve, spoon out a couple spoonfuls of bread pudding int a bowl and drizzle amaretto sauce over the top.