I’ve had a busy morning trying out a new recipe. This afternoon is game day with my extended family, and my mom found this recipe and thought she would make it to bring to game day. But then she got busy, and asked me to make it.

It was a fun and rather easy recipe. I gathered my ingredients:

Read the recipe (twice just to be sure I hadn’t missed anything the first time)

…and got to work. I put the raisins in the rum:

(oh, there are cranberries in there too because we ran out of raisins. I wonder how that improve will turn out… I’m skeptical)

I cooked my bananas in the butter and brown sugar (I used a little less of both the butter and brown sugar. I think this is going to be very sweet – but I hope it is not too sweet)

I cut up my bread…

I mixed my custard together (using ‘fat free’ half and half and 1% milk. It’s a long story)

Eventually everything went into the loaf pan which might have been a tad on the small side – but it worked!

It’s in the oven now.

The recipe came out of the Providence Journal in this week’s food section (Wednesday, Feb 23)

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding:

Ingredients;

1/3 cup raisins

1/4 cup rum

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2 inch slices

4 large eggs

2 cups half and half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

1/2 pound firm bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan (my pan was 8 1/2 x 4 1/2)

Combine the raisins and rum in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high (100% power) for 45 seconds. Allow raisins to soak for five minutes.

Heat the butter and sugar in a skillet over medium heat. Stir until mixture begins to bubble. Add the bananas and cook, stirring frequently but gently, for five minutes, or until the bananas are tender. Set the bananas aside to cool for five minutes.

While the bananas cool, combine the eggs, half and half, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk well. Stir in the raisins, rum and bread cubes, pressing the bread down into the liquid to absorb the custard. Gently stir the cooled bananas into the bread cubes, and spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake the bread pudding for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for five minutes, and then serve hot.

I will let you know what people think of the new recipe. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it is a hit.

So, because I woke up had coffee and started baking it was noon before I realized I had yet to eat anything for the day. I looked in the fridge, saw lots of things… but nothing that was really ready to eat. And then I saw this:

Yes. I am sorry to say, I had a veal sandwich for lunch. I think it is the first (and probably only) time I have had veal. It was a fantastic sandwich from Pizzico. Fresh mozzarella, tomato, arugela, fresh bread, and a balsamic dressing. I ate a quarter of the sandwich. It was… lovely.

That is all I have for you so far. Happy Friday, everyone, from my kitchen to yours!