A Rum of a Day

As a child I can remember having Bread Pudding every once in a while. I don’t remember exactly when or why – but I get the feeling Bread Pudding might have been something Aunt Virginia contributed to family gathers.

Aunt Virginia was married to my Dad’s older brother, Jess. She fascinated me as a child. First off, everyone on my mom’s side of the family was Filipino, with beautiful olive skin. Aunt Virginia was pale beyond pale, with big beautiful blue eyes and a mop of red hair tied up in a bun. She was southern, as in slow speaking south. And she talked all the time. My mother often retreated to her bedroom by the end of Aunt Virginia’s visits, exhausted. I loved to follow her about just to sit nearby and listen to her endless chatter. Half the time I could not understand a word the women said – or rather understand what she meant – southern expressions and enunciations were like a foreign language. A slow, hypnotizing, soothing drawl of a language. Filipinos speek quickly, with a lot of hand gestures to emphasize their words, often in a flurry of Tagalog and English together. While Tagalog was just as foreign as Aunt Virginia’s southern speak, for reasons I cannot explain she fascinated me.

I had forgotten all about Bread Pudding until Hubby and I had dinner one evening at an Irish Pub. They had Bread Pudding on the menu. While similar to what I remembered from my childhood, Irish Bread Pudding had a secret ingredient that my Methodist Aunt would never have included – a whiskey sauce.

These days when the mood strikes, I like to create my own Bread Pudding. Since today also happens to be National Rum Day, a nice New Orleans style French Bread Pudding with a warm Rum Sauce seemed just the thing to share.

French Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
Bread Pudding
6 sliced day-old French Bread
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/2 cup Golden Raisins
2 tablespoons Butter, melted
4 Eggs
1/2 cup additional Sugar
2 cups Half-and-Half or Whole Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Note: Half-and-Half is a mixture of equal parts whole milk and light cream. If you do not have Half-and-Half in your neck of the woods, simply make your own. The result is a silkier, creamier, richer dish.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Tear bread into small pieces and scatter in the prepared baking dish. In a small bowl mix together cinnamon with 2 tablespoons sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture over the over bread. Scatter raisins over the bread as desired. Melt butter and drizzle over the bread.

Lightly toast bread mixture the heated over, maybe 5 minutes. While the bread toasts, whisk together the eggs, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour custard mixture over the toasted bread. Bake about 30 minutes in the oven or until set.

While the bread pudding bakes, make the rum sauce.

Golden Rum Sauce
2 cups Half-and-Half or Whole Milk
5 tablespoons Butter, divided
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Flour
1 tablespoon Nutmeg
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Rum to taste

Place Half-and-Half or Whole Milk, 4 tablespoons of butter and sugar in saucepan, let come to a boil.

In a small skillet, create a roux with remaining tablespoon of butter and the flour over medium-low heat. Cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk roux into the sauce. Remove from heat, add nutmeg, vanilla and rum to taste. If desired, transfer to a gravy boat.

Spoon warm bread pudding into shallow bowls. Pour or ladle sauce over the pudding and enjoy.

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May the nations be glad and exult
because You rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth You guide.