The Staff of Life and Substance of Rebirth

Art Culinaire, Fall, 2001

To serve, arrange some greens in the center of a plate, set a sausage in the center, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and drizzle some mustard sauce over the dish.

Red Cherry and Apricot Brioche Bread Pudding

cindy pawlcyn

ingredients

For the bread pudding:

3 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

10 egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar

6 cups diced day-old brioche

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup dried apricots

For the caramel:

1 3/4 cups sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup dark rum

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup heavy cream

For the whipped cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

For the dish:

Sliced almonds, toasted

directions

For the bread pudding, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place six 6-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla scrapings to a boil. Reduce the heat and maintain at a simmer. In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk until smooth. Temper the egg yolks, adding one-third of the hot cream while whisking constantly. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and add the remaining cream. Set aside in an ice bath until chilled. Add the bread, cherries, and apricots and set aside for five minutes. Spoon the mixture into the prepared ramekins. Pour enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins, cover with aluminum foil, and place in the oven to bake until set, about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

For the caramel, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the condensed milk in an ovenproof dish, cover with aluminum foil, and set inside a roasting pan. Pour enough water in the pan to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Place in the oven and hake for one hour or until thick and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add the rum, vanilla, and salt and whisk to combine. Transfer to a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the heavy cream, and bring to a simmer. Maintain the heat until warmed. Remove from the heat and set aside keeping warm.

For the whipped cream, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream and sugar to form soft peaks, about three minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside keeping chilled.

To serve, transfer a bread pudding mold onto the centerof the plate and remove the ramekin. Spoon some caramel and whipped cream over the dish and sprinlde with almons.

Pain Perdue with Lavender Honey Ice Cream

florian bellanger

ingredients

For the ice cream:

9 ounces whole milk

1 1/2 ounces heavy cream

2 ounces lavender honey

1/2 ounce granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

For the berries:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 pint blueberries

1 pint raspberries

Juice of l lemon

For the pain perdue:

10 1/2 ounces whole milk

10 1/2 ounces heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

5 1/2 ounces granulated sugar

4 egg yolks

1 ounce unsalted butter

12 day-old French baguette slices