Rebecca Lando
Working Class Foodies
Buttermilk Waffle Bread Pudding at the Brunch Experiment Cookoff
If you live in New York and you love food, you need to get yourself to one of Nick Suarez's and Theo Peck's Food Experiment Cookoffs. There have been five Experiments so far, on themes from Beer to Cheese to Chocolate and Tacos, four of which I've participated in as a contestant, and three of which I've placed in.
This time around the theme was Brunch. At first, I had no idea what to do: omelets need to be served to order, pancakes get soggy and gummy too quickly, and I didn't have enough time to (learn how to) smoke and cure my own bacon. The thought of making enough scrambled eggs to feed 300-350 people was appalling, and I couldn't think of any feasible way to make, store, transport, and re-warm a few hundred poached eggs. I thought about doing a play on Jewish brunch: crostini with smoked fish and toppings or just making a cocktail (a sake Bloody Mary with wasabi and cilantro) but neither felt particularly inspired. I wanted to do something easy but bold, something I could make entirely from scratch, something that no one had had before but that would make people say, why didn't I think of that? after they tried it. Nothing too ambitious, in other words.
So for a few weeks, I stayed out of the game, failing to come up with anything that satisfied my long-reaching requirements.
And then it hit me: bread pudding.
But not just any bread pudding: a bread pudding with thick, crispy-crusted buttermilk waffles as the base, soaked in a creamy, maple-and-vanilla scented pudding. To cut the sweetness and softness of the pudding, a maple-bacon-pecan crunch would work beautifully on top. And just to drive the waffle theme home, a warm, creamy sauce of maple syrup, butter, and heavy cream would be drizzled on top.
I had my dish - and, thanks to Organic Valley, I had all of the dairy and eggs for free, too - and so I set about to cooking. Here are the recipes for every part of the dish, so you can try them yourself for your next brunch party. I highly recommend you make the bread pudding the day ahead and let it sit in the fridge overnight for the flavors to combine.
I also recommend you make your own buttermilk: for every 1 cup of milk (again, I highly recommend you use whole milk), whisk in 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice and let the milk clabber for 10 minutes.
BUTTERMILK WAFFLE BREAD PUDDING RECIPE (PDF)
MAPLE-BACON-PECAN CRUNCH RECIPE (PDF)
MAPLE CREAM SAUCE RECIPE (PDF)
To serve: put a scoop of bread pudding in a bowl. top with maple bacon pecan crunch and drizzle with hot maple cream.
A huge thank you to Nick and Theo, the Bell House, Jenn Anderson (world's best assistant), the judges, the audience, Organic Valley, Stonyfield Farm, Whisk, and Bark Hot Dogs for the fantastic event, the free dairy, the intense fun, and the great prizes.
This time around the theme was Brunch. At first, I had no idea what to do: omelets need to be served to order, pancakes get soggy and gummy too quickly, and I didn't have enough time to (learn how to) smoke and cure my own bacon. The thought of making enough scrambled eggs to feed 300-350 people was appalling, and I couldn't think of any feasible way to make, store, transport, and re-warm a few hundred poached eggs. I thought about doing a play on Jewish brunch: crostini with smoked fish and toppings or just making a cocktail (a sake Bloody Mary with wasabi and cilantro) but neither felt particularly inspired. I wanted to do something easy but bold, something I could make entirely from scratch, something that no one had had before but that would make people say, why didn't I think of that? after they tried it. Nothing too ambitious, in other words.
So for a few weeks, I stayed out of the game, failing to come up with anything that satisfied my long-reaching requirements.
And then it hit me: bread pudding.
But not just any bread pudding: a bread pudding with thick, crispy-crusted buttermilk waffles as the base, soaked in a creamy, maple-and-vanilla scented pudding. To cut the sweetness and softness of the pudding, a maple-bacon-pecan crunch would work beautifully on top. And just to drive the waffle theme home, a warm, creamy sauce of maple syrup, butter, and heavy cream would be drizzled on top.
I had my dish - and, thanks to Organic Valley, I had all of the dairy and eggs for free, too - and so I set about to cooking. Here are the recipes for every part of the dish, so you can try them yourself for your next brunch party. I highly recommend you make the bread pudding the day ahead and let it sit in the fridge overnight for the flavors to combine.
I also recommend you make your own buttermilk: for every 1 cup of milk (again, I highly recommend you use whole milk), whisk in 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice and let the milk clabber for 10 minutes.
BUTTERMILK WAFFLE BREAD PUDDING RECIPE (PDF)
MAPLE-BACON-PECAN CRUNCH RECIPE (PDF)
MAPLE CREAM SAUCE RECIPE (PDF)
To serve: put a scoop of bread pudding in a bowl. top with maple bacon pecan crunch and drizzle with hot maple cream.
A huge thank you to Nick and Theo, the Bell House, Jenn Anderson (world's best assistant), the judges, the audience, Organic Valley, Stonyfield Farm, Whisk, and Bark Hot Dogs for the fantastic event, the free dairy, the intense fun, and the great prizes.
3 Comments
Add a Comment