Tomato and rosemary strata, a TV show and a song

What makes you take interest in something in particular?

The thought came to my mind last night, as I started watching The Americans – I’d been meaning to watch the show forever, I loved the pilot and cannot wait to watch more episodes, but I have to say that seeing – I mean, hearing – the amazing sounds of Tusk right there, in the beginning of the first episode, made me even more interested in it.

Strata was something I’d always thought of making, especially after seeing the lovely Nigella Lawson make one years ago, but since my husband isn’t very fond of the idea of a savory bread pudding – or any bread pudding, for that matter – I kept postponing it. When I saw this recipe the other day, full of cheese and tomatoes, I could not wait any longer: I cannot live without cheese and tomatoes are something I deeply love, to the point of eating a couple while prepping them for any recipe at all.

The strata turned out delicious: it sort of reminded me of pizza, but with a different texture. I had it with a salad and ate a lot more than I should have. :)

Different things can be triggers to something good: a song, certain foods… It’s a matter of keeping our eyes open – I’ll certainly be on the lookout for more strata recipes and interesting TV shows. ;)

Tomato and rosemary strata
slightly adapted from here

250g stale bread, sliced about 6mm (½in) thick
1 garlic clove, cut in half
60g (2oz) Gruyère cheese, grated
30g (1oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
5 firm, firm tomatoes, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
4 large eggs
2 cups (480ml) whole milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Oil or butter a 2-quart baking dish or gratin. If the bread is soft, toast it lightly and rub all the slices, front and back, with the cut clove of garlic. If it’s stale, just rub with garlic. Combine the two cheeses in a small bowl.

Layer half of the bread slices in the baking dish. Top with half the tomato slices. Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt, pepper, and half the rosemary. Top with half the cheese. Repeat the layers.
Beat together the eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper, then pour over the bread and tomato layers. Place in the oven and bake 40-50 minutes, until puffed and browned. Remove from the oven and serve hot or warm.

Serves 4

Pecan-coconut bread pudding - new things can be really good

I usually choose the movies I watch by director: some I love, others I avoid like the plague. If I know nothing about the director I try to find other good reasons to watch the movie (yes, I am sort of neurotic about my movie choices, bear with me). :)
Take Marc Webb, for instance: I had never heard of him until I saw the trailer for "500 Days Of Summer"; then I thought: the trailer was beautiful, the cast was great and the soundtrack amazing - I ended up loving the movie (one of the best I watched in 2009).

Now, take this dessert: I’d never heard of a pecan coconut bread pudding in my life – I did not even recall seeing this recipe when I bought the book, years ago. But then I thought: I am a bread pudding convert (thanks to Nigella and Donna Hay), love both pecans and coconut and do not mind a little chocolate on the side. So I gave it a try. And ended up eating the two bowls you see on the photo while watching TV. ;)

Pecan-coconut bread pudding
from a great book I should use more often: The All-American Dessert Book

2 cups cubed French or Italian bread, including crust, lightly toasted in the oven – I used brioche
½ cup (50g) shredded sweetened coconut
1/3 cup (37g) coarsely chopped pecans
2 large eggs
scant 1/3 cup (55g) packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (45g) dark chocolate chips
heavy cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter four 1 cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof ramekins. Divide the bread cubes equally among them.
Spread the coconut and pecans in a large baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring every 3 minutes, until the pecans are fragrant and the coconut is golden, 5-6 minutes. Set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/325°F.
In a medium bowl, using a fork, beat the eggs until frothy and smooth. Add the brown sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Stir in the milk, cream and vanilla until well blended. Sprinkle half of the pecans and coconut, with the chocolate chips, over the bread. Pour the egg mixture on top. Lay a sheet of baking paper over the top of the ramekins and press down to keep the bread submerged. Let stand for 10 minutes. Peel off the paper. Evenly sprinkle the remaining pecans and coconut over each ramekin.
Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan and place it on the oven rack. Add enough boiling water to the pan to come halfway the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the pudding feels set in the center when lightly tapped and is nicely browned on top, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and transfer the ramekins to a wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes then serve with cream, if desired.

Serves 4

Chocolate chip bread pudding

My sister made me watch the awful “Season of the Witch” – I have to say that putting up with Nicolas Cage for 1 ½ hours is huge proof of my love for her. :)
When the movie was over and Dominic Sena’s name appeared on the screen it all made sense to me – a bad director could not deliver a good movie. :)

On the other hand, I always expect great recipes from Nigella – and this bread pudding is no exception. I have a piece of advice, though: make it only when you have other people around the house. :)

Chocolate chip bread pudding
from Nigella Kitchen

250g (9oz) stale bread, cut into 2.5cm (1in) cubes (approx. 5 ½ cups of cubes)
½ cup (92g) dark chocolate chips
3 eggs
3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons dark rum
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
2 cups (480ml) whole milk
4 teaspoons demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease a 9x2 ½ in* round pie dish lightly with butter. Tip in the stale bread cubes. Toss in the chocolate chips evenly among the bread cubes.
Whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, rum, heavy cream and milk. Pour this mixture over the bread and press the cubes down to coat them in the liquid. Leave all this to soak for 20 minutes, then sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden and firm.

* approx. 6 cups (1.5l) capacity

Serves 4-6

Marmalade bread and butter pudding

Yesterday I did two things for the first time in my life: I made bread pudding and watched “Fargo”.

Let’s just say that the dessert was a thousand times better than the movie – and for the record, I like the Coen brothers. Even though I’m 14 years late for this, I think Frances McDormand should mail her Oscar to Kristin Scott Thomas, Brenda Blethyn or Emily Watson – the award should have gone to any of the three.

 

Marmalade bread and butter pudding
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

softened butter, for spreading
8 thick slices bread
1 cup marmalade
2 cups (480ml) whole milk
1 cup (240ml) single (pouring) cream
3 eggs
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons demerara sugar
custard, ice-cream or double (thick) cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F. Butter the bread slices, spread half with marmalade and sandwich with remaining slices.
Cut in half and arrange in two 3 cup-capacity (720ml) ovenproof dishes. Place the milk, cream, eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk well. Pour over the bread. Allow to soak for 1–2 minutes. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and place in a large deep baking dish. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dishes.
Bake for 1 hour 5 minutes or until just set. Serve with custard or cream.

Serves 6