KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF BREAD PUDDING

Before today, I had only had bread pudding once.  Until about a year ago I'd thought "bread" and "dessert" were not two words that belonged in the same cooking universe.  But I happened to be at Mimi's Cafe one day and ordered a meal that came with bread pudding so I figured I'd give it a shot.  Surprise!  Bread and dessert are like peas and carrots -- they actually can coexist peacefully.

But on this day, my friends, I say whole-heartedly to the Mimi's bread pudding: You are dead to me.  I have a new lover and his name is Bread Pudding II.  I came across this little gem on allrecipes.com, a veritable treasure trove of goodness.  One thousand four hundred and twenty-three people gave this 4.5 out of 5 stars and 48,614 have saved the recipe.  You can't really argue with that.  Well, you can try, but I'd punch you in the face.

Luckily, I had some stale bread on hand, which is what inspired the bread pudding idea and I was more than happy to add in my new favorite thing (is it hot in here or is it just the raisins?), but sadly, I had to part with four -- count 'em FOUR -- eggs.  I have three left guys.  Just three.  And they'd better go damn far.  But after tasting this deliciousness, I do declare those four eggs made a worthy sacrifice:

INGREDIENTS:
3 stale sandwich rolls (1 wheat, 2 white)
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup raisins
4 eggs
2 cups milk
3/4 cups white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Cover inside of glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Cut rolls into cubes.  The easiest way: Slice open the roll, then close it.  From the top, slice in thirds lengthwise and then cut down the roll in 3/4-inch sections.  Spread out in baking dish.

3. Sprinkle with raisins.
4. Melt butter and drizzle over bread cubes.

5. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs.  Add sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and milk.  Mix thoroughly.
6. Pour mix over bread cubes evenly.  Go wash your hands.  I saw you pick your nose.  Make sure bread is coated by turning over with (hopefully clean) fingers.  Tamp down by hand to ensure the bread soaks up the mixture evenly.
7. Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly tapped.

And....EUREKA!  You've struck gold!  It occurred to me as I was making this that it's pretty much like making baked french toast which, of course, makes it even more appealing to me.  For the record, I'm not a food gobbler.  I take my time.  But I gobbled.  Ooooh....I gobbled.  And it is my firm belief that if you even remotely like bread pudding, you will not be disappointed here.  If you make it yourself, make sure to give a shout out to the recipe's creator ELLENMARIE on the recipe's page at allrecipes.com.

Official Grade: A+