Sausage and Carmelized Onion Bread Pudding

Most bread puddings I've had are sweet. They were either for breakfast or dessert. I was in the mood for something savory and it was lunch time but I still wanted bread pudding for some reason. I can't decipher the reasoning behind my stomach and tastebuds sometimes but I just go with it. So I decided to go for a savory bread pudding.

A friend was coming to visit and I wanted to surprise her with something different. I turned it into a brunch. I went with this Sausage and Carmelized Onion Bread Pudding as it was light, yet filling.



4 oz pork sausage
1/2 c water
1 1/3 c milk
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
8 slices french bread, day old, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and cook for about 10 minutes or until carmelized into a beautiful brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in water and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove onions from pan to a small bowl and set aside. Coat pan again with cooking spray. Crumble sausage into pan. Stir and cook until browned. Add onions back to pan and stir to combine. Once combined, pour onto a paper towel covered plate or bowl. This will help soak up any additional grease. Set aside.

Whisk together, milk, salt, eggs and egg white. Add bread and gently toss to coat all pieces.

Stir the sausage and onion mixture into the bread mixture. Spray a 8-9 inch baking dish. Add the combined mixture. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I was in the mood to bake this weekend. My husband loves peanut butter and I love the combination of peanut butter and bananas together. So I found this recipe with the best of both worlds. I added cinnamon to bring out a better flavor. I didn't think to put it in and it felt like it was missing something. So that is my suggestion that I added to the recipe below.

1/3 c butter
4 tbsp creamy peanut butter
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare one loaf pan by coating with butter or cooking spray.

Place butter and peanut butter in a large microwavable safe bowl and microwave until melted (about 1 minute). Add the mashed bananas and stir together with a spoon until combined. Add both sugars, beaten egg, vanilla and stir to incorporate all ingredients. Then add flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir just enough to combine but be sure not to over mix.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes and test by sticking the center with toothpick or knife to see if it comes out clean. If not, cook in 5 minute intervals until done.

Homemade Pretzels

Today was a cold and very windy day. It was perfect weather for staying in and baking something new. Chris has been begging me for a few weeks to make homemade pretzels. Plus I haven't used my dough hook on my new mixer yet so it was the perfect reason to try this out. I used an Alton Brown recipe from Food Network. They turned out so great. I'll definitely try this again soon. This was our appetizer and Chris made a tasty chili. I'll post pics and recipe of that next.

















1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 pkg active dry yeast (I used the fast acting yeast)
22 oz all-purpose flour
2 oz unsalted butter, melted
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp water
Pretzel salt (I used Kosher and it worked fine)
Vegetable Oil

Combine water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until dissolved. Then sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. (*If it doesn't foam or starts to settle to the bottom, start over with warmer water or maybe your yeast was old.) Add flour and butter and using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combines. Then change to medium speed and let it knead the dough until it's smooth and starts to pull away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in warm place for about 30 minutes if you are using the fast active yeast; if not, 50-55 minutes. While the oven is preheating, you can sit it on the stove near the warmth.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling oil in a large pot.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface or countertop. Divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment lined pans.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1 for 30 seconds each. Remove them from the water using a large slotted spoon or spatula. Return to the pan and brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg and water. Then sprinkle with the pretzel or kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color. About 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve with your favorite mustard. Makes 8 large pretzels.