Most ideal for the
winter season, as it is best served steaming hot with a dash of
alcohol, bread pudding is a delightful
dessert incorporating old bread chopped up into cubes, mixed with various other ingredients (in
Mexico they even include
cheese) depending on the recipe, and baked to loving perfection until it's somewhere between the consistency of a half-baked loaf of bread and a slightly crusty pudding.
In recent years, almost every time I find a new restaurant, I check out their bread pudding. It's always served differently. Sometimes on top of ice cream, sometimes with yogurt poured over it. Sometimes berries, slices of apple, raisins, or other fruit are incorporated. Sometimes a simple icing is put over it and sometimes a thick, delicious bourbon sauce is used. Sometimes you can taste the eggs. Sometimes it's like putting a mouthful of spices in your mouth, but always it's an adventure.
A must for the holiday season, or any time one needs a real pick-me-up. When done right, eating well-made bread pudding is like swallowing a bear hug. It's also great with coffee.