Читать книгу Simple Pleasures - Robert Taylor - Страница 22

Where are the comforting childhood favorites of yesteryear? They're on the menu—at prices that would stun our grandmothers—at some of the trendiest restaurants. Casseroles that were the standard fare of budget cookbooks during the Depression of the 1930s, puddings created to disguise leftovers—they've made their way from humble supper to haute cuisine.

Which doesn't mean they aren't still comforting. Depending on your generation, these evocative foods could be Proust's madeleines, Franco-American canned spaghetti, Eskimo Pie ice cream sandwiches, or the sticky, syrupy apple dessert offered in the frozen dinners of the ’50s and ’60s.

Bread pudding may be the all-purpose comfort food that is easiest to reproduce. It has inspired everyone from Leon Lianides of New York's legendary Coach House restaurant to Marion Cunningham, who updated The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. (Cunningham pointed out that bread pudding was a “great pacifier” for boarding school students for generations—sometimes the only decent dish in the dining hall.)

Bread and Butter Pudding

About 5 slices firm, slightly stale bread

Butter

¼ cup raisins

3 eggs

2½ cups milk

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

½ teaspoon vanilla

Dash of salt

Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast bread lightly, butter, and cut into cubes. There should be about 3 cups. Mix bread cubes and raisins in a buttered 1½-quart casserole.

Beat eggs, stir in milk. Strain into a bowl and stir in sugar, vanilla, and salt. Pour over bread and allow to stand 30 minutes for egg mixture to be absorbed. Sprinkle nutmeg on top.

Place casserole in a slightly larger, shallow pan in oven. Pour boiling water into outer pan to a depth of about 1 inch. Bake 45 minutes to an hour until custard is set. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.

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