Sweet Potato Bread Pudding



Riverside Farm sweet potatoes made this bread pudding velvety and luscious!

Break out the bourbon -- this is breakfast food for champions!

Okay, maybe it's not breakfast food for all champions, but consider it tried and true for the two occupants in this house who needed sustenance before heading out to watch a grandson's early hockey game (husband) and plant an entire braid of Wild Miller's garlic (moi).  Hot out of the oven (albeit briefly cooled) and drizzled with a pecan praline sauce (enter bourbon), the custard for this tasty pudding was light and creamy.  Be sure to pick up some sweet potatoes at the next winter farmers' market, and if you're in or around Kittery, stop by Beach Pea Bakery and grab a French baguette!
Adapted from blues singer and cook, Marcia Ball, whose recipe was featured in...um...either The NY Times or Saveur:

SERVES 8-12
FOR THE PUDDING:
8 tbsp. butter
1 lg French baguette, torn into large pieces and air dried for a couple of days.
2 medium sweet potatoes (mine were ~12-14 ounces each)
4 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup heavy cream
5 eggs
1 cup sugar, with 2 tsp ground cinnamon mixed in
1 tbsp vanilla extract
freshly grated nutmeg to taste

FOR THE PRALINE SAUCE:
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3⁄4 cup light brown sugar
1-1/2 cups chopped shelled pecans
1⁄4 cup bourbon

1. Bake or nuke the sweet potatoes until soft.  I have a 'potato' feature on my microwave that works well.  Makes for short work and saves gas.  Otherwise, heat oven to 400°, prick sweet potatoes in 4 or 5 places with the tines of a fork and bake on a baking sheet until soft, about 1 hour.  Set aside until cool enough to handle.

2. Butter a large baking dish (min. 9x11) with 1 tbsp of butter. Arrange bread in a single layer in the prepared dish.

3. Peel skins off potatoes, halve lengthwise, and then break into large chunks. Tuck sweet potato pieces between the pieces of bread, pushing them down slightly as you work.

4. Beat together eggs, sugar & cinnamon, and vanilla in large bowl.  Whisk in milk and cream.  Pour evenly over bread and sweet potatoes.  Dust with nutmeg.   Set aside until bread soaks up milk
mixture, 1-2 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 375°. Cube remaining 7 tbsp butter and scatter over bread pudding, then bake until custard is set, 35–40 minutes. Set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.  While cooling, make praline sauce.

6. Praline sauce: melt butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until sugar melts and mixture begins to boil, about 5 minutes. Stir in pecans and bourbon.  Careful -- bourbon likes to go berzerko when it meets hot butter and sugar.

7. Spoon warm sauce over bread pudding, add a dollop of freshly whipped cream and chow down.  Then go plant garlic!