The recipe assistants have been busy again. We had a request for “salad bread” and a chocolate chip bread pudding with a vanilla sauce. The patron wanted one that was similar to one that her mother had made with French bread, cheese, tomatoes, and green peppers. This was all baked or broiled. The first recipe that was found was Helen’s Sausage Stuffed French Bread courtesy of Emeril Lagasse.

Ingredients

  • 2 (15-inch) French breads
  • 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
  • 2 tablespoons chopped jalapenos
  • 1 cup chopped green bell peppers
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions (green and white parts)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 8 ounces sour cream
  • 8 ounces grated sharp Cheddar
  • 1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
  • Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
  • Corn or tortilla chips, for dipping, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a serrated knife, trim the upper quarter off the length of the top of each loaf. Hollow out the center of the loaves, leaving about a 1/2-inch shell. Set aside.

Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring to break up any clumps. Add the jalapenos, bell peppers, and green onions. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and cheddar cheese and stir until completely melted, about 2 minutes. Add the Essence and remove from the heat.

Fill the hollowed-out bread loaves with equal amounts of the sausage-cheese mixture and wrap each in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, unwrap, and sprinkle with parsley.

Serve warm with chips for dipping, if desired, or cut the bread crosswise into 2-inch slices.

Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from “Emeril’s New New Orleans Cooking”, by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.

Although this recipe calls for breakfast sausage, you would not have to use it if you didn’t want to.

Another recipe that we found that might work is a Baked Caprese Salad courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf baguette, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices (about 30 to 36 slices)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 5 Roma tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 1/4 pounds fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • 1 bunch fresh basil leaves, stemmed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Arrange the sliced baguette bread on a baking sheet. Brush with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake until the bread is pale golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. Top each slice of bread with a slice of tomato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each slice of tomato with a slice of mozzarella and sprinkle with salt. Return the baking sheet to the oven until the cheese and tomato are warmed, about 5 minutes.

Arrange the toasts on a serving platter. Top each toast with a basil leaf. Using the brush, drizzle the remaining olive oil over the basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.

The recipe assistants thought that green pepper could be added very nicely to this recipe.

Tasty Kitchen provided a really good chocolate chip bread pudding recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 stick Unsalted Butter
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 5 whole Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten
  • 2 cups Whole Milk
  • 12 whole Lightly Stale Rolls Or Croissants
  • 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a food processor, mixer or blender, combine butter and sugar; blend well. Add cinnamon and vanilla and continue to blend.

While the machine is running, add eggs to the mixture. Turn off the machine and scrape down the sides. Add the milk and blend once more.

Lightly butter a baking dish. Break up the bread into 1-inch pieces and add to the dish. Gently mix in the chocolate chips to evenly distribute throughout the bread. Pour the wet mixture over the bread pieces and allow to soak for 8 to 10 minutes. Lightly push down the top pieces of bread to allow to soak up wet mixture.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the custard is set but still moist. Allow to cool and then dive in!

Here is a vanilla sauce that would work really well with this bread pudding.

  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1/2 c. brown sugar
  • 1/2 c. whipping cream
  • 1/2 c. butter
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

In saucepan combine 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, whipping cream and 1/2 cup butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil, 5-8 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Serve sauce over warm pudding.

All of these recipes look really good especially in this cold weather. We hope you try these recipes and let us know what you think. And again, let the recipe assistants assist you in all of your recipe needs. Happy Cooking!!!