When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Limoncello and Lemon Tarts!

Cooking is how I deal with stress. Literally, I spend hours in the kitchen….then I’m usually too amped up to eat whatever I’ve made.

Anyway….did you know releasing a book is stressful? Especially since you struggled with said book for months. So, I’ve been on edge all week since Earning Yancy went live July 31st. Since Monday, I’ve made Chicken Parmesan, beer bread, French bread pizzas, Guinness Pulled Pork Sandwiches, coleslaw, homemade bread, and French Toast Bread Pudding.

I’ve also been posting pictures of these concoctions on Facebook. At the request of a good friend (several actually) I’m going to share the recipe for French Toast Bread Pudding with you. I really enjoyed it and the Baby Daddy went back for thirds!

French Toast Bread Pudding

Ingredients
12 oz Hawaiian rolls, torn or diced into chunks (You could also use brioche, challa, French bread, or another dense, heavy bread. My motto in the kitchen is: If you don’t have what you need, use what you got!)
7 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk, 2% or whole
1 cup heavy cream (half and half works too)
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp nutmeg
Maple syrup or Orange Sugar Glaze (recipe below)
Butter for greasing pan

This is how we do it:
Butter 13×9 inch glass baking dish. Add bread to dish. Beat eggs slightly in bowl, then add milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and spices. Blend thoroughly and pour over bread. Using spatula or spoon, gently mash bread so it is saturated with the liquid. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, place foil-covered dish in a COLD oven (I learned this the hard way…), set the temperature to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 35 minutes. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Drizzle each serving with warm maple syrup or orange sugar glaze. Makes enough for 6 big servings or 10 smaller servings if you have a brunch potluck to attend.

This recipe would be great with a can of pumpkin puree added. If you add pumpkin, use only 6 eggs and 1 cup of milk. It would be perfect for Christmas morning since you know the kids are gonna wake your ass up at 5 a.m. Just stick it in the oven while everyone opens presents, chow down, then take a nap. Don’t forget to add Irish cream to your coffee. It’ll help you deal with the noise!

Orange Sugar Glaze

Ingredients
½ cup milk or half and half
zest from small orange (I used a clementine.)
1-2 Tbsp orange juice
¼-1/2 cup confectioners sugar (depends on how much you want to make!)

Place milk in small saucepan, add orange juice and zest. Warm on low until just heated through. Pour sugar into a bowl. If you want to make a lot of glaze, use a ½ cup. Since it’s super sweet, I used 1/3 cup. Add the warmed milk and orange mixture to the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches a syrupy consistency. Drizzle on each serving of bread pudding as desired.