New Trick with Old Bread; Cheese Fondue Pudding
Elegant Economy Dish Warms Family or Party Guests
Oct 15, 2009
The airier and crisper the baguette, the more quickly it morphs into something that only vaguely resembles bread. But it can have a second delicious life.
Use your processor to crush it into crumbs, then fileaway until needed. Or brush the stale bread with water, stick it in a hot oven (with foil underneath it, so it doesn't paste itself to the oven rack), and enjoy it (quickly, before it hardens again) as a tartine with butter and berry preserves or as the base for an open-face prosciutto and arugula sandwich. Lightly coat it with olive oil, toast under the broiler until fragrant and slightly charred, and use it as the base for panzanella, a simple salad with tomatoes and herbs. Build a hearty Tuscan soup around it for a simple, consoling supper.
Of all savory dishes, none makes more delicious and impressive use of yesterday's baguette than Fondue Pudding. A touch of white wine and Kirsch plus gratings of nutmeg and black pepper evoke the tastes and aromas of the Swiss original. Guaranteed: no one will think of this dish as macs-'n'-cheese in disguise.
And here's the bonus. It can be made hours or even a day ahead. So there's none of the anxiety and last-minute fuss of fondue.
True, there's less festive ceremony, and no equivalent of the rule awarding the host a kiss if a guest drops a piece of bread into the fondue pot. Then again, chances are good you'll be kissed by all when you serve a fondue pudding.
Fondue Pudding
- ½ lb small chunks or crumbs of day-old baguette
- ½ lb of Swiss e cheese, preferably a mix of Gruyere and Emmentaler
- 2 TBS dry white wine
- ½ teaspoon Kirsch
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup half-and-half
- 2 eggs plus 2 yolks
- 2 egg whites
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 teaspoons butter (for pan)
- freshly grated pepper & nutmeg, to taste
Directions:
- Set oven at 325;
- Generously butter an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 square pan;
- Toss bread with white wine and kirsch, then toss again with cheese;
- Whisk milk, half and half, whole eggs, and yolks together. Add salt, two gratings of fresh nutmeg, and fresh black pepper to taste. Stir into bread-cheese mix, which will quickly absorb most or all;
- Beat egg whites to soft peaks, add a pinch of salt, and fold into mixture, then turn mixture into buttered pan;
- Bake until fragrant, fairly firm, and golden-brown—about 40 minutes;
- Cut into squares, or use two-inch biscuit cutter for fancier appearance, and serve piping hot.
- Reheat, if you need to, covered with foil, which you should remove at last minute.
