The Comfort Of Bread Pudding

There is no name attached to this note, but the writing tells me that this came from my sister, Nancy.
Nan has done her share of cooking and entertaining over the years, and learned the basics in the Atkin house, under the guidance of Mother, and our uncle John Hand.

A cold, wet, and dark day outside calls for a warm, comforting dessert on the inside. A good bread pudding can brings ohhs!! and ahhhs to the dinner table.
The ingredients are simple, and who does not have stale bread that needs to be used up. (although I have to admit that I feed ours to the Ravens, but that is a different story)

Bread Pudding

2 cups milk
1 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 cup soft bread crumbs or stale bread
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup jam, jelly, or marmalade

2 tbsp icing sugar

Scald milk and butter, soak bread in milk mixture
5-10 minutes.  Add sugar, salt, beaten egg yolks, vanilla.Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Pour mixture into a buttered baking dish, set in a pan of hot water.  Bake in 375 F oven 1 hour or when knife inserted comes out clean.
Spread cooked pudding with jam, jelly or marmalade.  Make a meringue - beat eggs whites until foamy, add icing sugar, beat until stiff. Cover jam layer with meringue - return to oven until brown.

It has been less than a perfect day here weather wise...  I have just decided what we are having for supper.

DONUTS or DOUGHNUTS

Donuts..... When  I was young I did not give much thought to where donuts came from; they were always just there, in a large glass container on one of the counters in our big kitchen. A lovely light brown, sometimes oddly shaped, but sugared staple.  Everyone I knew had them, my grandmother, Kitty Hand, my aunt Kay, of McGowan House.. there always seemed to be donuts.

Later, when my boys were small, I tried to make them. I think they ended up being used for hockey pucks in the back yard. There is an art to making a good donut. The batter has to be just the right consistency, it must be chilled for the right amount of time, and then rolled out, just the right way, and then there is the whole bit about the oil and proper temperature.  It is not a project to be taken lightly.

 Doughnuts        Kay McGowan

2 Tablespoons Butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs   (cream together)
1 cup milk  (sweet)
3 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
4 or 5 cups flour
3 teaspoon baking powder

Donuts    Mrs Wallace (Olive) Camber   1966

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

2 Tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon salt

nutmeg & ginger

if sweet milk , 2 teaspoons baking powder if sour use 1/2 teas. soda

Flour to Roll

Addie made super donuts. My sister, Nancy says that when the smell of fresh donuts hit the Village air, people started lining up at the door. Many "summer people", took fresh donuts back to their cottages.

I took a chance and decided to make some yesterday, they turned out well.  I was going to use Mrs. Camber's recipe, but when I realized it did not say how much flour, I choose Kay's.  I took some to my mother, who is now in a senior's residence.  When I told her about the flour missing from one of the recipes, her reply was,"Yes, but she would have know that  I would add just enough, till it felt right."

And that is the secret I guess.... just enough , till it feels right.