If really pressed to identify my favorite dessert, I’d probably have to go for bread pudding. I love the stuff, and have many wonderful childhood memories surrounding it. So, upon seeing Smitten Kitchen’s rendition of a Gourmet magazine recipe I’d been eyeing for Thanksgiving fare, an idea hatched. Then, speaking with a friend about the joys of properly spiked egg nog, the idea grew from a hatchling to … a whatever comes after hatchling … and then in the kitchen on Thanksgiving became a full-fledged recipe. Thanksgiving night, it died in the spectacular way that a really good dessert must: by becoming immortal, eternally embedded in thighs and love handles of diners.
Here’s how it all went:
1 ½ cups egg nog (you could probably use Lite, but then why bother?)
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (the kind that says “Ingredients: Pumpkin” and nothing else)
1/2 cup white sugar (you could experiment with brown or turbinado, but it might be a bit much)
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of ground cloves
1 ½-or-so cups bourbon (optional but really important)
5 cups day-old baguette or crusty bread, cut into 1-inch bits
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup raisins
½ cup toasted almond slivers
Vanilla ice cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Put raisins and almonds and enough bourbon to cover them into a jar with a pretty good seal on the lid (can use plastic wrap). Set this aside. No, you may not have one yet. They’re not ready.
Now, stir together your pumpkin, nog, sugar, eggs, egg yolk, spices, and about 2 tablespoons of bourbon in a mixing bowl. Coat your bread bits with the melted butter in another bowl, then add the pumpkin mix and toss it so it’s all covered. No, you still may not have any of the raisins. They’re not ready. Not the almonds either.
Now, put your proto-pudding into a baking pan (preferably not too deep, maybe 2” tops) and bake until it looks done, about 20-30 minutes.
When you’re ready to serve, drain your raisins and almonds – OK, fine, you can try a few on the way, just for quality control, sure – and spread them over top of the pudding. Challenge your guests to see who’ll drink the raisin-almond-flavored bourbon, or do so yourself if you’re in to that sort of thing. You could even share!
Serve over vanilla ice cream for best effect, or eat by itself.

I love dim sum, but I’ve always just left it as something I could only have outside of home. Part of its wonderfulness is the experience – grabbing random bits off the carts, trying new and strange-looking things, and of course competitive gluttony with friends. Recently this changed a bit as I stopped at the Asian grocery on my way home from dim sum, and saw the big block of taro cake on the shelf. I had to try it.
The next morning I woke early (amazing what going to bed before midnight can do!), and pondered my purchase. A quick Google didn’t turn up any particularly interesting ideas, so I decided to go a bit mad. I had made a bunch of mole last week, and had tons of leftover sauce. I also had a papaya ripening on my windowsill, in need of a purpose. So, I decided to blend some ideas together: