Buttered Baguette Bread Pudding

I have been watching Gordon Ramsay's shows now for as long as I can remember. Must be going on quite a few years now that he has been on in the USA, and I have always loved how brash but somehow charming he is. It's the type of thing where you know he is getting mad at you because he knows you could do so much better. But recently I realized I have never made one of his recipes. When I like a tv chef I always try to make a few of their recipes to see if they work out as great as they should. Making his bread pudding did not disappoint in the slightest. It comes out creamy and rich. The top is crusty from the baguette edges and the crystalized sugar has that appeal of creme brûlée that combines so well with how soft the bottom is. Swimming in a sea of heavy cream, the slices of bread are completely coated with a thick layer of butter before going in the pan.

It was the perfect way to use up the baguette that I got from the market. I normally would have just had it plain during dinner but since I purchased the bread for the sole purpose of trying out the 'baguette pocket.' I made a stripy canvas grocery bag but of course the baguette pocket turned out to small so I'm  going to have to redo it. I would say that was one of my strangest google searches while making that bag, 'standard diameter of a baguette

While in Napa yesterday, after getting some amazing cheese my favorite being Stinky Bishop, I found my most favorite antique store find ever. While at the hardware store, waiting for my boyfriend to getting something manly, I look across the street and see a some old chairs, tables and a big sign saying Open. I turned to him saying 'I'll be back, I dont know what I see but I'm intrigued' he just laughed saying 'Okay.' So I run across the street, seeing the posting that they closed at 6 and it was currently 5:55. So I went into the shop and they said they were just closing, so with a big sigh I said alright. I stayed around peering my head through every window, seeing all the amazing old antique clothes, housewares and oddities that they had in amazement. When about to go back to the car, I noticed the tables that originally drew me in, well actually noticing now the basket of tomatoes on the the table saying Free. So after the excitement of an antiques store giving away tomatoes, I saw the table the basket was on. It was an old, raw wood drafting table that I instantly fell in love with. It was exactly what I had been searching for  and trying to recreate with little success. So after I called Dave across the street to come and admire, I made him ask if it was for sale. I had already bothered the shopkeeper once and couldn't muster up the nerve for some reason to do it twice. When she said yes, it's $45 I nearly hugged her. I couldn't get my money out fast enough. This is the table I have been searching for for almost this whole year. Turned an amazing day into the best day ever. Now we are just reenforcing the legs so it will hold up, which is becoming more of a task than we thought. So I can't wait for it to be done and to start shooting on it!

I went to my friend's mom's ranch the other weekend and here are a few quick shots. They had all kinds of vegetables, a few fruit trees, goats and even a horse that bites! But that is another story entirely, another time, off to work now. 

All photos shot on film with a Canon SLR

Recipe from Gordon Ramsay