The Berkeley Connection Yields an Elegant Recipe for Bread Pudding

Dear SOS: I recently had the most elegant bread pudding of my entire life at the Fourth Street Grill in Berkeley. It was topped with Grand Marnier and Chantilly sauces. Got connections?

--BETTY

Dear Betty: Sure do, Betty. Thanks to you for asking and to pastry chef Susan Andrews for giving. Our Times taste panel loved it, too. The calorie-laden double-trouble sauce toppings were our undoing. But who cares?

FOURTH STREET GRILL ORANGE-PECAN BREAD PUDDING

6 eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup melted butter

4 cups milk

Grated peel of 2 oranges

8 cups stale bread uniformly cubed, crusts removed

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Grand Marnier Sauce

Chantilly Cream

Butter 13x9-inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs until frothy. Gradually add sugars and continue beating until mixture thickens. Add vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, milk and orange peel. Beat until well mixed. Mixture should be slightly thick.

Place bread cubes in buttered baking dish and pour egg mixture over. Sprinkle pecans over top. Let stand 30 to 40 minutes, pressing bread into liquid periodically until it has thoroughly absorbed mixture.

Place pudding in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 300 degrees. Bake 40 minutes, then raise temperature to 425 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer until pudding is just set and golden brown. Serve warm with Grand Marnier Sauce and Chantilly Cream. Makes 8 to 12 servings.

Grand Marnier Sauce

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar or to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/4 cups orange juice (4 or 5 oranges)

Juice of 1 lemon

Grated peel of 1 lemon

Grated peel of 2 oranges

1/3 cup Grand Marnier

Place sugar and cornstarch in heavy stainless steel saucepan and whisk. Add orange and lemon juices and peels and 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier and whisk until mixed well.

Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to full boil. Reduce heat and boil 1 minute longer or until sauce thickens. Do not overcook or bitter taste will result.

Remove from heat and add remaining Grand Marnier. Strain. Let sauce cool slightly or serve at room temperature over pudding.

Chantilly Cream

2 cups whipping cream

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pour cold cream into bowl and whisk, adding powdered sugar and vanilla as it just begins to thicken. Beat until soft peaks form. Serve over sauced bread pudding.

Dear SOS: I’ve searched my recipe files in vain for Art Ryon’s clam chowder recipe. Would you research your files and see if you can provide me with this family favorite?

--ARLINE

Dear Arline: The late Art Ryon, who wrote a restaurant review column in the Los Angeles Times in the ‘60s and ‘70s, shared his recipe with our readers and it has since become a Culinary SOS column favorite.

ART RYON’S CLAM CHOWDER

6 to 8 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips

3 large white onions, sliced into quarter pieces

4 potatoes, peeled and diced

1 (7-ounce) can chopped clams

2 quarts milk, about

Worcestershire sauce

Butter or margarine

Salt, pepper

Finely chopped parsley

Saute bacon in large soup pot until crisp. Add onions and fry until lightly browned. Stir in potatoes, undrained clams and milk. Add generous splash of Worcestershire and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, over low heat (do not boil) until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Dear SOS: Do you have a recipe for flavored coffees such as Vienna or Irish mocha that I can make myself?

--VIVIAN

Dear Vivian: Yes, and it’s so easy, too.

INSTANT MOCHA COFFEE MIX

1 cup instant cocoa mix

1/2 cup instant coffee

Combine cocoa mix and coffee mix until well blended. Store in covered container to use as needed. Use 2 teaspoons mix for each cup serving. Makes 1 1/2 cups mix.

Only recipes of general interest will be printed. We are unable to answer all requests. Please include restaurant address when requesting recipes from restaurants. Send your letter with self-addressed, stamped envelope to Culinary SOS, Food Section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.