A Few of Our Favorite (Fast) Foods

Around 1750 the Earl of Sandwich put some meat between two slices of bread and gave fast food a good name. It was several hundred years before American ingenuity came along to ruin its reputation.

But fast food doesn’t have to mean a hapless piece of meat or produce that’s been fried to a frazzle, wrapped in layers of paper and plastic and sold for the cheapest possible price. Fast food can be made from scratch, served with pride and consumed with pleasure. The following recipes, a few of our favorites, prove the point.

As Easy as Pudding

I first tried this buttery, crisp bread pudding in my cousin’s kitchen five years ago. She whipped it up just before dinner, and while we were eating, the pudding’s fragrant, sweet aroma kept our minds on dessert.

This is bread pudding with no milk. Instead, there’s the juiciness of oranges and pineapple and the richness of butter. Various renditions of this easy dessert--depending on what I have in the pantry--have appeared on my table. Fresh ripe strawberries or mangoes, fruit cocktail or other canned fruits, as well as raisins and nuts have been thrown in with equal success. It’s a great way to use leftover French or white bread, and it’s a perfect dish to bring along for potluck dinners.

PINEAPPLE-ORANGE BREAD PUDDING

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

5 eggs

1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1 (8 1/4-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups (3/4-inch) cubes white bread or French bread

French vanilla ice cream

Cream butter with sugar until light. Beat in eggs. Fold in oranges, pineapple, vanilla and bread cubes. Turn into lightly buttered 1 1/2-quart souffle dish.

Bake at 350 degrees 35 to 45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream. Makes about 6 servings.