The Proof’s in the Pudding

DEAR SOS: While traveling in Santa Fe, N.M., recently we had the most wonderful bread pudding at the Blue Corn Cafe. The restaurant called it sopa. Could you possibly ask for the recipe?

--DANA

DEAR DANA: The pudding, featured at the restaurant as “native bread pudding,” is made with French bread and served with rum sauce.

BLUE CORN CAFE BREAD PUDDING

SOPA

1 (2-pound) loaf French bread or baguette

1/2 cup butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon cinnamon

4 cups milk

1/2 cup raisins

Cube bread. Place butter in 9-inch baking pan. Place over heat and melt, tilting pan to coat sides with butter. Drain excess butter and reserve.

Beat eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, milk and remaining butter in mixing bowl. Set aside. Place cubed bread in baking pan and pour in egg mixture. Press down evenly once. Evenly distribute raisins on top of bread. Press down until bread begins to soak up milk mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees until knife inserted in center comes out fairly clean, 30 to 45 minutes. Serve topped with Rum Sauce.

RUM SAUCE

1 cup melted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup rum

1 egg yolk or egg substitute equivalent

Stir together butter, powdered sugar, rum and egg in bowl until smooth.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Each of 8 servings contains about:

947 calories; 1,044 mg sodium; 216 mg cholesterol; 40 grams fat; 128 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 2.26 grams fiber.

‘Lost’ Rarebit Reappears

DEAR SOS: Happily, the recipe for the Cock ‘n Bull Welsh Rarebit requested by “John” [in a previous column] has not disappeared. I have been saving it since you printed it many years ago.

--JIMI

DEAR JIMI: Bless you. Thanks to vigilant readers like you, many lost recipes reappear miraculously.

COCK ‘N BULL WELSH RAREBIT

1 1/2 cups milk

1 pound aged Cheddar cheese, diced

1/4 cup butter plus extra for muffins

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup beer

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons bottled steak sauce

2 dashes hot pepper sauce

4 to 6 English muffins

Pour milk into top of double boiler and heat over boiling water. Add cheese and cook, stirring, until cheese is melted.

Melt butter in small skillet. Sift flour, mustard, cayenne pepper to taste and salt into butter. Stir until texture is smooth as paste. Gradually add milk-cheese mixture. Cook and stir 10 minutes. Stir in beer and Worcestershire, steak and hot pepper sauces. Keep warm until served.

Split muffins, butter cut sides and heat on grill or toast. Serve hot rarebit over grilled muffins.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Each of 6 servings contains about:

696 calories; 1,097 mg sodium; 157 mg cholesterol; 51 grams fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 33 grams protein; 0.11 gram fiber.

Frothy Cookies

DEAR SOS: I want to bake my favorite cookies: chocolate nut meringue cookies. Do you have a recipe?

--GENA

DEAR GENA: Is this one close?

CHOCOLATE-NUT MERINGUE COOKIES

1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate pieces

1/2 cup flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup shredded coconut

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1 cup sugar

Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water and cool slightly. Mix flour, nuts and coconut in bowl.

In separate bowl, beat egg whites with salt and vanilla and orange extracts until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually and continue beating until very stiff peaks form. Fold in flour-nut mixture. Fold in melted chocolate gently but thoroughly. Drop by teaspoons onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees 10 to 12 minutes. Cool 1 minute, then remove from baking sheets.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Each cookie contains about:

52 calories; 27 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.16 gram fiber.