1. Headline
  1. Headline

Video: Turn stale bread into tasty treats

  1. Closed captioning of: Turn stale bread into tasty treats

    >>> this morning in "today's kitchen," fresh bread from the bakery is fantastic but what do you do with those baked goodies after a few days? charlie palmer is the chef owner of a restaurant here in new york and also in las vegas . he's got recipes that are anything but steaale. good to see you. in my house in general , we don't have any leftover. but in case you did, you say you can use these leftover goodies.

    >> take your day old bread of any kind. brioche over here. if you don't have any left, get to know the baker.

    >> or just buy extra.

    >> we just cut them in half, a little cinnamon, little bit of brandy . or bourbon. or some other kind of whiskey. of course you don't have to do that.

    >> just in time for the derby.

    >> we'll just mix that up a little bit. then dip our day-old croissants in there. just let them soak for a second. not too much. just get a coating. all right? then we got a nice hot griddle over here. then we'll get them right on there. that's a non-stick. use a little bit of butter maybe or something. put a couple on there. get it started. then we got a couple seared over here. then we'll just flip those over. nice and golden brown . anything.

    >> you got brioche.

    >> this is another idea. bread pudding . everybody loves bread pudding . could be breakfast, lunch or dinner. we've taken brioche we've cut in chunks and toasted so it is nice and dry. we got our custard mix. just get it all in there, try to get it in the bowl. then butter a casserole over here. one thing i tell people, when you get the bread in there, get the custard mixed up, let it rest for about ten minutes before it goes into the oven. you want the bread to be able to take on the custard mix. so we got our butter dish here.

    >> when you say you want it to rest, you mean you take this, put it --

    >> once it's in the custard, you can get it in here, right? this is a big old bowl. then we can just dump it right in there. then you want to rest that. okay? just like that.

    >> throw some raisins in there?

    >> yeah, on top. sprinkle around.

    >> once you put this in the oven for how long?

    >> it takes about 35 minutes. of course , the recipe's on the website. depends how big, how thick the casserole is. come around this way and we'll assemble our french toast . what we have here, we have our croissant on the bottom. fre berries. we pureed the fresh berries. berries, you can't beat them. the early time berries, you got to add a little bit of stuff to them. that's why we puree them. a little whipped cream right on top. don't be cheap.

    >> right.

    >> there we go. then we put our top on, of course . we drizzle a little bit of maple.

    >> we have to.

    >> do you that before or after. then a little powdered sugar . what do we have there? a little slice of heaven .

    >> we got one coming out of the oven here, still nice and warm. we'll just cut it there, show everybody what it looks like. that brioche has taken on all the custard, raisins are nice and caramelized.

    >> look at that.

    >> a little vanilla whipped cream on top of there. again, don't want to be too cheap.

    >> no, no, please. you can do this with almost any kind of bread.

    >> yeah. try it. see what you think.

    >> look at that.

    >> that's fantastic.

    >> if you live near a bakery, bakeries always have leftover stuff.

    >> you can get a deal on it.

    >> can you get it for nothing!

    >> please! charlie palmer , it is fantastic. it is almost too beautiful to eat. trust me, somebody will take care of that when this is over. charlie palmer , thanks so much. the recipes are on our website.

TODAY recipes
updated 4/21/2010 11:14:14 AM ET 2010-04-21T15:14:14

Recipe: Croissant French toast with fresh berries

Ingredients
  • For the berries:
  • 2 pints strawberries, rinsed, hulled and quartered
  • 1 pint blueberries, rinsed
  • 1 pint blackberries, rinsed
  • 1 pint raspberries, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint, thinly sliced
  • For the French toast:
  • 9 day-old croissants
  • 6 large eggs
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1 shot whiskey
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • For the garnish:
  • 3 cups whipped cream
  • Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
  • Warm maple syrup
Preparation

To prepare the berries:
Combine the berries in a large, shallow dish. Sprinkle with sugar, lemon juice and mint and toss gently. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.

Process 3 cups of the berries in a blender until pureed. Mix the puree with the remaining whole berries. 

To prepare the French toast:
Halve the croissants as if you were making sandwiches.

Whisk together the eggs, cream, whiskey and cinnamon, and pour the mixture into a large shallow pan. Immerse the croissant halves in the liquid and let them soak for a few minutes, then flip them over and soak them for another minute.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the crois­sants, a few at a time, until golden on both sides, adding more butter as necessary. As they’re cooked, put the croissants in a shallow pan loosely tented with aluminum foil to keep them warm.

To serve:
Place two pieces of French toast on each plate. Top with berry mixture, drizzling warm maple syrup around the plate if desired. Spoon a good dollop of whipped cream over the berries and cover with another piece of French toast. Dust with confec­tioner’s sugar and serve immediately.

Serving Size

Serves 6

Recipe: Brioche bread pudding

Ingredients
  • For the bread pudding:
  • 1 loaf (about 14 ounces) crusty, day-old brioche, cut into large cubes
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 2 cup port
  • 8 large eggs
  • 3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (for sprinkling)
  • For the vanilla cream:
  • 2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
Preparation

Spread the chunks of brioche on a baking sheet and toast in a 350-degree F oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and let the brioche air-dry for 20 minutes.

For the custard, in a large bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, milk, brown sugar, vanilla extract, spices and a pinch of salt; add the reserved port and beat until blended.

Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease a 3-quart baking dish.

Toss the chunks of brioche with the raisins and spoon them into the baking dish. Pour the custard over the bread and press gently so it is absorbed evenly. Let stand for 20 minutes to ensure that the bread has soaked up all the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Dot the top of the pudding with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Cover the baking dish with foil, molding it to the rim of the dish. Bake the pudding for 30 minutes, or until just set. Remove the foil for the final 10 minutes of baking.

When the pudding is done, transfer the dish to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes.

While the pudding is cooling, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla seeds until the cream forms soft peaks.

Serve the pudding with the vanilla cream.

Serving Size

Serves 10

Discuss:

Discussion comments

,

More on TODAY.com

None
  1. TODAY

    Italian court: Amanda Knox appeal ruling was ‘illogical’

    6/19/2013 2:24:54 PM +00:00 2013-06-19T14:24:54
None
  1. TODAY

    video Pharmacists pick top health products

    6/19/2013 1:12:01 PM +00:00 2013-06-19T13:12:01
None
  1. TODAY

    Shelton: Danielle is 'most important' 'Voice' artist

    6/19/2013 1:01:32 PM +00:00 2013-06-19T13:01:32
None
  1. Buyer beware: Major stores may mislead with ‘sales’

    We all love a good sale, and when you see that sign — 20 percent off, 30 percent off, 50 percent off — you assume you're getting a deal.

    6/19/2013 11:34:32 AM +00:00 2013-06-19T11:34:32
None
  1. TODAY

    Steals and Deals: Totes, necklaces, robes, more

    6/19/2013 12:38:54 PM +00:00 2013-06-19T12:38:54