“A recipe isn’t a secret. It’s more like sheet music. Each player, conductor or singer adds his or her own personality.” – Joanne Chang (Flour)
I love this quote because it reminds me of my father. He loved to cook. And, he was a great cook who loved to experiment and tinker around in the kitchen. And, he loved music – especially classical and jazz. So, this quote combines two of his loves and two of mine, too.
The above photo is a bread pudding concoction that was a failure. You see, I didn’t know it was a failure until I took a bite. And, I didn’t take a bite until after I set up for the shot by working on the photo styling and getting the props just right. And, I wanted as much of the bread pudding in the shot as possible, so didn’t taste it – not even a little bite – until I finished photographing it.
And, then I took a bite.
And, then I threw it out!
I bet you’re curious about what kind of bread pudding it is, aren’t you? After all, bread pudding is a classic, well-loved dessert recipe. What kind of bread pudding could I possibly make that didn’t turn our perfectly delicious?
Well, this kind: I had lots of the edges of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches leftover from our recent St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Here’s a picture:
I made PB&J sandwiches for the little leprechauns that were joining us for the party (primarily for the Princesses P and a little 4-year-old guest). I called them Rainbow Shamrock Sandwiches because I made them with different jellies. And, they were a hit and the Princesses P took the leftovers home so they could take them to school for lunch on St. Patrick’s Day.
But, making these sandwiches created a lot of waste. While the shamrock cookie cutter fit nicely in the center of the bread, there was a lot of leftover trimmings and I don’t like to waste. That’s another thing I learned from my father – not to waste food. He was a prisoner of war in World War II for 3 years as a tween and teen and lived on gruel, worms, rats, mice – so wasting food was not something we did growing up. You can read his story here: Perspective – December 8, 1941.
So, I put the leftover PB&J sandwiches in a freezer bag and stuck them in the freezer while I pondered my options. I don’t know why, but at some point over the last couple of weeks, I thought a PB&J Bread Pudding with Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce might be good. I added some granola to the mixture, thinking a little “texture” to PB&J Bread Pudding might be a good idea. Well, I’m here to tell you I was wrong!
So, I threw it out – wasted it…Dad would have been okay with that, because although he didn’t like to waste food, he had a refined palette and he wouldn’t have eaten it either {grin}.
Sometimes attempting to change a classic by adding your own “personality” doesn’t always work – no matter how good it looks!
Tootles,
Related Posts:
(a really fabulous bread pudding recipe, I promise!)
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