Pumpkin Bread Pudding

BOURBON SAUCE
1/2 c Unsalted butter 2 tb Whole milk
1 Egg 1/2 c Bourbon
1 c Sugar

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add milk and beat again. Stir in pumpkin,
sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla. Add bread pieces and
press with your hands to submerge bread in milk mixture. (If you
have the time, cover and refrigerate the mixture several hours or
overnight; break up the bread the next day and bake as directed; if
not, proceed as follows.)

Set the mixture aside 15 minutes.

Use your fingers to break up the chunks of bread. Set aside 15
minutes, and repeat. Add raisins. Heat oven to 350 F.

Generously butter a 2-quart baking dish. Fill the dish with bread
pudding mixture and bake at 350 F. for one hour, or until the pudding
is set.

Serve warm, hot or cold with hot bourbon sauce. Warm is best.
(Pudding reheats well in a microwave on medium setting.)

To make bourbon sauce: Use unsalted real butter for the best bourbon
sauce; margarine doesn’t make a great sauce.

Melt butter in a bowl set over hot but not boiling water. Combine
egg, sugar and milk in a small bowl; beat until light colored. Add
to butter and beat with a whisk over hot water until sugar dissolves
~ at least 5 minutes. Add bourbon and stir. Remove from stove and
serve over pumpkin bread pudding.

Note: This sauce is extremely strong, akin to eggnog. If you want
less bourbon flavor, use 1/4 cup bourbon and 1/4 cup half-and-half or
whole milk. You can also use another liquor to substitute for
bourbon. Rum, brandy or cognac are all good candidates.

About the bread: Good choices for bread pudding are breads with
substance that are a little stale. Day-old whole wheat, sourdough
and French-style bread, leftover biscuits, and rolls all will work,
as will sweetened breads, croissants and others. If you are starting
with fresh loaf bread, dry it in a low oven for 30 minutes or so. An
exact amount of bread is not critical to the success of the recipe,
though a larger proportion of bread to liquid makes a denser pudding;
a larger proportion of custard makes a creamier pudding, which we
like better.