SPICED FRENCH BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• cut bread into 1 inch cubes, place in ungreased 13x9-inch pan and either dry in warm oven for a couple of hours, toast lightly in 350°F oven (preferred), or toast in 350°F oven till light brown and dry.
• Chop or puree raisins.
• Sift or sieve sugar, spices and salt into a plastic bag and shake to mix.
• Heat milk, butter, eggs, yolks, raisins and sugar mixture in a sauce pan on low heat stirring constantly until butter's melted and sugar is dissolved, remove from heat if steam starts to appear.
• (You don't want to cook the eggs just yet!)
• Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and immediately pour custard over dried bread.
• If desired strain mixture with a fine strainer to remove raisins and any egg chalazae.
• Mix and press down on bread to be sure it's all covered.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Allow custard to soak into bread cubes until cooled (about an hour).
• Occasionally stirring to evenly distribute mixture.
• Can be refrigerated for up-to 12 hours at this point.
• Bake in 350°F oven for 50-60 minutes (top will be browned and pudding should start to rise out of the pan).
• --------Variations--------------.
• Add a cup of toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts to custard.
• Replace 1/2 tbsp of the vanilla with another extract or liquor.
• Add some white, cinnamon or chocolate chips to custard.
• Replace 1/2 of the milk with heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2 (makes it rich!).
• Use skim milk, delete butter, use whole wheat bread, reduce sugar to 1 cup, replace eggs/yolks with egg substitute for a "healthy version".
• Add some dried apple or banana to custard.
• Use 1 cup of sugar and add 1/2 cup of maple syrup.
• Replace up-to half the sugar with brown sugar.
• Serve with bourbon sauce, whip cream, ice cream.