White Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Ice Cream

 White Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Ice Cream

I hope this tastes like the food at Angelina Ristorante in Chicago, where I ate this weekend with Jocelyn and Brett.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of crusty bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar

Preparation Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, place the bread cubes.
4. Pour 8 tablespoons of melted butter over the bread and toss to coat.
5. Add the white chocolate chips and mix well.
6. Transfer the bread mixture to the prepared dish.
7. In another bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, 1 cup of sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt until blended.
8. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes in the dish.
9. Let it stand for 30 minutes, pressing the bread cubes into the custard occasionally. (You can prepare this a day ahead and refrigerate.)
10. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter over the pudding and sprinkle with brown sugar.
11. Bake for about 1 hour until the pudding is puffed, brown, and set in the center.
12. Serve warm with ice cream.

Here I am outside the restaurant: