December 9, 2015

Spiced Pear & Maple Bread Pudding

Founded in 2007, the Ferrer Foundation has a mission –

“Our mission is to inspire peace and hope for children in underserved Chicago communities.”… ” Focusing on, but not limited to children of incarcerated parents..”

Meg and I often meet people who freely devote their time to a cause and during the Holiday Season the need for volunteers is magnified as so many of us realize our fortunes of warmth and security. This week we highlight a cause close to home in Chicagoland: the 3rd annual Canning for Kids event in Lake Bluff, hosted at the pop up Mariani Holiday Shoppe.

I met Gina Iliopoulos, Senior Communications Manager at Mariani Landscape, and our conversation got both of our tastebuds going. Gina shared that for Canning for Kids to happen, it requires volunteer hands to harvest the raw ingredients from a private garden and prepare them for the canning process. Consider the yield of around 400 jars: no mean feat in a domestic kitchen. Meg stopped in at the Shoppe to peek at the beautiful ferns, wreaths and Christmas ornaments alongside the large display of jars filled with a variety of sauces, chutneys and preserved fruits.

(photography credits to Ed Caplan of DOF)

You can still pick up something special from the Mariani Holiday Shoppe in Lake Bluff, while stocks last! Great for a hostess gift or a treat for yourself. We love the canned pears which inspired our first seasonal recipe this December. Pear French toast casserole is the perfect breakfast treat or dessert for the holidays and the cream gives it a custard like finish. Using fresh pears gives a firmer texture than the canned, since the canned have already been cooked. Check out Gina’s spice blends for pickling if you fancy trying your own.

100% of the proceeds from the sales of the canned goods benefit The Ferrer Foundation.

Preparation Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 2 1/2 hours HIGH or 5 hours LOW

Servings 6

Ingredients

4 pears, halved
3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup soft brown sugar
1 tsp salt
10 slices of brioche loaf, cut into triangles
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1/2 cup walnuts
2 cups milk
1 cup cream
6 eggs
vanilla extract

Lay the halved pears on the bottom of the slow cooker; dot with the butter, sprinkle with sugar, and salt.

Arrange half of the brioche triangles on top of the pears mixture; sprinkle with cinnamon and walnuts. Layer the remaining half of the brioche on top.

Whisk the milk, eggs, cream and vanilla in a separate bowl. Pour onto the pear and bread mixture and push down to ensure the milk mixture coats the bread.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours or HIGH for 2 1/2 hours.