By Eileen Goltz ~
It’s chometz mania time. Yes, that cleaning crazy season of the year where you think you have to eat or throw out anything and everything that you can’t use during the 8 days of Pesach. Sprinkle bread crumbs on everything, finish up the oat meal, corn meal, cupcakes, sweet rolls and cereal in two days and try and figure out where to hide or store the rest. Yes folks, as they say it’s “time to make the doughnuts” and use up everything that even resembles chometz. Thankfully I’m giving you a couple of recipes that will help.

BREAD PUDDING (dairy or pareve)
2 cups milk or half & half or non-dairy substitute
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 to 4 cups bread, torn into small pieces
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped apricots

Preheat oven to 350°. In medium saucepan heat milk to a simmer. Add the butter and milk and stir until the butter is melted. Cool slightly. In a bowl combine the sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in the milk and butter mixture into the egg mixture. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Sprinkle the top with the apricots and raisins. Pour the egg mixture on top of bread and mix slightly to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. Bake for 45 to
50 minutes or until set. Serve warm with butter sauce.

Butter Sauce
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon flour
Pinch of salt

Combine all the ingredients into a sauce pan and whisk to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue whisking until it’s thick (3 to 4 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool for
a few minutes and then serve with warm bread pudding.
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CUSTARD BAKED RICE PUDDING (dairy)

4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup cooked rice
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a 2 qt. bowl and set aside. In a bowl combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add the milk and evaporated milk and whisk to combine. Add the cooked rice and raisins. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish. Place the baking dish in the center of a large roasting pan and place it in the oven. Pour hot water in the roasting pan around the baking dish so it’s about one inch deep. Bake for 30 minutes. Mix slightly and add the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix to combine. Boost heat to 350° and bake for 30 minutes. The pudding will jiggle a little in the center but a knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Cool before serving.
Modified from thepreparedpantry.com
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From Epicurious April 2007, Photo credit: Beverly Barrett

CORN PUDDING (dairy)
Corn pudding is delicious served warm or at room temperature

2 pounds frozen corn kernels, thawed
milk as needed (about 1 cup)
6 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack, or Cheddar cheese
1 poblano chili, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips
Half of a red bell pepper, cut into strips

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and set aside. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the corn with only enough milk to make a smooth puree, not to exceed 1 cup. With the machine running, add egg yolks, one at a time, and process 30 seconds after each addition. With the machine running, add the sugar a little at a time and continue processing until mixture is lighter in color and sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add butter and process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder; fold into corn mixture. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and fold into corn mixture, alternating with the shredded cheese. Pour into the prepared baking dish and garnish with strips of chili and red bell pepper. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 8
From Epicurious April 2007 from Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, by Tom Gilliland, Miguel Ravago and Virginia B. Wood

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SPINACH ARTICHOKE BAKED EGG SOUFFLE
Todd Wilber’s copy cat version of Panera’s

3 tablespoons frozen spinach, thawed
3 tablespoons minced artichoke hearts
2 teaspoons minced onion
1 teaspoon minced red bell pepper
5 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons whipping cream
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
1 8-ounce tube Pillsbury Crescent butter flake dough
melted butter
¼ cup shredded Asiago cheese
Preheat oven to 375°.  In a microwavable bowl combine the spinach, artichoke hearts, onion, and red bell pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover bowl with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the plastic. Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

In another microwavable bowl combine 4 eggs, milk, cream, cheddar cheese, Jack cheese, Parmesan, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the spinach, artichoke, onion, and bell pepper. Mix to combine. Microwave egg mixture for 30 seconds on high, and then stir it. Do this 4 to 5 more times or until you have a very runny scrambled egg mixture. This process will tighten up the eggs enough so that the dough won’t sink into the eggs when it’s folded over.

Unroll and separate the crescent dough into four rectangles. In other words, don’t tear the dough along the perforations that make triangles. Instead, pinch the dough together along those diagonal perforations so that you have four rectangles. Use some flour on the dough and roll across the width of the rectangle with a rolling pin so that each piece of dough stretches out into a square that is approximately 6 inches by 6 inches.

Brush melted butter inside four 4-inch baking dishes or ramekins. Line each ramekin with the dough, and then spoon equal amounts of egg mixture into each ramekin. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of asiago cheese on top of the egg mixture in each ramekin, and then gently fold the dough over the mixture. Beat the last egg in a small bowl, then brush beaten egg over the top of the dough in each ramekin.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until dough is brown. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the soufflés from each ramekin and serve hot.
Modified from a Todd Wilber recipe