Sunday, January 17, 2010

Pressure With Flair!




A group of fun folks gathered last week to take my "Pressure With Flair" class at Cooks Warehouse. They made a fantastic dinner, including Italian Red Pepper and Cauliflower Soup, Chili Verde Pork with Corn Tortillas and ended the evening with luscious Coconut Bread Pudding with Caramelized Pineapples. (And I mean luscious!) Here's the recipe for you to try it too!

Coconut Bread Pudding with Caramelized Pineapples
1 TB Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 (16 oz) Can Cream of Coconut)
1 Cup Half and Half
3 Large Eggs, Beaten
½ Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted
¾ Cup Sugar
1 TB Dark Rum
½ Tsp Grated Nutmeg

1 Cored Pineapple, Chopped
1 ½ Cup Toasted Coconut*, divided
8 Cups (1”) Cubed French or Italian Bread
1 Recipe Pineapple Sauce**

Step One
Butter 1 (8”) Round Baking Pan.

Step Two
Place the next 7 ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine well. Add the pineapple and 1 cup of the toasted coconut. Place the bread in a large bowl and pir the mixture over the bread. Let sit for 15 – 30 minutes, tossing to coat the bread, well. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.

Step Three
Pour 1 ½ cups water in the pressure cooker, and prepare the harness. Place the pan in the harness and lower into the cooker. Secure the lid and over high head, develop pressure to medium. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes.

Step Four
Release the pressure according to the cooker’s directions. Remove the pudding and sprinkle the remaining coconut over the top. Serve the pudding warm or chilled with the pineapple sauce.

**Pineapple Sauce

¼ Cup Unsalted Butter
¾ Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cored Pineapple, Chopped
3 ¼ Cups Pineapple Juice, divided
Zest of 1 Orange
Zest of 1 Lime
1 TB plus 2 Tsp Cornstarch
Combine the remaining ¼ cup of juice and the cornstarch together in a small bowl. In a saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, pineapple, 3 cups of juice and zests. Bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pineapple mixture and cook and stir until thickened.

**To Toast the Coconut
Place on a baking sheet and toast at 350F for 5 – 7 minutes or until beginning to brown.