So Completely

Okay, you may judge me for this, but I’m not equal in my Christmas gift giving for my coworkers. Let me explain.

There are some coworkers with whom I have more of a personal relationship. These are people that I have been to their homes numerous times, we get together outside of work to socialize, and I am friendly with their entire family. On the other end of the spectrum, I have one particular coworker that I no longer give gifts. As you’ve probably figured out, I love giving homemade gifts. There are many people out there who think that homemade means cheap. If you make homemade gifts, you know that is far from the truth. Often, homemade gifts are more expensive, not to mention more time consuming. (That’s a soapbox for another day.)

The past few years, this particular coworkers has thrown away or given away the Christmas gifts I have given right in front of me. One year, they came into my office, tried to regift it to me, and then dumped it in my trash can when I reminded them it was originally from me. The next year, they walked into the kitchen while I was in there, made a negative comment about the gift, and set it on the table, telling those present they were welcome to it if they wanted. All that led to me deciding this Christmas to not waste my time or money on this person.

All that to say, those that I have a personal relationship with always get the standard gift I give to everybody, as well as a little something extra. This year, it was a jar of sugared pecans. I made these for everybody a few years back, and they were a huge hit. They are super easy to make. I try to get the pecans when they are on sale, as pecan halves are ridiculously expensive. My mom shared this recipe with me, so I do not know the original source.

Sugared Pecans

Ingredients:
1 egg white
1 Tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 300 F
Put sugar, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg in a plastic bag. Shake to mix.
Put egg white, water, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat until slightly foamy. Add pecans and coat well. Lift pecans out of bowl with a slotted spoon and put into the bag of sugar and spices. Shake pecans in bag making sure they are well coated.
Bake 30 minutes on a baking pan lined with silpat or lightly greased aluminum foil. 15 minutes into the baking, stir the pecans with a fork. Let cool completely before serving.

So way back before Thanksgiving, a friend’s husband ended up in the hospital. He was in and out a few times before Christmas, and is still recovering from this ordeal. Knowing how stressful all this was, and knowing that it would be just the two of them for Christmas, I made a lasagna for them that week of Christmas. Of course, being my mother’s daughter, I made one big enough that they could eat some that first night, and then freeze the leftovers for later.

I had also been given a new recipe for Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding. I made a batch, gave half to my friend and took the other half to my Mom’s. I thought it tasted great and look forward to having a reason to make it again soon.

I don’t know where the recipe originated–a friend sent it to me in an email, so I can’t credit the source.

Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding

Pumpkin Bread Pudding Ingredients:
1 pound loaf day old french bread, torn into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half and half
1 15-ounce can Pumpkin puree
1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons melted butter
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Praline Sauce Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Spray a 9/13 baking dish with cooking spray. Place torn pieces of bread in the dish
In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, half and half, pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice
Slowly pour the batter over the bread pieces in the baking dish. Be sure to cover all the bread pieces
Bake for about 1 hour
While the bread pudding is baking, make the praline sauce.
In a heavy saucepan, over medium-low heat, stir together the butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and stir pecans into the cream mixture. Simmer until the sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Pour over bread pudding to serve.

Notes:
*If you prefer, you can use 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice to replace the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Since I keep all those things on hand, I never buy the pumpkin pie spice.
*After the sauce had cooled, I refrigerated it, which turns it into a solid. I would simply cut a piece of bread pudding, spoon the sauce on top, and then microwave it together to warm the pudding and melt the sauce. It still tasted delicious!
*You could use something other than french bread if you want. The recipe also listed italian and challah as options. Just don’t use something that has a strong flavor on it’s own, as it will affect the overall taste of the bread pudding.