We end our chef interview with dessert because Luis doesn't like to waste perfectly good bread from OC Baking. The candied bacon on top is like the cherry on the proverbial sundae. Did you read our new format this week? Big Steve will get all Viking on you if you don't. And if there's a local chef you'd like featured in our series, just shoot us a message. We don't know unless you tell us.
One more thing. They did have a veggie option on Friday called the Freya, but you gotta love pickles and heat. My Blackheart just wasn't the same sans bacon, and I know my Hef-E-fries-en!!!! (dragon eggs using Bootlegger's brew in the cheese sauce– only served there) would've been perfect topped with it, too. That does it. No more Friday interviews until AFTER Lent!!
“The Blackheart” Bread Pudding
Feeds approximately 10-12 people or 1 HUNGRY VIKING!!!!!!!!
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Bread pudding ingredients:
1 loaf French bread or crusty day-old equivalent
1 cup chocolate chips
2 fresh bananas, sliced
1 1/2 gallon chocolate milk
1 jar peanut butter (will depend on how peanutty you like it!)
4 eggs
Sauce ingredients:
1 cup lingonberries
1/4 cup dark stout
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
Pinch of salt
Candied bacon ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 pound of bacon ends (can be found at local butcher shops)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Directions:
Tear the bread into small pieces and fill the bottom of a 1/3 (hotel) pan with them.
Layer bread, bananas and peanut butter from bottom to top. Mix the eggs with chocolate milk, then coat the entire thing in the mixture. Then top with chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how firm you like it.
For the sauce, simmer the lingonberries in the stout and butter for an hour. Add in spices and let reduce.
For the bacon, simply rub the bacon in cayenne and brown sugar and sauté it in its own pig butter until sticky and crispy.
When plating, go bread pudding, then the sauce, then top with the candied bacon.
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A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.