ANTS!!!!

Grrr I'm so mad!! I've been battling ants this week that seemed to have moved into my pantry!!! WHY ME!?!? I at least tracked down where the little buggers have been running off to. Turns out there's a crack in the door frame on the inside of the wall. Yeah like I would have ever noticed that! After using ant bait traps (which they just went around and I swear they were laughing at me), throwing out food they totally took over and forcing me to spring clean my pantry we've had enough and got some new liquid bait. It seems to have worked for now, but I'm waiting another week before I clean out my pantry again.

I guess they decided to move in my house with all the rain and new construction in the area. Our house is new we moved in last October and, knock on wood, haven't had too many problems. I did have 2 mice move in, but we got rid of that problem pretty quickly. I think I can deal with mice alot better then ants. Ants seem to multiply and I have a fear they have taken over my instead of the walls and there's no way of telling till they come out. Ok a little dramatic but they freak me out. Makes me feel like I'm covered in them because you can barely feel them.

Sooooo, now that I've vented I'm moving on to my recipe which I love. Since I've had a bad week between the ants, the chicken dish that didn't turn out like I hoped and the garbage disposal eating my measuring spoons, I reached down to something that'll make me feel better and comfort me. I came across this recipe by checking out Michael Chiarello's site and signing up for his catalog. I like this recipe because I love croissants which made this bread pudding really light. I left out the chocolate it was still sweet enough without it and it cut down on the richness. The sauce is to die for it's super YUMMY! I used Jack Daniels with the ice cream and the amount of liquor can be adjusted depending on how strong of flavor you want. This is a simple recipe that reminds us that we don't always have to use a heavy bread to make bread pudding.

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding with Bourbon Ice Cream Sauce

(Adapted from Michael Chiarello)

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
12 croissants
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped small



Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, combine butter and sugar process until well blended. Add cinnamon, and vanilla, and pulse to combine.

While the processor is running crack 5 eggs into the mixture. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add the heavy cream and pulse to combine.

Lightly butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Break up the croissants into 1-inch pieces and layer in the pan. Scatter the raisins and shaved bittersweet chocolate over the top, light mix to incorporate. Pour the egg mixture over the croissants; soak for 8 to 10 minutes. You will need to push croissants pieces down during this time to ensure even coverage by egg mixture.

Cover with foil and bake for 35minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes to brown the top. The croissant bread pudding is done when the custard is set, but still soft. Allow to cool.

I baked mine in single serving ramekins for easier portion control to keep everyone from fighting over who got more. :)