Bread Pudding - Great way to use left over not so fresh bread

This recipe was the frugal housewives way of using up left over bread (back in Malta, bread was delivered to your door every morning - and sometimes even twice - by the baker himself.) Bread was also an important part of your meal. The best bread to use would be a traditional loaf and not the 'sliced' sandwich type but you really can use any type.

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf bread (a few days old)

50 g butter

125 g sugar ( I mix brown and regular)

2-3 eggs

Some milk (to soak bread in)

1 apple peeled and grated (optional)

5 tablespoons cocoa powder (try use a good quality one and not drinking chocolate!)

200 g pine nuts, chopped

200 g raisins

2 tablespoons candied peel

2 teaspoons mixed spice ( I use nutmeg and cinnamon - but it’s a matter of taste!)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon brandy

1 tablespoon extra sugar for the top - coarse brown is the best!

METHOD

Cut bread into squares and soak in some milk until soft.

Pre heat oven to 200C and grease a rectangular baking dish measuring about 30cm by 20cm. Squeeze out excess milk from the bread. (get your hands in there!)

Put the soggy bread in a processor with the other ingredients except the dried fruit and pine nuts and mix well.

Add the dried fruit and pine nuts and pulse until combined.

Spread in the baking dish and flatten surface with a spatula.

Sprinkle the extra sugar on top.

Bake for about an hour, until it feels firm . serve warm or at room temperature - but I also love it cold !

Stuffed Artichokes

Ingredients

4 artichokes (globe artichokes)

75g anchovy fillets

crushed garlic

150g fresh breadcrumbs

50g olive oil

parsley

salt and pepper

Method
Chop the anchovy fillets, garlic, olives and parsley and mix with the breadcrumbs. Add the oil and vinegar and work into a dry paste. Season.

Wash the artichokes and cut off the top. Stuff the breadcrumb mixture in between the leaves.
Place the artichokes upright in a small saucepan. Half cover them with water and add some oil. Cover with a lid, bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour. Serve hot.

How to eat the Artichoke

Make a mixture of oil, vinegar , salt and pepper and put it in a plate.

There is a way to eat the artichokes - Take the outer leaves off one by one and hold like a potato chip. Coat the tip (the part that was attached to the heart of the choke) in the mixture of oil and vinegar, scrape off the tender bits of the bottom of the leaf by putting the leaf in your mouth, closing your teeth on it, and pulling the leaf outwards.

Continue until you get to the smaller center leaves that don't have much meatiness to them. These leaves look a bit different than the outer leaves and often have a translucent quality with a bit of purple on them.
Pull off the center leaves. Depending on how well-cooked the artichoke is, you can sometimes lift off the smaller inner leaves all together for one last dip in the sauces and bite the ends off delicately (but don't eat the sharp tips). They cover a finer, almost hairy growth just on top of the heart of the artichoke. Some people call this part the "choke," which is what you will do if you eat it, as it is very prickly.
Remove the choke using gentle strokes with a fork or the toothed edge of a kitchen knife until you are down to the heart. This is a very important step and often where people go wrong without proper instruction.

The heart of the artichoke is the most prized portion and often the only part restaurant chefs use in their recipes, but at home you can savor the whole artichoke experience.

Instructions on how to eat an artichoke thanks to wikihow