Really Bad Day Bread Pudding

Quoted from: http://www.clarionledger.com/

'By Courtney Taylormailto:Taylorstyle@jackson.gannett.com

There are many lessons I teach my children every day in the kitchen. Putting together a dessert from a little of this and next to nothing of that is a basic act of optimism that teaches one to make the most of everything.
It is an example of the indomitable spirit that the Southern women in my family share. It's gratitude for every day of life, every crumb of success, every drop of love. Or as my great grandmother used to say, "Be grateful for everything you have; clean your plate."
WHAT AN ACT
Here is a recipe that I re-vamped from friend Robbie Williams, an actor in Los Angeles who is also the product of strong Southern women.
He says he developed this in a time of great emotional and financial need, after not getting a part for which he'd auditioned three times. Not only did it satisfy his craving for something warm, comforting and chocolate, it used exactly what he had on hand in the pantry. And since it makes enough for six, he was able to nurture his soul with this silky pudding for three days.
"The only practical ingredients I had in the house were a couple of eggs, a quart of milk, a little butter, the sugar in the sugar bowl and a stale loaf of challah bread," Williams says. "After not getting that part, I took great pleasure in shredding that old loaf of challah ... all that was left were crumbs, and I had to make something to eat."
Williams found a bit of chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon to round out the ingredients as well as a little Kahlua left over from a party. "I seriously contemplated drinking the Kahlua," he says, "but then I remembered my grandmother's bread pudding and I starting tearing through my cabinets for other ingredients ... so, when life gave me lemons, I made fabulous chocolate silk bread pudding."
EASY SCRIPT
Here's how. In a large sauce pan heat 4 cups of milk, 1/4 cup of butter, cut into pieces, and 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, chopped, over moderately low heat, whisking until the butter and chocolate are melted and the mixture is smooth.
In a large bowl whisk together 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon salt. And whisk in 2 cups finely shredded bread crumbs (you can make them in the food processor).
Add the hot milk mixture in a stream, whisking, then 1/4 cup of Kahlua (if you have it on hand) and pour the pudding mixture into a buttered 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish. Bake in the middle of a preheated 325-oven for 45 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Let the pudding cool until just warm.
Williams says he ate it warm, in small very small portions, out of a coffee cup and named it "Really Bad Day Bread Pudding." These days, life is better, so he serves generous portions with fresh whipped cream.
COOKING AS ART
Although this dessert was originally made in a mad creative frenzy and consumed in great hunger, most of us don't need to eat dessert. By making dessert from that bit of stale bread or from last night's rice, we are able to enjoy something extra, a little morsel to end a meal sweetly not because it's necessary but because it tastes good.
This impulse changes food from something that keeps us alive into one that gives us pleasure. Maybe this is when cooking becomes art.'