“Family gatherings were one of my fondest memories growing up. Between my mom, her eight sisters and one brother, we had a large group of over 50 to feed every holiday as a child,” Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale’s Executive Chef Todd Ruiz said about his holiday memories.
“Nowadays our family is reaching over a hundred plus. All our family would divide up sides, desserts, salads and main dishes. We would spend every holiday in East Texas, enjoying everyone being together, visiting each others homes and most importantly cooking and sharing. As I developed a love for cooking, my mother and myself would work on recipes together. We would spend time together cooking, tasting, cooking more, tasting even more. We developed our bread pudding recipe together one year and this one stuck with us for years to come. This process was one of the most memorable for me, and this is where I developed my passion for cooking!”
For more holiday recipes, check out Perfecting Pie, the Omni Cookie Collection and 12 Holiday Cocktails.
Butternut Squash Bread Pudding
Ingredients
1 butternut squash (large), large diced
3 leeks, sliced
1 red onion, julienne
3 cups walnuts, toasted
3 tbsp tarragon, chopped
3 tbsp chives, chopped
16 oz wheel brie cheese, trimmed of some excess rid and large diced
2 gallons bread (crusty and stale), large dice and allow to dry overnight
12 whole eggs, cracked
16 egg yolks,
1 orange, zested
2 quarts heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
Large Cast Iron Pans: Buttered heavily to bake in
Steps
1. Sweat off onions and leeks until tender, season slightly during this process.
2. Prepare egg and heavy cream custard mixture by blending ingredients together, add salt and pepper and orange zest.
3. Next combine all dry ingredient together except brie cheese, then pour over ¾’s of the egg mixture. Allow ingredients to soak in egg mixture for about 1 hour. Tasting mixture to ensure seasoning is correct.
4. Pull bread mixture from custard and place into cast iron pan. Pour additional custard over the bread to ensure all area are well saturated.
5. Place large diced pieces of brie cheese in random place inside the pudding.
6. Bake bread pudding for 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees, then raise temperate to 375 for an additional 7-10 minutes until golden brown.
7. Allow to rest before serving.
Bread pudding can be prepared and placed in cast iron pan the day before and place in oven the morning of a family gathering.
For more #OmniFeast recipes, click here.
One of the newest additions to the Omni New Haven culinary team, Executive Chef Todd Ruiz previously worked on the sunny beaches of Omni Amelia Island Resort. Working also at the boutique Texas based company, Hotel ZaZa, Chef Ruiz wanted to explore new opportunities and continue the never-ending learning process of being a culinarian. He had maintained a long career with the Hershey Hotel in Pennsylvania and the Four Seasons Hotels in Houston and Austin, Texas and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Educating himself in the North Eastern food that befits the area, Chef Ruiz also prides himself on learning about, and incorporating, local ingredients into his dishes. Chef Todd now joins the Omni New Haven team, ready to discover all things delicious in this incredible Elm City atmosphere.
