The Frontera crew asked me to put together some favorite recipes made with beer. For decades we were importers and brewers so we have quite a stockpile of recipes from beer dinners and travels. This is honestly one of the simplest and most memorable.
Our beer businesses were based in Cooperstown, New York - a tiny hamlet in the middle of the state, in a county (Otsego) that was the center of hops production for much of the 19th C. Founded after the Revolution by pioneering land speculator William Cooper (subject of a Pulitzer prize winning history) it was the birthplace of James Fenimore Cooper. Today it better known as home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum. This is where our children grew up. We feel privileged to have lived there and made so many lifelong friends. Victoria seems like a big version of Cooperstown to us in many ways.
This rich and delicious dessert is made with strong ale - either a blonde Biere de Garde from the Pas de Calais Region of France (as in Castelain, which we imported) or a rich dark abbey double (aka Ommegang which we brewed). The Tryon Inn is no more - but in its day it was a charming restaurant run by an opera lover and prized by patrons of Glimmerglass Opera aka The American Glyndebourne. One of the season ticket holders was Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Bread Pudding With Belgian Beer from The Tryon Inn in Cherry Valley, NY
Plump the raisins and cherries in beer. Let soak. Tear a loaf of rustic country white bread into bite-size pieces.
In a mixing bowl, break up the eggs and egg yolks. Add the beer, cream, and sugar. Mix to combine. Add the bread and toss
Add the raisins, cherries, and orange peel. Mix well and allow to soak so that the bread can absorb the custard.
Spoon into buttered molds and bake at 350 degrees in a water bath until just set. About 45 minutes.
Ingredients:
12 oz. day old country white bread
1 pint Castelain (Blonde Biere de Garde) or Ommegang (Abbey Double)
1 pint heavy cream
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
8 oz. sugar
4 oz. raisins
4 oz. dried cherries
2 oz. candied orange peel, finely chopped
Beautiful Cooperstown - Otsego Lake and the headwaters of the Susquehanna River - site of Brewery Ommegang and source of the beer used in this recipe and served in the neighboring village of Cherry Valley.