Eggnog Cranberry Bread Pudding

As another holiday season comes to an end, I hope everyone has had wonderful times filled with family, fun, and lots of tasty food! Personally, I ended up with a rather obscene amount of eggnog and cranberry orange relish after all the other leftovers had been dispatched. What to do... what to do...

To be honest, I'm not at all sure what made me devise this recipe, but I'm sure glad I did! It's not terribly sweet, and I think even people who don't care for eggnog will enjoy it.

1 large loaf cheap French bread (you know... the kind that's mostly air...)
5 large eggs
2 C eggnog
1 C leftover cranberry orange relish
2 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 stick butter, melted

Tear French bread into bite-sized pieces and place in large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, eggnog, cranberry relish, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir egg mixture into bread and let stand for about an hour. Place bread mixture in greased 2 1/2 qt baking dish; drizzle with melted butter. Bake uncovered at 350° for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with additional cranberry relish, maple syrup, bourbon sauce, or whatever moves you.

I even had some for dessert!

Seared Ahi With Wasabi Mayo And Asian Slaw

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are fortunate to have access to some of the freshest fish and produce around. I try to take advantage of that whenever possible! This does take a bit of prep work, but most of it can (and should) be done ahead of time, making this super-quick to actually get on the table.

Wasabi mayo-

1/2 C mayonnaise
2 t wasabi paste
1 t grated fresh ginger
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t sugar
Pinch salt

Mix all ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Slaw-

2 T vegetable oil
2 T grated fresh ginger
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 T brown sugar
2 1/2 T soy sauce
2 T mirin
1/2 t sesame oil
3 T rice wine vinegar
2 C thinly sliced napa cabbage
1 C thinly sliced green cabbage
1 grated large carrot
1/2 C thinly sliced red onion
1/2 C thinly sliced red bell pepper
1/2 C thinly sliced bok choy
1 C bean sprouts
1 C julienned snow peas
1/4 C sliced green onions

In a small saucepan, add oil, ginger, and garlic; saute until soft. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, and mirin. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. When cool, whisk in sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.

Mix all vegetables in a large bowl. Toss with dressing just before serving.


1 lb. fresh sushi-grade ahi steaks, about 3/4" thick
1/4 C soy sauce
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 t minced garlic
2 t wasabi paste
2 T vegetable oil
coarsly ground black pepper


In a baking dish large enough to fit ahi steaks flat, combine soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and wasabi; mix well. Coat all sides of fish and marinate for 7 minutes. Heat oil in a large non-stick pan until smoking. Remove fish from marinade, coat generously with pepper, and sear for 45 seconds on each side. Remove to plate and slice.

Serve sliced ahi over slaw, drizzled with wasabi mayo, with furikake seasoned rice on the side.