Sweet and Savory Bread Pudding

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I made this recipe but used Pannetone Sweet Bread and used half the amount of brandy. It was delicious and everybody said this was "my" dish to bring to Thanksgiving forevermore.

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When your mother ever so sweetly says "these are not flavors I enjoy together" you know your dish has tanked. As my brother said, "in theory these ingredients all sound like this should taste great... but not so much" This was expensive and time consuming for such poor results. Giada you have never let me down before but this one needs to be dropped from the recipe list.

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I wish I would have followed the recipe instead of altering it, as many of the other comments suggested. It lacked more cinnamon, because I cut the amount to 2tsp. I reduced the amount of brandy to 1/3cup and I didn't replace the lost liquid, so the bread pudding browned it only 25 minutes, and my parsnip wasn't thoroughly cooked. It reminded me of french toast only baked. I will try it again, but this time I will follow the recipe. If you don't like cinnamon or brandy, then you won't like this recipe.

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I'm glad I tried it for a brunch just with my husband, because we could'n eat it.
It was over powering, and the vegetables did not match with the bread and the custard.
It was like mixing two different things after being cooked.

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I made this dish for Thanksgiving to rave reviews! Having read comments, I reduced the cinnamon to 2 tsp. and gave just the right hint of taste. I did not have brandy, so subsituted 1/2 c. white wine, cooked the veggies about 15 min.
The final pudding was light and fluffy and delicious with a predominance of the butternut squash and parsnips. I will definitely make it again!

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Loved it! Followed the exact recipe. Yes the butternut squash and parsnips did take longer than five minutes to soften which is what I expected anyway where I do cook those vegetables alot. My family loved it at Thanksgiving and I will definitly make this again.

S.Ficek,N.H.

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Giada's brother Igor must like his brandy because this bread pudding does have an overpowering brandy flavor. I made it this Thanksgiving morning and the house smelled amazingly wonderful. I think we will serve it tonight with some sweetened whipped cream. Next time I'll cut the brandy to 1/4 cup, like the other reviewers said, and I'll add a cup of walnuts to the top.

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I always love Giada's recipes and prepare them quite often. I watched her make this one and thought I would give it a try and if it was good I would prepare it as a side dish for this Thanksgiving. I'm glad I tried it ahead of time. I was so disappointed in all the expense, time, etc. that I went through for the recipe. I had also read the reviews...some bad, some good, but tried it anyway. I followed the recipe exactly except for the brandy and I cut it in half since I had read several reviews stating it was over-powering. My husband took one taste and asked if I wanted him to pour it out. I had already tried a few bites and knew it was a disaster. Also, the veggies took much more time than five minutes to start to soften. I would not recommend this to anyone. Don't waste your time and money.

Sue

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As said by other comments if you change the recipe a little the dish can be amazing. I used carrots instead of parsnips, cut the eggs down to 6 from 8 based on another person's comment, added cranberries for some tartness and then instead of using brandy used 1/2 cup Sam Adam's Octoberfest beer. My boyfriend who was very hesitant to eat bread pudding as dinner rather then desert loved it and we found that it was good reheated and picked at cold.

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We are die-hard Giada fans in this house, so when I saw this recipe I wanted to try it out. Unfortunately, we had a lot of picky eaters over the holidays, so it was a no go for the Thanksgiving/Christmas table.

I finally got around to picking up some Parsnips (fyi: if you can't find them, carrots are a good substitute. Almost the exact same flavor and Thyme and decided what the heck. My husband is not a drinker, so I had to cut the brandy and I find that heavy cream makes a bread pudding almost TOO heavy if it's not a dessert, so I used milk instead. I also cut it down to 6 eggs instead of 8 and used brioche (if you can't find it, it's super easy to make, it's just a quick egg bread.

By no means is it my favorite Giada dish, but it's a refreshing take on the classic savory bread pudding, plus it's a good way to introduce parsnips to skeptics (aka my husband!. I will probably try it again and add some golden raisins, maybe soak them in the brandy so the taste isn't so overwhelming throughout the dish.

All in all, good recipe, but it has to be reserved for people that enjoy all the flavors, not a picky eater table dish! Enjoy!