cookin' at work.... (bread pudding)...

... made on one of those long days when I reproduced the recipe so many times I was putting it together from memory, without looking at the recipe. When you make it over and over and over, in the course of eight hours, it is pretty firmly embedded in your head. I could probably tell it here without referring to the card, but just to be sure yours is as good as the one I gave away four times, this is the way it is written for customer consumption. It was very good, and something I would bake for sharing with friends and family. Partially due to ease of preparation, and partially due to the fact that I am a fool for bread pudding.

Here's a helpful hint before you get started. When I was organizing after getting to work, checking to be sure all the ingredients were readily available, so I would not be chasing all over the store, I went to the bakery to ask about the bread. Saying 'stale' is ok, as that would be what your grandmother would have used to  make it from scratch during the era of home-baked bread. They said all they had that was out-dated was some that was already sliced, and I said all the better. Asked to have it put in the slicer the other way, so sliced twice, into long narrow strips I would not have to cube before use.
They will do that for you, if you ask

Pineapple bread pudding

4 Tbs. softened butter, mixed with 1/2 cup brown sugar.
8 oz. bakery Italian bread (a loaf is 16 oz., so you only need half), cubed or torn into bites, you could use any kind - think how good it would be if you used raisin/cinnamon bread. Oh, my goodness!
4 eggs or 1 cup egg substitute
1/2 tsp. apple pie spice or ground cinnamon
1 - 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, in juice, undrained
cooking spray
maraschino cherries for topping if desired

Preheat oven to 350. Blend butter and brown sugar, add spice. You can use a hand mixer, but I just did it with a fork, mixing well. Add eggs, one at a time, or the full cup if using substitute. Blend well. Stir in pineapple. Add bread and mix well. Coat 9 x9 in. baking dish with non-stick spray, spoon in bread mixture. Top with cherries if desired. Bake 25 - 30 min. or until center is set. Serve warm.