Today is Columbus day, and I thought it would be the perfect day to share one of my Nonni's recipes with you. My Nonni isn't actually a blood relative, but more of an adopted grandma. She is an Italian woman with tremendous spirit and a truly generous heart that has been a friend of our family for a long time. She has always treated me and my friends as her grandchildren, preparing numerous goodies for all of us kids for our birthdays, graduations, or even just Wednesdays. She has even taught my mom how to make a variety of her specialty dishes, who in turn has taught them to me. This Pineapple Pudding is one of those recipes. Having grown up in an era when you never waste anything in the kitchen, Nonni is a master at turning things like stale bread into yummy desserts like this dish. You can serve it as a dessert, or you can also serve it as a side. It's super easy to make and travels pretty well too, so it's a great dish to bring for potluck dinners. Personally I think it's a great example of how Old Word ingenuity collided with New World produce, and I think Cristoforo would approve.
Ingredients
1/4 lb. butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, slightly beaten
20 oz. can crushed pineapple
10 slices of white bread, cubed
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is completely melted add the cup of sugar and cream together on the stove. Remove the saucepan from the heat and beat mixture a little more just to cool it off some. Once it has cooled down, slowly add in the beaten egg, while mixing, one egg at a time. Be careful doing this because you can cook the eggs if the butter/sugar mixture is still too warm. Once you've added all the eggs and combined them well with the butter/sugar mixture, add the can of crushed pineapple (liquid too.) Stir until just combined. In a bowl combine the cubed bread and the egg/butter/sugar/pineapple mixture. Toss well to coat evenly and transfer to an ungreased baking dish. Bake for 1 hour uncovered. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. This can be served warm or you can refrigerate it and serve it cold.