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The Ultimate Wine Themed Brunch

What started out as a good excuse to visit our chef friend Joe Richie at Goldfinch Tavern in Seattle, WA, turned into an outstanding recipe for a Mother’s Day Brunch–complete with the perfect wine cocktail.

Orange Ricotta Bread Pudding with Strawberry-Rosé Crémant Sauce

Brioche Ricotta Bread Pudding Recipe by Joe-RitchieChef Joe Ritchie’s Orange Ricotta Bread Pudding with Strawberry Crémant Sauce. Not too sweet–just perfect!

The goal was to use a sparkling wine (Crémant d’Alsace) as the highlight of both the dish and the drink, and it turned out better than we ever imagined. For those of you who are not that confident in the kitchen, don’t worry. You’ll find Joe’s bread pudding delightfully easy to make.

Crémant d'Alsace Wine Illustration

The Wine Choice

Crémant d’Alsace wines are vinified using the traditional method, with secondary fermentation taking place in the bottle (like Champagne). We chose a rosé Crémant from Alsace, made with 100% Pinot Noir grapes, but feel free to substitute your (or your mom’s) favorite bubbly.

[wistia id=”59oa0cflhy” width=”720″ height=”400″ caption=”Watch the video here to get a complete rundown.”]

Orange Ricotta Bread Pudding

This bread pudding uses brioche bread and ricotta cheese, along with a subtle hint of coriander and cinnamon to take it to the next level. Since I didn’t make the recipe, I can honestly say it’s out-of-control good!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
  • 12 oz loaf of brioche bread, cut into 1″ cubes
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup crème fraîche
  • 16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp grated orange zest
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground toasted coriander
Brioche bread and ricotta bread pudding with cinnamon and corianderThe finished bread pudding, ready to the plated and drizzled with sauce.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F and coat a 1 ½ quart baking dish with 1 Tbs of the melted butter. Place the cubed brioche in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining melted butter and milk. Add the ricotta, sugar, eggs, crème fraîche, orange zest and vanilla. Pour the liquid ricotta mixture over the bread cubes and mix quickly and gently. Add to baking dish. Sprinkle the pudding with the cinnamon, coriander and sugar. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a water bath for 1 hour. Let cool for at least 20 min.

While you wait for your pudding to be ready, you can prepare the Strawberry-Rosé Crémant Sauce


Strawberry-Rosé Crémant Sauce

Ingredients and recipe for Chef Joe Ritchie's Orange Ricotta Bread Pudding with Strawberry Rosé Crémant Sauce
A few simple ingredients make this delicious sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb fresh strawberries, cut lengthwise into quarters
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp grated orange zest
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • ½ cup Rosé Crémant or another sparkling rosé
Image
The Rosé Crémant- strawberry mixture after it’s been cooked down on the stove top.

Directions:

Heat the wine in a medium sized saucepan to remove some of the alcohol. Add the sugar, strawberries, orange zest, and lemon juice. Stir gently and allow the mixture to cook for about 5 or so minutes and cool for about 10 minutes so that it thickens. The sauce will more watery than syrup when it’s ready, so don’t be worried if this is the consistency you get!


Pink Mimosa

Since you’ll have nearly a whole bottle of Crémant leftover from this recipe, you can use it for a breakfast-friendly wine cocktail. Ruby red or pink grapefruit juice and rosé Crémant make the base for this refreshing mimosa.

Image
Getting ready to become a Ruby Pink Mimosa

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp sugar (optional)
  • ½ oz lemon juice
  • Ruby red (or pink) grapefruit juice
  • Rosé Crémant or another sparkling rosé

Build the Cocktail:

Put a teaspoon of sugar in the bottom of a flute and add lemon juice to glass. Fill each flute ⅔ of the way with the Rosé Crémant and top with the ruby red grapefruit juice. Garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy.

Joe Richie shows Madeline Puckette how to make bread pudding


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