Holiday Cook-Off with @HSN #HSNCooks

I have to admit, I love a great cook-off. I love watching them, I love judging them and of course, the best part is tasting the finished product. The Holiday season is around the corner and HSN.com is hosting their first ever Holiday Cook-Off this Sunday, November 1st. Teams of celebrity chefs and hosts will be facing off using secret ingredients. Let me tell you, I have visited the HSN live studio and they know how to have some fun in their kitchens.

Some of my favorite celebrity chefs will be included in this line-up and I can’t wait to see what they come up with. It is a great way to get recipe inspiration for the Holiday Season. Here is the best part, you get to weigh in on the winner of the cook-off by voting for them on Twitter. All you have to do is watch the show and tweet the chef’s first name and #HSNCooks.

It’s as much fun as being an actual judge. You bet I will be watching all day long and tweeting away. I may or may not have a couple of favorite chefs participating in this competition but I don’t want to spoil the fun until I see them all in action. Who knows what they will come up with when the secret ingredient is revealed.

Participating Celebrity Chefs & Cook-Off Schedule: (click on their names to go to their twitter accounts) 

First Cook-Off (12 PM)

Lorena Garcia vs. Robert Irvine

Second Cook-Off (5 PM)

Ming Tsai vs. Kelsey Nixon

 Third Cook-Off (9 PM)

Eduardo Garcia vs. Donatella Arpaia

Cook-Off Judges

Marc Murphy and Debbie Matenopoulos

Also Participating is Jamie Gwen

I want you to be part of the action! You too can be a judge and even win a prize. On Sunday, watch the Cook-Off and tweet your favorite chef (click on the links above) and use @hsn and #hsncooks in the tweet. I will be selecting two winners to receive one of the following prizes. 

One (1) Jamie Gwen autographed cookbooks: “Bountiful Buffets” or  One (1) Electrolux Masterpiece Immersion Blender. See you on Twitter on Sunday and good luck!

Vote for your favorite Chef this Sunday during the Holiday Cook-Off on @HSN #HSNCooks https://t.co/QX3hH7qwG6 pic.twitter.com/GrB9Ix1FB3

— Isabel Foodie (@familyfoodie) October 30, 2015

White Chocolate Berry Bread Pudding Recipe 

Now let’s get down to business. Have you started planning your holiday recipes yet? I am just getting started and when I saw this White Chocolate Berry Pudding by Lorena Garcia, I knew it would be making it’s way to my holiday table. Florida Strawberry season is just around the corner and their delicious strawberries are perfect for this recipe. I have had the honor to interview Chef Lorena Garcia and she is just as amazing in person as she is on television. I’m so looking forward to this week’s HSN Cook-off to find more recipes for this Holiday Season.

White Chocolate Berry Bread Pudding

 

Author: Lorena Garcia Published with permission by HSN.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  35 mins

Total time:  50 mins

Print

"Torta de pan is Venezuela’s version of bread pudding made with condensed milt for extra creaminess and spiked with rum for a kick. I make mine with flaky croissants, and instead of condensed milk, I make a silky white chocolate sauce that gets poured over croissant cubes and fresh raspberries. It bakes into a rich custard, creating an incredibly elegant yet simple dessert—especially when they’re baked in individual portions." Chef Lorena Garcia

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 4 plain day-old croissants, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
• 4 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
• ¼ cup dark rum
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 pint fresh Florida Strawberries
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• Whipped cream for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Pour cream in a medium saucepan. Use the back of a paring knife to scrape the vanilla seeds from the bean and add both to the cream. Stir in the white chocolate. Heat over medium low heat, stirring often, until the white chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the rum, sugar and ¼ cup of water over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Place the rasberries in a medium bowl and pour the rum syrup over the berries. Gently stir to combine.
3. Preheat skillet to medium heat and spread the croissant cubes out in an even layer in the bottom of a baking dish. Cover the croissant cubes with the rum-soaked raspberries and syrup.
4. Whisk together the eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl. Remove the vanilla bean from the white chocolate mixture and then whisk about 1 cup of the white chocolate mixture into the eggs. Once the bottom of the bowl is warm (you may need to add ½ to 1 cup more of the white chocolate mixture to sufficiently temper the eggs so they don’t curdle), whisk in the remaining white chocolate mixture. Use a rubber spatula to scrape this mixture evenly over the raspberries and croissant cubes.
5. Place the pan with the bread pudding in the skillet. Fill the skillet with warm water to reach half way up the sides of the baking dish. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the center of the pudding is set and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the skillet and cool completely. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if using.
6. © 2013 Lorena Garcia Reprinted with permission from hsn.com

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