Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Dear SOS: I live in Chicago and often visit friends who live in Calabasas, Calif. My favorite restaurant there is Cafe 14 in Agoura Hills. I think my favorite dessert ever, and that of my friends, is their caramel banana bread pudding. I would be forever grateful if I could have this recipe.

-Nan McCormack, Chicago

Dear Nan: Cafe 14′s take on bread pudding calls for croissants, which lend a soft, buttery texture to this classic comfort food. Rich caramel and crushed, ripened bananas are folded in before the pudding hits the oven. The resulting dish is a wonderfully rich play on flavors, at once looking like a classic bread pudding, but tasting almost like bananas Foster. We liked it even better after a quick trip under the broiler to crisp the top layer.

CARAMEL BANANA BREAD PUDDING

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes plus soaking time for the pudding

Servings: 8

Note: Adapted from Cafe 14. The restaurant serves the bread pudding with caramel sauce and whipped cream.

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 cups lightly packed (13 ounces) brown sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Salt

3 bananas (overripe is preferred), peeled and coarsely mashed

6 cups diced croissants, from about 3 croissants diced into 1/2-inch cubes

3 eggs

1. In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cook, stirring to dissolve. Stir in the cream, vanilla and a pinch of salt and gently bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. When the mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. While the caramel cream cools, toss the bananas and croissants in a large mixing bowl.

3. Whisk the eggs into the caramel cream to form a custard base, strain and then pour the custard base over the croissants and gently toss. Place the mixture in a greased 9-inch round cake pan or an 8-inch square baking dish. Set the mixture aside to soak for 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees.

4. Place the cake pan into a larger baking dish; fill the larger baking dish with enough boiling water to come up the side of the cake pan halfway to form a water bath.

5. Bake the bread pudding until puffed and set, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and water bath, and cool slightly before serving. For a crisp topping, place the cake pan under the broiler just until it begins to brown and crisp on top, about 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the broiler.

Each serving: 673 calories; 6 grams protein; 76 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 40 grams fat; 24 grams saturated fat; 206 mg. cholesterol; 62 grams sugar; 243 mg. sodium.

Think of it as the cook’s version of Facebook.

A free social networking Web site launched this month by a Madison, Wis., couple offers a place to share recipes and cooking tips with friends and family, and to stay connected over food.

Sharecipe.com asks users to create a profile and then build a network of friends in the same manner as Facebook. The profile includes basic facts and “fun facts,” such as favorite book, favorite quote, favorite restaurant, favorite food and favorite vacation destination.

Once you create a profile, you can search for friends already in the network and begin sharing recipes. You also can invite others to join.

“The goal is to be a place where people can share recipes with families and friends – people you already are connected with,” said Alex Colbert, who founded the site with his wife, Katie. “We think there’s a market for people to share recipes that have connections with the people in their life. This isn’t a place to make friends or randomly search for recipes.”

The shared recipes could be Grandma’s potato salad, or the fabulous tart you sampled at a friend’s dinner party. You can post photos when you add a recipe. You can post cook’s notes to share the story behind the recipe.

Recipes may be posted as private, so only the people you want to see them may view them.

“It’s simple to look at and to use,” said Colbert, whose mother-in-law, Sandra Thompson of Madison, inspired the Web site’s clean design.

The Colberts want people with all levels of computer aptitude to be able to use sharecipe.com, said Alex, who is 35.

“The idea started because when we were living in San Francisco, Katie and her mom would send recipes back and forth via e-mail,” he said.

They realized a Web site also could help their friends all over the country stay connected through their passion for food.

Unlike Facebook, sharecipe.com does not allow you to post a current status such as “cooking a five-course meal for 20 close friends.” But it does allow you to share the recipes and photos of all five courses so your mom can view them, or your dinner guests can relive the fun.

Here’s an added bonus: If you forget your grocery list, once you arrive at the store, you can look up the recipe at sharecipe.com using your BlackBerry.

You could even show the neighbor you run into at the store a photo of what you’re making for dinner.