Bread pudding is ubiquitous in Las Vegas. To save you looking up the definition of that word in Wiki, that means you see it in all the buffets. In case you don't know, bread pudding is left over bread cooked in custard and served with a lovely sauce, many times flavored with whiskey of some sort. Down in New Orleans it's called pan perdu - lost bread - because of the bread being a day old and maybe otherwise going to waste. A lot of places make it with left-over sweet rolls so there are little pockets of sweet fruit or frosting in there, which I don't necessarily approve of because it's too sweet.

I've known tourists who make a point of trying some of the bread pudding in every buffet they go to, looking for the best. Sometimes the sauce is so good you could just eat it out of a bowl with a spoon, forget the pudding.

I was one of those tourists until one time Texas Station, one of the so-called locals casinos not famous for anything much food-wise, had the best bread pudding I'd ever had. The bread was clean - no crusts, no fruits - and had formed a delicate crust on the top with perfect custard underneath. I think it was a one-off experiment because I never saw anything like it there again, or anywhere else for that matter. That ruined it all for me, and I don't even care much about their sauces any more. I do make it at home sometimes, trying to reach that perfection that I know is possible.

The Golden Nugget's recipe is supposedly from Steve Wynn's (big Vegas mogul) mother, and the southern one is from the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, owned by Steve Wynn.

The Golden Nugget version below has also been fancied up by a chef at Wynn Hotel/Casino here in Las Vegas by the use of left-over croissants and brioche for the bread, and the addition of diced dried apricots and golden raisins. Also, they soak the bread for a 'long, long, long time.'

Golden Nugget Bread-Pudding Recipe

Serves 12; Yields: one 10 x 12 pan

16 oz. half and half
8 oz. whipping cream
8 eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
4 1/2 slices white bread
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbls. raisins

Mix well: half and half, whipping cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla.
Arrange bread on bottom of pan. Pour liquid mix over bread. Mix cinnamon and 1 tsp sugar together and sprinkle over bread. Spread raisins over top. Cover with foil and bake in water bath at 400 degrees for 75-90
minutes. (Note: this heat seems extreme, so use some judgment.)

Bourbon Sauce

8 oz. butter
1 lb. brown sugar
1/2 qt. heavy cream
1/2 cup Bourbon liquor

Melt butter and brown sugar. When it is completely melted and sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat. Add and stir heavy whipping cream
Add and stir Bourbon.

Beau Rivage Famous Southern Bread Pudding

Recipe requires an 8" x 8" baking pan

1 quart of whole milk
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of heavy cream
10 each eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
Texas (thick) Bread, cubed and toasted
Sugar mix with Cinnamon
Raisins, Golden or Dark

First, cube bread and toast in the baking pan until medium dark brown at 350F. Set aside. Let cool. Sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and raisins.

1. Combine milk, 1st cup of sugar and heavy cream in medium sauce pot, and bring to a boil.
2. Combine eggs, 2nd cup of sugar, vanilla, and grated orange peel; whisk smooth. Place in a medium size mixing bowl.
3. When mixture from step 1 comes to a boil, pour some of it into the eggs mixture,
whisk constantly. Add the warmed egg/milk mixture back into the milk/cream mixture.
4. Pour mixture over toasted bread into baking pan and use all of the mixture. Push the bread into the custard well.
5. Baking: Uncovered at 350F in a hot waterbath for 50-55 minutes until set.
6. Let cool, cover with foil.
7. Best if served next day, slightly warmed and with whipped cream and/or whiskey sauce.