Bread Pudding with Grand Marnier and Chocolate

So, I've been on this Frenchie kick lately, and have acquired some odds and ends of baguettes. They were hard and basically inedible at this point, but I couldn't bring myself to chuck them just because they were stale. I got to thinking... what could I do? I could whiz them in the food processor for crumbs, throw them out for the raccoons... or make dessert out of them.

Being that dessert has always been my favorite course, that was the direction I decided to go in. I also am basically a glutton, so I didn't want to make it TOO sweet, because I wanted to justify to myself that eating it for breakfast was ok. So, I left out the optional sugar... but, I love orange, I love Grand Marnier and I love those two with chocolate. Without the optional sugar, it was rich and buttery. I would suggest that you make it the first time with the optional sugar.

Here we go. You will need:
1 baguette, torn into chunks (or if you're feeling fancy, cut it up)
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream (if you don't have it, just add another 1/2 cup of milk)
4 eggs
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (skip if you don't have, or you can use brandy or rum...)
Optional- 1/2 cup sugar (if making this for the first time, add this)
Chocolate chips- I had half a bag left, but feel free to use more if you are so compelled.


Take an 9" x 9" pan (or a little larger), brush with some of the melted butter. Throw the bread chunks into the pan. Drizzle the remaining melted butter over the bread. (Oh, just do it!)
Mix the milk, cream, eggs, marmalade, vanilla, booze and sugar together in a bowl. Pour over the bread. Now here comes the fun part. Mash the bread down a bit. Then, place tin foil over this mess, place a heavy weight on top of it (I used two large cans), leave to soak for an hour... like while you're eating dinner. This will help get the custard into the bread. Or, you can refrigerate it over night (covered) to let it soak in. Whatever is easiest for you. Confession time: after 30 minutes, I was growing impatient, so I mashed the bread down again into the custard... my hands. It was fun. It was gooshy, and made funny noises. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the tinfoil, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.