clean-out-the-freezer bread pudding

Two people just can't eat a lot of fresh bread before it goes bad. I end up turning baguettes into bread crumbs and throwing rolls into the freezer. Ditto for pancakes and waffles--Mr. Tart and I can't even finish a half-batch of homemade breakfast goodies on our own. As a result, our freezer was bursting with leftover sweet and starchy goodies, and they had to go. It was time for bread pudding!

I used my favorite very easy recipe from Epicurious, but this time substituted leftover waffles and croissants (turning an already-French dish into a very-French dish). I cut them into big chunks and let them sit out on the counter until they weren't soft anymore, and then preceded with the recipe. (I also had more than the four cups' worth the recipe calls for, so I increased the amount of milk in the custard--enough to cover the pastry pieces--and also the baking time.) And I doubled the bourbon sauce--it's intense and delicious and takes the dessert from France back to New Orleans.