NEVER throw stale bread away! You have the base for an absolutely delicious Creole bread pudding that will have your guests melting with pleasure.
The Rum Sauce is fabulous on all kinds of desserts, from the Creole Rice Pudding to cupcakes. In this case, you want to warm the sauce, rather than chill it, so it is spreadable.
This recipe came from Ruby, Chef Austin Leslie's mother, and was a huge hit at Chez Helene. If you have only stale Italian bread, you may want to remove most of the crust, as it may be too chewy to enjoy.
NOTE: when the pudding comes out of the oven, take the chilled Butter-Rum Sauce out of the cooler and, with a table knife, cut chunks of the sauce and cover the top of the pudding. The heat will melt the chilled butter and the sauce will drizzle down into the pudding. And don't be disturbed by the 'granular' nature of the sauce. Its actually a whipped butter frosting and the sugar is a nice texture with the pudding. I've had many people like this dessert better than I do - "reminds me of the pudding my mom used to make", I have heard, so there you are!