Mr Gastro on late nights

As Mr. Gastro is currently working late nights I'm trying to give him a nice meal when he comes in  (this may sound horribly 1960s, but he does all the cleaning...!)

I went out for a walk today as I had the day off and I've bought some croissants. I'm hoping to recreate the lovely Caramel Croissant Pudding of Nigella Lawson's that she made in her Express series. Here's the recipe:

Serves 2 greedy people

2 stale croissants

100g caster sugar

2 x 15ml tbsp water

125ml double cream

125ml full-fat milk

2 x 15ml tbsp bourbon

2 eggs, beaten

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

2 Tear the croissants into pieces and put in a small gratin dish; I use a cast iron oval one with a capacity of about 500ml.

3 Put the caster sugar and water into a saucepan, and swirl around to help dissolve the sugar before putting the saucepan on the hob over a medium to high heat.

4 Caramelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away, without stirring, until it all turns a deep amber colour; this will take 3 to 5 minutes. Keep looking but don’t be too timid.

5 Turn the heat down to low and add the cream – ignoring all spluttering – and, whisking away, the milk and bourbon. Any solid toffee that forms in the pan will dissolve easily if you keep whisking over a low heat. Take off the heat and, still whisking, add the beaten eggs. Pour the caramel bourbon custard over the croissants and leave to steep for 10 minutes if the croissants are very stale.

6 Place in the oven for 20 minutes and prepare to swoon.

I think to precede this sugary, doughy feast I will make a cheat's crostini bonco, a meal I first ate at one of my Top 10 Glasgow Restaurants, Battlefield Rest. I have never been able to get even my deluxe version to taste anywhere near as good. So instead, I make a variation. I make some crostini under the grill, and make a garlic and white wine cream. The mushrooms and bacon are fried in a little butter, the sauce added, then the fish at the last minute. If I have it, there will be green parsley snipped on top, though I think the Battlefield version uses coriander. If you're making this a main course, add a little tagliatelle in with the mix and pour on the crostini. Excess. Lots of pepper, but no parmesan.

The picture is by Lis Parsons (2007) and is featured on the Times Online page to accompany the above recipe.