Bring us some figgy pudding, and make it tasty! Here's an intriguing recipe for bread pudding with figs and brandy--delicious for the shorter and cooler days that lie ahead. It's a sweet guest contribution from self-proclaimed "fig enthusiast" (no, really) Sherri Lee, from her cookbook Under the Fig Leaf, a culmination taking "her passion for figs and 10 years of cooking experiments into a fig cookbook featuring over 130 recipes from appetizers, beverages and salads to main courses and desserts." Here's the recipe:

Chef Joseph’s Fig-Panettone Bread Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups dried figs, chopped, stems removed
¼ cup brandy
2 Tablespoons butter for greasing baking dish
12 cups Panettone Italian Bread, torn into pieces
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks, reserve whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Soak the chopped figs in the brandy and set aside.
Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish
Place the pieces of panettone in the baking dish and toss them evenly with the figs and brandy.
In a large mixing bowl combine the whole eggs with the egg yolks.
Stir in the vanilla extract, cinnamon, cream, milk and sugar. Beat well.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until they form soft peaks.
Fold the whites into the egg yolk mixture and pour over the panettone and figs. Let stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Serve warm with a splash of heavy cream.