There's only one thing to do with leftover bread, and that's to make bread pudding. This combination - dark chocolate, sweet cherries, and a slug of spirits - wins rave reviews every time. If fresh cherries aren't available, dried cherries work just as well.

Chocolate-cherry bread pudding

• 6 cups leftover bread, cut into cubes (I use challah, but plain white bread, brioche or another plain sweet bread will work; about half a large loaf of challah, or one loaf of other bread)
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup whiskey, bourbon, Cognac or Armagnac
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups pitted sweet cherries
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Let the cubes of bread sit out on the counter for a few hours - you want them kind of stale. Alternatively, toast them in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes to dry them out.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, cream, milk, liquor, sugar, and salt. Add the bread cubes and mix so all the bread is wet. Stir in the cherries and chocolate chips. Let the mixture sit on the counter in the bowl for about an hour, stirring it up every 10 minutes or so to make sure the liquid is well distributed.

Put the bread mixture in a large greased baking pan. Bake about an hour, until the center is set and the pudding is puffy. Serve hot, warm or cold, to great acclaim.

More Smart Leftovers recipes:

• Rice pancakes
• Pasta frittata
• Savory bread pudding