Set oven to 350^o

Place into a 2-quart, buttered baking dish:

      5 slices of stale white bread cut into cubes
      ½ cup raisins (optional), or
      ½ cup of any dried fruit (optional)

Mix together then pour over the bread pieces:

      3 eggs
      3 cups milk
      2 teaspoons vanilla
      3/4 cup brown sugar
      3 teaspoons cinnamon

Bake uncovered for 60 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.
Garnish with whipped cream or with rum sauce (shown below)

Combine and bring to a boil:

      1 Cup milk
      4 Tablespoons butter
      1/2 Cup sugar
      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a separate bowl, blend until smooth then add to the boiled mixture.
Cook until smooth:

      2 Tablespoons flour
      1/4 Cup water

Remove from heat, add and stir:

      1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
      1/4 Cup rum (or to taste)

Serve hot over the bread pudding. Refrigerate the unused portion.