CARAMEL CROISSANT PUDDING

"I always think that some of the best recipes come from the thrifty refusal to throw anything away. Certainly, I made this one Monday evening because I had two stale croissants left over from the weekend and just knew they could be put to good use. Now, adding cream and bourbon is probably a lot less thrifty than throwing some stale bread away in the first place, but this is such a fabulous pudding that I now think it should be every Monday night's supper. And I mean supper: with something this substantial, you certainly need eat nothing beforehand. Though I admit a small crunchy salad may not be a bad idea first...."