bread pudding with bourbon sauce

Bread pudding is something I'd never eaten before this, but my boyfriend, John, has always talked about it with a happy glaze over his eyes. I thought that I wouldn't really enjoy it. I imagined a textured, dry and mushy blob instead of the smooth, silky and carb-ridden delight that it actually is. I found a recipe that I decided to follow (kind of), since I'd never made anything close to bread pudding before.
If there is one thing people can't stand about the way I cook, it's that I don't follow recipes. I cook by taste and the ideas in my head. This isn't always an advantage as I like to think it is, but as far as the bread pudding goes I scored big time.
This recipe creates a soft, silky smooth bread pudding with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. The kicker on the this is the lovely bourbon sauce that just ties it all together. This a full recipe, fit to serve at least 6-8 people. I cook only for two so I cut the recipe in half when I made it.

This recipe has been adapted from Simply Recipes.

Ingredients:
Bourbon Sauce:
1 stick butter, melted

1 cup sugar
1 egg
*Kentucky bourbon whiskey to taste (I used maybe 2 tbsps, the original recipe calls for 1 cup)

Bread Pudding:
**1 loaf Ciabatta bread, cut into 1-inch squares (about 6-7 cups)
1 quart whole milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp vanilla
1 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter, melted

*Bourbon is very very strong in flavor and smell. If you have not worked with this alcohol in your cooking before, I would go with the smaller amount in the sauce. My entire apartment

 smelled like bourbon for an hour after adding only 2 tablespoons.
**The Ciabatta bread that I used had very hard crust that didn't all soften up even after it had finished cooking. If you don't want that to happen I would suggest taking most of the crust off if not all of it. I found that the texture of the softer crust was nice so don't worry if it's not really hard. I've not researched it much, but it's my understanding that any type of bread is suitable for bread pudding. 

Directions:

Bourbon Sauce:
In a saucepan, melt butter. Add sugar and egg, whisk. Stir constantly over low heat until it thickens. (Do not allow to simmer, or it may curdle.) Whisk in bourbon. Remove from heat. 

Bread Pudding:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Soak the bread chunks in milk in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices together. Gently stir into the bread mixture. Let bread sit in milk mixture for at least 30 minutes.

Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan well with the butter. Pour in the bread mix and bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until set. The pudding is done when the edges start getting golden brown and pull away from the edge of the pan.