My Savory Autumn Bread Pudding Food

MY SAVORY AUTUMN BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• 1. Place bacon on foil-lined, sided (not flat), cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a little pepper if desired and bake for 15 minutes in preheated 375 degree oven turning once. Remove to paper towels to drain and cool. Break into bite-sized pieces. In small frying pan, saute sausage until done, breaking into dime-sized pieces as it cooks. Remove to paper towels with bacon. Pour out grease, rinse and wipe clean. Saute pears and shallots in butter and dark brown sugar, (can sub light brown), for 5-7 minutes til onions are tender and pears are still a little crisp. Remove from heat and set aside. In large (4-cup) glass measuring pitcher (or small bowl), whisk eggs well. Whisk in heavy whipping cream, salt and pepper. Slice open baguette and spread insides evenly with mustard to cover. Use a tad more if needed. Slice first half lengthwise again, hold the 2 pieces together, and slice into 1" pieces. Spray inside of a deep, 2 1/2 qt. (or larger) baking dish with butter-flavored spray (I like Crisco's), and place cut up baguette pieces on the bottom to cover. Cut up second half of baguette the same way and place into medium-sized bowl. To bowl add the sausage, bacon, shallots and pears (butter and all), and blue cheese. Toss with spoon to mix. Dump over baguette pieces in baking dish. Arrange top nicely adjusting a few pieces to make it even. Slowly pour egg and cream mixture over evenly. Place baking dish into shallow roaster. Fill roaster 1" deep with hot tap water. Bake in 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes til knife inserted near center comes out clean and top is nicely browned and lightly crispy. Cool 5-10 minutes. Serve anytime of day for breakfast, brunch, lunch or supper! Prepare to be WOWed!
• 2. *Tip: I always cook my whole pound of bacon in the oven, use what I need, wrap the rest in a clean papertowel and freeze in a ziploc baggie for ease of future use and a one-time mess/cleanup! When you need to use some, take out how ever many strips you need, place on a sheet of papertowel and cover with another and microwave on high for 8-10 seconds until re-sizzling. Wah-lah!

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl, toss the bread cubes with melted butter and chopped savory. Transfer to a baking sheet and toast until crispy and golden, about 30 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Break up sausage into silver-dollar-sized pieces and add to skillet; cook thoroughly about 10 minutes. Transfer sausage to a large bowl and let cool.
• Add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Add leeks and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Stir in apple and transfer mixture to bowl with sausage; let cool.
• Brush a 9-inch square baking dish with olive oil. Add bread cubes to bowl with sausage and leek mixture; toss to combine and transfer to baking dish.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cream, eggs, vinegar, 3/4 cup cheese, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the persillade; pour over bread mixture. Cover baking dish tightly with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil and transfer to oven. Bake until a paring knife inserted into the center of the pudding comes out clean, about 1 hour.
• Uncover and sprinkle pudding with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Preheat the broiler; broil pudding until golden, about 3 minutes. Cut into squares and serve garnished with truffles if desired.

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING WITH KALE AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Bring a medium or large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the kale. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until tender but still colorful. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside.
• If using garlic, cut one of the garlic cloves in half and rub the slices of bread with the cut side. Then mince all of the garlic. Cut the bread into 1-inch squares.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy, wide skillet and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften, and add the thyme, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook for another minute or two, until the mushrooms are tender and fragrant. Stir in the kale, toss together and remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil or butter a 2-quart baking dish, soufflé dish or gratin. In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, the mushrooms and kale, and the two cheeses and toss together. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
• Beat together the eggs and milk. Add salt to taste and a few twists of the pepper mill, and pour over the bread mixture. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before baking so that the bread can absorb some of the liquid.
• Place in the oven and bake 40 to 50 minutes, until puffed and browned. Remove from the oven and serve hot or warm.

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 3-quart casserole dish with butter.
• Whisk the eggs, heavy cream, cognac and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place the bread slices into the egg-cream mixture and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Cut the mushrooms into large dice and add to food processor along with the shallots and process until finely, finely chopped. Put a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add 4 tablespoons of the butter. Once the pan is heated, add the mushroom/shallot mixture and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the heat under a medium cast-iron pan to medium-high and add the oil. Once heated, add the sliced spring onion and sear until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total.
• To assemble, first put a third of the bread in the prepared casserole dish, then half of the mushroom duxelles, half of the seared onion and another third of the bread. Press down and top with the remaining mushroom duxelles and onions. Top with the remaining bread and dot with the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Put into the oven and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

SAVORY HERB BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF (205ºC). Lightly grease a 10-inch (25 cm) square baking dish.
• Preheat a 6-quart (5.7 L) pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion and celery in the olive oil with a pinch of salt until onion is lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in the onion powder, sage, thyme, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt, and several dashes of pepper and turn off the heat.
• Put the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked vegetable mixture and toss to thoroughly coat. Pour in the vegetable broth, ½ cup (120 ml) at a time, mixing well after each addition. The bread should be moist but not soggy, so you may not need to add all the broth.
• Transfer the stuffing mixture to the prepared casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool a bit before serving.

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage and cook until well-browned. Add onions, bell peppers, and green onions and saute until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken broth and cook, stirring, for one minute. Remove skillet from heat.
• Place bread cubes in large mixing bowl. Add milk and half and half and stir. Allow to set until milk is completely absorbed, about 10 minutes.
• Add onion, peppers, and sausage mixture to bread. Fold in beaten eggs, cheeses, and seasonings. Spoon mixture into buttered 9 x 13" casserole. Can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight at this point. Remove from frig and allow to warm up on counter for 30 minutes before baking. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. Spread sour cream over top of casserole and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for additional 15 minutes, or until browned on top.

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Place 4 bread slices, touching each other to form a square, on a cutting board, using the bottom of an 8 inch nonstick springform pan, cut a circle from the bread.
• Butter the baking pan and place the circle of bread inside. Do not discard the cut off pieces.
• Cut the bread crust off of the remaining bread (set aside the cut crust). Slice bread into thirds. Use these pieces to cover the side of the baking pan.
• Evenly distribute the ham in the pan. Cover with half of the cheese.
• In a separate bowl whisk milk, pepper, baking powder and eggs until well blended.
• Dice the leftover pieces of bread and stir into the egg mixture. Stir in the remaining cheese, carrot, zucchini, onion and half the chives.
• Pour this mixture into the baking pan, even out with a fork.
• Bake for 35 minutes, or until eggs set. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve sprinkled with the remaining chive.

AUTUMN BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350°F.
• With butter, grease a 1 quart shallow baking dish.
• In medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, corn syrup, cinnamon, and cloves.
• Bring to a boil over med heat, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat and simmer.
• Remove from heat and cool slightly.
• In baking dish,arrange ingredients in a single layer of bread, bananas, apples, raisins, peanuts and almonds.
• Remove and discard spices from sugar syrup. Slowly pour syrup over bread and fruit mixture to moisten bread well.
• Reserve some syrup to use at serving.
• Cover and bake for 20- 25 minutes or until apples are tender.
• Uncover and continue baking 10-15 minutes until pudding top is.
• crisp and golden.
• Serve warm with syrup and whipped cream if desired.