A recipe posted originally by Mike Filigenzi in Dec 1999 (we're growing old together!), that I'm making for Christmas dinner tomorrow night. He later referred to it again and mentioned having added mushrooms, which he thought an improvement. I've always added mushrooms, too, and it's one of the elements that makes this such a good pairing with roast beef.
Thought I'd share it again. Btw, I do lighten the fat content, and use four cups broth to one cup cream only.
The original post:
This is in response to Ted Stanion's request (see "How Was Your Thanksgiving Dinner?" thread below). It's a very basic savory bread pudding that we made to go with smoked turkey at Thanksgiving. Bernard Roth mentioned a savory bread pudding with pumpkin and chipotles that sounded great - hope we get the RC on that one too! This is from "Food and Wine", November '99.
Bread Pudding With Leeks and Garlic
10 Servings
One 1-1/2 lb loaf brioche or Challah, cut into 3/4" dice
6 T unsalted butter, 4 of them melted
3 large leeks, white & tender green parts only, sliced 1/2" thick
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Salt & fresh-ground black pepper
1/4 c. dry white wine
1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 t. chopped thyme
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 c. milk
2 c. heavy cream or half-and-half
1 c. turkey stock or canned broth
1 c. coarsely grated Swiss cheese
1 - Preheat oven to 350. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the brioche with melted butter and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crisp. Let cool
2 - Melt the remaining 2 T. butter in a large skillet. Add the leeks and garlic and season with the salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes, then uncover and cook, stirring, until softened (about 5 minuted longer). Add the wine and cook 'til evaporated, then remove from heat and stir in parsley and thyme. Let cool.
3 - In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, cream, and stock. add the leek mixture and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the brioche and cheese. Transfer the mixture to a 3 to 4 quart buttered baking dish. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. (Note - we didn't refrigerate overnight and it worked out quite well. I think this is mostly for those who want to prepare ahead.)
4 - Preheat oven to 375. Toss the bread to make sure it's evenly soaked. Cover with a buttered sheet of foil and bake for 1 hour, or until just set. Remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes or longer or until top is golden and crisp.
Enjoy!
Mike