Christmas Dinner: Savory Bread Pudding

Topped with Cheese, Ready for Baking

Instead of posting the details of the rest of the Christmas meal (baked ham, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables) which I'm sure most of you have mastered, I decided to feature one of my favorite side dishes, also known as stuffin muffins. Easy to make ahead then bake along with whatever you're roasting as the main course.

They also freeze beautifully - just reheat in a low oven.

Savory Bread Pudding with Ham and Cheese

Ingredients

8 cups cubed firm white bread (Italian is fine, if you have brioche even better)

3 tblspoon melted butter

¼ lb bacon, small dice

½ lb ham, cut into ¼” cubes

1 large onion, small dice

2 stalks celery, small dice

1 parsnip, small dice (optional)

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tblspoon fresh)

½ teaspoon sage

2 cups grated cheese (anything goes, manchego is good so is jack) -- separate into 1.5 cup and .5 cup

3 eggs

1 cup milk or cream

Pinch nutmeg

1/4 to 1 cup chicken stock to moisten (see below)

Muffin tin/foil baking cup

Croutons

• Toss bread with melted butter, salt and pepper
• Place on baking sheet in one layer and bake at 350 until light golden, about 10 to 15 mins. You will need to stir about ½ way. Remove from oven and cool.

Croutons out the Oven

Ham/Vegetables Mixture

• Cook bacon on medium heat until fat is rendered and bacon is almost crispy, about 10 mins
• Lower heat, add ham and sauté until lightly browned, about 5 mins
• Using slotted spoon remove bacon and ham, leaving behind rendered fat
• If fat isn’t enough to coat bottom of pan, add a tblspoon butter
• Raise heat back to medium. Add chopped onion, celery and parsnip and sauté until softened, about 10 mins
• Add garlic, thyme, sage and continue cooking another 2 to 3 minutes
• Salt and pepper to taste (at this point, you can add more sage or thyme if you’d like)

Custard

• Beat eggs with milk or cream until thoroughly incorporated. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper

Putting It Together

• Mix Ham/Vegetable mixture along with any liquid/fat that has accumulated with croutons. Eyeball the proportion, it should be about equal portions of ham/vegetable to croutons. You may wind up not using all the croutons.
• Add in custard mixture
• Add 1.5 cup cheese
• Depending on how dry the croutons are, you may wind up adding ¼ cup to ½ cup chicken stock. The consistency you are looking for is fairly moist – if you press down on a few pieces of crouton with your fingers, it should yield to the touch but still hold its shape and not be too 'drippy"
• Let sit in fridge until ready to bake, or bake immediately. If not baking immediately, give it a mix before you fill the cups to redistribute any liquid that accumulates at the bottom of the bowl.

Mixture of Croutons, Vegetables, Bacon, Ham, Spices, Egg and Milk and Stock

Baking

• Spray or lightly butter muffin tins or foil baking cups
• Spoon in bread mixture. Don’t pack it but do give it a little push to make sure everything is making contact.
• Sprinkle top with remaining ½ cup cheese
• Bake 35 to 40 mins in 350 oven until golden and set