Wild-Mushroom Bread Pudding

Bon Appétit R.S.V.P. December 1997 The Barrington County Bistro, Barrington Hills IL

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons olive oil
• 6  ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps thickly sliced
• 6  ounces  oyster mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 6  ounces cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2  portabella mushrooms, stems and gills removed, caps thickly sliced
• 4  teaspoons  chopped garlic
• 1  tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1  tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1  teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 5  large eggs
• 2  cups  whipping cream
• 1  cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
• 1⁄4 cup  freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus
• 2  tablespoons  freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 6  cups  crustless  day-old French bread, cut in 1-inch cubes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly butter 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish.
3. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat.
4. Add all mushrooms, garlic, basil, parsley, sage and thyme and sauté until mushrooms are tender and brown, about 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Whisk eggs, cream, milk, 1/4 cup Parmesan, salt and pepper in large bowl to blend.
6. Add bread cubes; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes.
7. Stir in mushroom mixture.
8. Transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over. Bake until pudding is brown and puffed, and set in center, about 1 hour. Serve warm.
9. Serves 6 as a side dish.
10. 90.2% would make this recipe again
11. I'm revisiting this recipe, made it and rated it as three forks two years ago. This time I believe it deserves a resounding four. First, I made half again as much because people love it and it makes great leftovers-reheating in the microwave works very well.
12. Second, I more than doubled the proportion of wild mushrooms, this time using a few ounces of oyster and shiitake, with lots of crimini and portobello. I think you can use any combination of wild mushrooms but it's important not to cut them up too small. You'll think they'll never fit in the baking dish when you start the saute but they cook way down.
13. Third, since I found the flavor a bit bland last time even after adding more of everything, this time I used all fresh herbs, tripled the equivalent amounts, and doubled the garlic. I also added four chopped fat shallots to the saute.
14. Fourth,I used fat-free half and half, quite rich enough, lots of pepper, and nine cups of day-old challah bread with the crust still on.
15. Fifth, I was very liberal with the cheese, this time using both freshly grated romano and asiago in the body of the bread pudding and sprinkled on top. I'll admit to at least three quarters of a cup of each but it could easily have been more.
16. Last, I didn't want to worry about coordinating the baking with the many other dishes I prepared for Christmas, so I baked the bread pudding the day before and reheated it, covered, for maybe forty minutes at 350.
17. This dish now ranks as amazing in my book. It's succulent and earthy with herbs and mushrooms, and the texture is both firm and spongy. It's a great vegetarian, but not vegan, main dish and the flavor just gets deeper and deeper the longer it sits.