Savoury Bread Pudding (Carla)

Ingredients
with mixed mushrooms, leeks and Gruyere cheese

This was a little time consuming but delicious!!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
3 medium leeks, mostly whites
1/2 tsp salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 lb assorted mushrooms, sliced
cracked pepper
1/2 cup red wine

Custard:
5 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1 lb multigrain or sourdough loaf, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 tbsp thyme leaves
2 tbsp minced sage
4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
minced chives for garnish


Procedure
1) Heat 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet and saute the leeks and garlic
witha pinch of salt until the leeks are soft. Set aside, then melt the
remaining butter in the pan. Add all the mushrooms, season with salt
and pepper, cover and cook until the mushrooms have released their
juices. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the mushrooms begin
to sear. Deglaze with red wine and let the liquid evaporate. Stir the
mushrooms with the leeks and set aside while you prepare the custard.
(I prepared the custard first since it has to sit for 1 hr)

2) Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cream, milk, salt and
pepper. Stir in the bread cubes, cover and let stand for 1 hr. Stir
occasionally to ensure that all the bread soaks evenly. Stir in the
herbs, mushroom-leek mixture and half of the grated cheese.

3) Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish and spoon
the bread pudding mixture into the pan. Sprinkle with reserved cheese
and bake until crusty and golden brown and set in the middle (about 45
minutes). Sprinkle with minced chives, let stand for several minutes,
cut into squares and serve hot.