Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Asparagus Mushroom Bread Pudding


It's too bad I didn't get a more delicious looking picture of this bread pudding. While I really love having a food blog, I really don't enjoy taking the pictures for it. Especially when the light isn't good (which is most of the time, and I'm not fancy enough to set up something to fix that) or the food doesn't look that exciting, even though it might be super tasty. At one point I enjoyed taking the photos but now it just feels like a chore. However, I definitely enjoy looking at others' food photos and I admire the people who have such skill and passion for food styling. And regardless of how good or bad a photo is, I always think it makes a post better. I try and do what I can to make the food look good but mostly I just want to eat it!

Anyway onto discussing the food. I know it's the tail end of asparagus season (or so it seems since I still see it around) so I'm posting this just in time! I've never made any sort of bread pudding before, and while I've only tried dessert bread pudding a couple of times I've never liked it (too mushy). But I was quite intrigued by this savoury version with asparagus, mushrooms, goat cheese, basil, leeks and Dijon mustard. It was yummy and something different, though it was a bit mushy. Is bread pudding supposed to be mushy? I think I'd prefer to just bake it longer and have it dry out and be more like stuffing... but I guess that's not the point otherwise there wouldn't be something called stuffing and something called bread pudding!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
French Pasta Salad
Tarragon Pecan Asparagus
Asparagus and Feta Pasta
Spaghetti with Spinach Cream Sauce

Asparagus Mushroom Bread Pudding
Adapted from Vegetarian Times, May/June 2009

1 leek, white part finely chopped (1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tbsp)
1 lb fresh asparagus (18 to 20 spears), cut into 1 inch pieces
6 oz mushrooms, sliced (1 cup)
2 cups 1% milk
2 large eggs
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 lb loaf crusty bread, cut into cubes
100 g soft goat cheese log, sliced

1. Coat skillet with nonstick cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add leek and garlic, and sauté 8 minutes, or until soft. Add asparagus and mushrooms, and cook 4 minutes more, or until asparagus is tender. Set aside.

2. Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and basil in bowl. Set aside.

3. In a large casserole dish, spread half of bread cubes in single layer in baking dish. Spoon asparagus mixture over top, and cover with remaining bread cubes. Arrange goat cheese rounds over top. Pour egg mixture over all, pressing down with spoon to submerge bread. Cover, and chill 2 hours, or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake bread pudding 45 minutes, or until center is set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

14 comments:

Amy said...

I've hit the same point with the food photography. Worse yet, is when I'm making something I anticipate will be awesome, so I set up a whole area to photograph it and it comes out a disaster (happened tonight :( )

This really does look and sound yummy! I think your photos always look great.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Such an enticing concoction!!

Johanna GGG said...

your photos always seem gorgeous so it is sad to hear they are a chore - maybe you need some new angles? or maybe you just felt displeased about this one - at least you can take heart from knowing they are enjoyed by other bloggers

Anonymous said...

Hi! I just discovered your blog last week, and I love it! : )

In my experience, bread pudding should not be mushy. Perhaps try a firmer bread, cube it the night before, and leave it out to dry overnight. Then it will absorb the liquid better.

Ricki said...

Sounds delicious! Funny, I just also posted a bread pudding, though mine does look dryer than yours (I think I prefer the more-baked, stuffing-like version, too). :) And your photos always look beautiful!

Mushrooms Canada said...

Very interesting! I, like you, have only ever had a dessert bread pudding, never a savoury one, but I can see that this would be delicious. I prefer mine to be a bit drier, so I tend to not put so much liquid in. What variety of mushrooms did you use in this recipe? I can see shiitake or even criminis being quite savoury.
Thanks for sharing!
- Brittany

Artifax said...

Gosh, I think your photos are fantastic! I've tried and tried to take photos of food and they always come out looking like they are lit by a 10 watt bulb in a 70's kitchen....lol!

You emailed me a long, long time ago with such a sweet offer to help me with one of the recipes. I didn't need the help in the end, but I still remember how super sweet you were to offer!

I LOVE your site and we cook stuff off of here all the time! I think the one we make the most often is this one: http://www.eatmedelicious.com/2009/06/maple-mustard-glazed-potatoes-and.html because, seriously, you can put almost any root veggie in here and it tastes awesome. We like to add sweet potoatoes in and have made it this way several times for company.

Anyway .... it's been a while since I commented (busy, busy!) but just wanted to let you know again how much your blog rocks and how much this reader appreciates what you do! :) And I appreciate all the effort you put into your photos! I do know what you mean about the visuals not equating to the taste. But it helps so much to have some kind of photo of the finished dish so more challenged cooks, like myself, know what it is supposed to look like in the end :)

P.S. Abby is such a cutie :)

veggievixen said...

i am totally into this. savory bread puddings = hell yes. awesome.

Dana said...

I hear you - the photo part of having a blog sometimes really stresses me out. But this looks tremendous!

Juliana said...

Wow, this sounds delicious...asparagus and mushroom in bread pudding...yummie!

Bunny said...

I think you took a great picture of this savory bread pudding! I've never seen a recipe for savory bread pudding! Now you've got me thinking!!

Steph said...

I think your photos are always amazing! It's really difficult to photograph real food over desserts and you do such a wonderful job.

I don't know what the texture of bread pudding should be, but I think I prefer eating it dry than mushy.

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what you mean! There are times when I actually can't do a post because I couldn't photograph my bake all due to poor lighting, and by the next morn, the whole bake's been wiped out! Gah, the troubles of keeping a foodblog :P

The bread pudding sounds really interesting; I don't think I've ever heard of a savoury bread pudding before!

eatme_delicious said...

Thank you all so much for your incredibly sweet comments. =) And tips about bread pudding!