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.