Whenever I have purchased a book, I usually stick the receipt in it. Not only does it serve as a temporary bookmark, it also tells a story or evokes a memory. When I opened up the cookbook Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America's Best Chefs, Farmers and Artisans, the date on the receipt was New Year's Day in 2011. I guess I celebrated the new year by hanging out in a bookstore (I am not a day after New Year's Eve nursing a hangover kind of girl). But more than three years have passed since I bought this book and I had yet to try out any of the recipes. As I re-thumbed through the book, I found myself wanting to make almost everything in it. It had me wondering 'what was I waiting for?'
The epiphany came when I walked into the grocery store and saw a huge table filled with the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes. Immediately I knew exactly which recipe I would make first. However, if you would have told me in 2011 and up until a few days ago that I would be making a Savory Bread Pudding with Homemade Tomato Jam, I would have looked at you and simply said 'not happening'. If you also told me I would be deboning my own chickens, I would have made the 'you know not to ask that twice face' (but that is a story for another time). For whatever reason, I shifted from being dismissive to actually salivating at the thought of tasting the flavors of both the bread pudding and tomato jam.
In the spirit of full disclosure making the Savory Bread Pudding with Warm Tomato Jam is on the time intensive side. But before you say 'not happening in my world', this is not labor intensive, but cooking and cooling time intensive (not all good things, not all great things come quick and easy). But wait there is a reward for your time. If making for a brunch or serving for dinner, the tomato jam and savory bread pudding could/should be made the day before. On the day of serving all you will have left to do is warm the jam and brown the bread pudding slices in a skillet (which takes only minutes). The reward for your perseverance is that the entire dish is assembled for serving in less than 10 minutes.
The aroma coming from the tomato jam simmering on the stove was intoxicating. Where have you been all my life tomato jam? Either warm or chilled, it is like nothing I have ever tasted. It is without a doubt one of the easiest jams I have ever made. And if there was ever a case to be made for simplicity, the tomato jam makes it.
The lemons are thinly sliced (seeds removed of course) and one and a half pounds of tomatoes are cut into quarters. Placed in a medium-sized heavy saucepan along with the brown sugar and granulated sugar, these four ingredients are slowly simmered. The transformation of tomatoes, lemon slices, brown sugar, and granulated sugar (along with a half cup of water) takes just a little more than two hours.
This is a bread pudding perfect for breakfast or brunch or dinner. And again, after a little more than two hours, bread, a soft cow's cheese, bacon, milk, whipping cream, eggs, thyme, butter, salt and pepper are transformed in the most incredible savory bread pudding.
Bacon is cooked crisp, a day old loaf of Italian or French bread is cut into large cubes, and the ingredients (milk, cream, eggs, thyme, salt and pepper) combined make the wet mixture. A tablespoon of the bacon fat and four tablespoons of melted butter are mixed in with the bread cubes before the milk/egg mixture is poured over it. After mixing it all together, it sits for two hours. I let it sit (unrefrigerated) for a little more than two hours.
In a 9"x5"buttered loaf pan, the bread mixture, bacon and cheese are layered. After putting the loaf pan in a roasting pan, enough boiling water is poured in so that it comes up to the halfway point of the pan. In a 350 degree preheated oven, the savory bread pudding is baked in the water bath for 1 3/4 - 2 hours or until a knife inserted in the pudding comes out clean. My baking time was closer to 2 hours and I wasn't completely certain it was done when I took it out of the oven. But after allowing the bread pudding to cool completely, all of my fears were allayed.
The cooling time for the savory bread pudding is at least two hours. The longer the cooling time the better and easier it will be to unmold and cut into half-inch slices. And actually I ended up refrigerating the bread pudding which made cutting it into slices even easier (it also allowed the flavors to more fully develop). To serve, half-inch slices are sautéed in a non-stick skillet until each side is slightly crisp/browned and completely warmed through (if you are not using a non-stick skillet, sauté slices a little bit of butter). The tomato jam is warmed up (if it thickens too much add one tablespoon of water at a time) and served alongside or on top of the slices of the bread pudding. Like most bread puddings, it is rich and satisfying comfort food. It is the complete meal (eggs, bacon, bread, and cheese) for brunch/breakfast or the perfect accompaniment (to grilled chicken) for dinner.
The Tomato Jam served warm, however, it is insanely delicious (my word of the month is insane, not the best culinary descriptor, but one of two favorite words at the moment). Any leftover Tomato Jam can be served on toast or a bagel spread first with either cream cheese or ricotta cheese. If you are not ready to take on making both the Savory Bread Pudding and the Tomato Jam, at least take the proverbial baby step and make the Tomato Jam. I am thinking that once you taste the jam, you might just be wondering how it would taste on the Savory Bread Pudding. No whispering 'not happening' under your breath allowed.
Savory Bread Pudding with Warm Tomato Jam (inspired from a recipe created by Matthew Gennuso and Karl Santos and shared in Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America's Best Chefs, Farmers and Artisans)
Ingredients
Bread Pudding
1 pound loaf of day old Italian or French Country Style Bread, crusts removed and cut into large cubes
4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter melted, plus additional for sautéing bread pudding slices if not using a non-stick skillet
1/4 pound smoked bacon, cooked and crumbed, 1 Tablespoon of fat reserved
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks (from large eggs)
1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 pound soft-ripened cow's milk cheese, broken off into small pieces
Homemade Tomato Jam
4 large ripe tomatoes or 4-6 Heirloom tomatoes (or 1 1/2 pounds), cut into quarters (Note: the sizes of heirloom tomatoes vary, so the number of tomatoes needed will be based on weight.)
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeds removed
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
Directions
Bread Pudding
1. Put cubed bread in a large bowl. Toss with melted butter and reserved bacon fat.
2. In a separate bowl, combine milk, cream, eggs, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over bread cubes and allow to sit for at least 2 but up to 4 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter a 9"x5" loaf pan.
4. Using a slotted spoon, place 1/3 of the bread evenly in the bottom of the dish. Layer half of the crumbled bacon and 1/3 of the pieces of cheese. Repeat layers finishing top of pudding with the cheese only.
5. Place loaf pan in a roasting pan, add enough boiling water to the roasting pan so it comes up to the halfway point of loaf pan. Bake for 1 3/4 -2 hours or until a knife inserted in the center of the bread pudding comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool completely. Once cool remove from pan, placing on a large platter, and cut into 1/2 inch slices.
7. In a heated non-stick skillet cook slices until lightly browned and heated through. Serve with warmed tomato jam on the side. If not using a non-stick skillet, add some butter to the pan before browning them.
Note: Cooled bread pudding can be covered and refrigerated overnight. When ready to serve, unmold from pan, cut into 1/2 inch slices and cook as described above.
Homemade Tomato Jam
1. Place the tomatoes, lemon slices, water, and both sugars in a medium sized heavy saucepan. Set the heat to low (simmer) and cook until liquid has reduced and mixture has thickened. Stir frequently, particularly near the end to ensure the jam does not scorch the bottom of the pan. Note: Cooking time may range from 2 to 3 hours, depending your simmering heat setting.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool. If not using immediately, put in a covered jar and place in the refrigerator.
3. When getting ready to serve, reheat jam, adding one tablespoon of water at a time if it is too thick.
Haven't we all dug our heels in or whined about something at least once in our lives? If there are any of you who answer that question 'no not ever', I would say you are an outlier (notice I did not call your ability to tell the truth or your ability to honestly self-reflect into question). Have you ever known someone who has dug their heels in or whined about something? Now, I am thinking you are going to answer that question in the affirmative (notice I didn't say I am not surprised). Admittedly, digging in one's heels and whining are not necessarily admirable qualities but it is our reaction to those behaviors that can either help or hinder us (or others) from moving past them as well as moving through them.
Personally there are a few things in my life I have had difficulty processing, getting past, letting go of. So what might take someone a minute, day or week to work through might take me weeks, months, even years. But my friends who know me, know this about me (one of the downsides of being a first born Virgo) as well as understand the phases of grieving don't have a clearly defined time limit. Is there such a thing as too long? I suppose there are many answers to that question. How a friend pushes or helps us to end the whining, see possibility where none could be seen before, or move from being the victim to being the victor, often depends on what they say and what they do. At the end of day we are the only ones who can make those choices about change for ourselves, but we can't always do it alone. Sometimes we need a friend to help us, not to judge us for our less than endearing shortcomings.
Personally there are a few things in my life I have had difficulty processing, getting past, letting go of. So what might take someone a minute, day or week to work through might take me weeks, months, even years. But my friends who know me, know this about me (one of the downsides of being a first born Virgo) as well as understand the phases of grieving don't have a clearly defined time limit. Is there such a thing as too long? I suppose there are many answers to that question. How a friend pushes or helps us to end the whining, see possibility where none could be seen before, or move from being the victim to being the victor, often depends on what they say and what they do. At the end of day we are the only ones who can make those choices about change for ourselves, but we can't always do it alone. Sometimes we need a friend to help us, not to judge us for our less than endearing shortcomings.
