NO redeeming values WHATSOEVER: except taste: creamy mushroom bread pudding

Olive oil
Bread
Butter
Heavy cream
Eggs
Cheese

Not really much of a list of healthy ingredients here, eh?  And, we're gonna use them all in this dish.  Oh, we'll have some vegetables in it, sort of:  celery, onions and mushrooms.    But on the grand scale of things, let's face it, ragazzi:  no one is going to refer to that trio as "things that are good for you."  And they are not.  But once in a while (and Annalena stresses ONCE in a while), this is something to make.  A special occasion for example, or a visit from a dear friend who is a vegetarian.    Or Thursday night dinner.

Yes, she did right that.  Thursday night dinner.  Because sometimes,  you HAVE to.  Let us face it:  most of us are trying to eat healthier, to live healthier.  Annalena just did her best to satisfy hunger pains by eating organic peanut butter and drinking water, and convincing herself that it is going to do the trick.  It won't, but we'll deal with it.  And we're all eating fish, and vegetables, and passing up dessert, and drinking less, and exercising more. 

We all have to live a little once in a while.  Eat a small portion.  Or eat a larger portion and make up for it the next day.  But make this, once in a while, and enjoy it.  Celebrate it.  And if you're going to feel guilty, DO NOT GO NEAR IT.  Eating is NOT about guilt:  EVAH.

Here we go, gang.  First, chop up a cup and a half of celery, and a cup and a half of onions.  For Annalena, this was two smallish onions.  She wishes she could tell you how many stalks of celery, but Annalena is quirky in the way she uses celery, as she is with so many things, and uses it from the top down.  So she just chopped her celery and dumped it into a cup and a half measure.    Next, splurge and buy a pound of good wild mushrooms.  Annalena is in the middle of her annual springtime morel gorge, so that's what she had around.  If you are using chanterelles (which always makes Annalena think of a 60s girl group),  they will work.   If you do not have wild mushrooms, use something like creminis, or portabellos, but not plain white button mushrooms.  If that is ALL you have, then try to get some dried mushrooms and rehydrate them as well.  Slice the mushrooms thin.    Put all of this aside for a minute, while you prepare the bread.

You will need a loaf of a good, solid white bread.  You will see this sold as "pan de campaigne" or "rustic Italian" or something like that.  Baguette is not good for this dish:  too much crust and not enough crumb.    The loaf should weigh about a pound.  Cut off the ends, and use them for something else or eat them right then and there.  Don't bother cutting away the crust, but do cut the bread  into slices and then, rather than cutting it into cubes (which is harder than you may think with a fresh loaf of bread), tear it into about one inch cubes.  You'll have fun doing so, and the resulting pudding will be better for the nooks and crannies you're about to create. 

Put all that bread in a bowl, and mix it with a good solid tablespoon of chopped thyme leaves.  Now... the fun begins.  Put a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil into the bowl, and about a teaspoon of salt.  Get your hands in there, coat everything  well, and dump it out on a baking sheet.  Spread it into one layer, and put it in a preheated 375 oven, for 20 minutes.  You're going to crisp up the bread  .  (Incidentally, this is a good way for making croutons for salad, but it makes a LOT).

And the fun continues.  While the bread is cooking,  melt - ready for this - 3/4 stick of unsalted butter in a big pan, and add the "vegetables."  They will be heaped up at first, but as they cook, at medium-low heat, the mass will decrease.  Stir them from time to time, until all the water goes off from the mushrooms.  In Annalena's experience, this took about ten minutes.

While that is cooking - have some more FUN.  Oh, are the cardio police going to come after her for this - pour a QUART of heavy cream into a very large bowl, and then add -   (and her sentence will now be increased), 8, large eggs.  Whip all of this together until it's smooth.  When the vegetables are done, add them to this mix, and when the bread is done, add that as well.

Now, remember those two tablespoons of butter that you had left over from the "vegetables?"  Use that to grease a 9x13 inch pan.  And, dump the mixture into this, and spread it out.    If you have planned ahead of time, you can cover this with tin foil, and refrigerate it overnight, which Annalena suggests you do.  If not, ok, but try to plan better next time.

When you're ready to bake, put the thing, uncovered, on a baking sheet, and then - guilty as charged - sprinkle it with about half a cup of parmesan cheese.    Now put it in a 350 oven, for an hour. 

Let it cool after the hour, because unlike vengeance, this is best served warm.  A warning:  it is deceptive.  The dish tastes very light when you are eating it, and you may be tempted to have a second helping.  Don't.  In Annalena and  the Guyman's experience, it took about twenty minutes for their stomachs to start yelling 'OH MY GOD WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME I'M SO FULL?"   Annalena is sure that is the fault of the steamed asparagus and the salad that she served with this dish, because something as pure as this could not cause any harm, could it?

"You gotta go after the things you want while you're still in your prime."  Whatever.  Whether you feel you are in your prime or not, make this, eat it, celebrate it, and then go and do another mile on the treadmill. 

OH, yes.  This is a twelve serving side dish, or a six serving main dish.  For some, it may be considered lunch.  Annalena hates them.