Back to richness: mushroom bread pudding

Yes, she's a contrarian, isn't she?   Yesterday, Annalena gave you a healthy lean fish recipe.  Today, we're going the other way and making something with eggs, milk, cream, butter and challah bread.  The only thing bordering on the "healthy" here is the mushrooms.  But it is so, SO good.

Truth to be told, Annalena started making this as soon as she got the recipe, which was 1993.  Now, she makes it for Thanksgiving, but not every year.  The reason for that, is very simple:  she would eat it all.  Every year.  Every bit of it.  It's a recipe from Anne Rosenzweig, back in her nice days  (Annalena will explain privately, to anyone who wants to know what that means).  And just as some would tell you to "love the sinner hate the sin," Annalena will tell you "love the recipe, ignore the writer."

Annalena has made some changes to the recipe to make it easier to cook.  She thinks the dish is better for them; however, in the interest of  honesty, she will tell you where she changes things.    On this one, she's going to tell you what your ingredients are first, because there's a few of them, and it'll be easier if you have them all ready.

First, you need a loaf of challah bread.  In the original, you could use challah or brioche.  It's very difficult to find brioche in a loaf shape.  Challah is much easier.  Also, the recipe says a "small" loaf, which is too vague for Annalena to deal with.  Get a loaf of challah.  And, finally, with this, the recipe calls upon you to slice the challah, and then take the crusts off of it.

RIGHT.  Can you imagine Annalena doing that?  Uh, no.  It's not necessary, and the dish is better for the crusts.   So, just slice your challah as if you were making a sandwich.  Put it aside, whilst we gather the rest.

"The rest" includes a cup and a half of broth:  the original calls for "rich mushroom stock or turkey stock." (it also calls for a cup and a quarter). Again, RIGHT.   Annalena used chicken.  If, by some chance, you have some mushroom soaking water around from reconstituting dried mushrooms,  dilute it by a third, and use that.  Or, if you HAVE mushroom storck, or turkey stock, use it.

You also need 1.5 cups of heavy cream  (instead of 1.25), a cup of whole milk, four large eggs.  Then, a teaspoon of salt,  a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter, a chopped half onion (a small one, or a couple of chopped shallots),  a couple of cloves of garlic, minced, a half tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme, and then a pound of wild mushrooms, sliced.  Annalena uses chanterelles.  Use what's in season, and stick to ONE kind.  The recipe is better with one.  So, if you're making this in the spring and you happen to have morels....

Let's make our liquid first.  Put the stock in the pot, and when you do, stop after you've put half of it in.  Remember that mark.  Now, pour it all in, and cook it down to the halfway mark, and then add the heavy cream.  Now, you want to reduce it, to the point where it was with ALL of the stock in there (1.5 cups.  See why Annalena had you start with 1.5?).    Off the heat, add the milk, the eggs, and whisk them together.

Start your oven to 350, and while it's warming, melt the butter in a big pan, and add the shallots, the garlic, and the thyme, and cook them for a couple of minutes.  Then add the mushrooms.  Cook them until they have wilted, and the water that comes off when they're cooking, is gone. That'll be about ten minutes.

While you're cooking the mushooms,  you can toast the challah.  Do this by laying the bread (unbuttered), over baking sheets, and bake at 350 for five minutes, and then turning and baking for another 3.  It'll get a little brown, but not too much.  Please don't leave out  this step:  it may be the most important one.

Okay, now the fun stuff happens.  Instead of the loaf pan, which is too small, get an 8x8 or 9x9 pan (try not to use metal), and layer bread on the bottom.  Now put on mushrooms.  About half.  Put more bread on top of the mushrooms, repeat with more mushrooms, and end with bread.   It won't be even.  Now pour the liquid over this.  Do it slowly.  It will seem like too much, but the bread is going to absorb a lot of it.  Just give it time.  When it's a solid, soggy mass, put some plastic over it, and refrigerate it overnight.

To bake it, fill a large glass or metal baking dish with boiling water, and put the bread pudding pan in it.  Let the water come up half way (you'll want to protect your hands here).  Take off the plastic, cover it with foil, and put the whole thing in the oven, at 350.... for two hours.

Yup, two hours.  It needs it.  And  you'll be glad you did.  You can take the foil off after an hour and a half if you like a crispier topping, but you don't have to.

It's a lot of work, but this serves 12.

RIGHT.   No, seriously ragazzi, this is ridiculously rich.  It's so good, you'll be tempted to eat a lot, right off the bat. Eat some protein first.  Then come back to it.  And yes, it's serious labor, but think of the admiration of your friends.

We continue with richness either next time or time after, ragazzi. Annalena has never shared her shaker lemon pie with you, and that's criminal.  But she also may be telling you about a new chicken recipe tomorrow.  Come back!!!!