BLT Savory Onion and Brie BREAD PUDDING with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes

Well, the good news... This is my last BLT with caramelized cherry tomatoes recipe for awhile.  


I admitted I am powerless over my addiction - that my life had become unmanageable (one of the 12 steps).


It is time to move on.  Tomorrow, I promise to not make a post of my...

BLT Bruschetta with caramelized cherry tomatoes and goat cheese, even though it is incredible and deserves it;s own post.  But, after a recreation of a magazine recipe... BLT Spaghetti with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes & Garlic Bread Crumbs; followed by the first of an original recipe modified from that first recipe - BLT Quiche with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes & Swiss & Feta Cheese; followed by another original recipe modified from that first recipe - BLT Pizza with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes; and now a 3rd original recipe modified from that first recipe... Something so self explanatory as BLT Bruschetta (grilled French garlic bread, covered with bacon, caramelized onions and tomatoes, arugula and Goat cheese). 

 And with all that, I won't even post about the BLT Calzone.  Sure, it was made with the pizza dough I made last week... Pizza Napoletana - Bread Baker's Apprentice #11.  And I used Goat cheese instead of mozzarella.  But basically, if you read my post on the BLT Pizza with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes, you know how it's done (just make a small pizza, only top half and fold over the other side). 


Nope, I feel like I have done this idea proud, taken it to it's limit... Especially after I made this savory bread pudding!  Bread pudding is not just for dessert, it makes a wonderful side dish.  Perfect to go with a braised fish (but that's a post for another day).

Here's what I did to make my savory pudding...

3 cups dried French Bread torn (note: it is very important that the bread be as stale as possible.  moist bread does not absorb the custard as well).


and now, it is time to cook up the caramelized cherry tomatoes and onions.  I doubled the amount of onions in this recipe, and caramelized them first.  The sweet onions make a huge difference in this recipe, so make sure that the onions cook long enough to caramelize, about 45 minutes...

So, it's to be a savory bread pudding!  Take a second and reread my first post on the subject.  I went into great detail, with lots of photos to illustrate the way to make the basic.  Here's a short version of the recipe to jog your memory if you have already read the post...

4 strip Bacon, save the drippings, crumble the bacon
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 cup thinly sliced Sweet Onions (Vidalia if possible)
1/4 cup dry White Wine
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 cup Arugula Leaves
1 TBS mixed Italian Herbs

Cook the Bacon in a large non-stick pan.  You are going to use this pan for the rest of the recipe, so don't be cheap on the size of the pan.  Discard all but 1 TBS of the drippings.

Add the tomatoes to the bacon drippings, sprinkle the sugar on top and sauté for about 5 minutes.  At the end of 5 minutes, you will see the tomatoes start to brown.  Now, add the onions and sauté for another 5 minutes.De-glaze the pan with the white wine.  Continue simmering till the wine is reduced by half.  Then add the vinegar and chicken stock and again stir and simmer till the liquid is again reduced by half.

Remove from the heat... Add the bacon and herbs and mix well.  Whatever you have fresh, oregano, thyme, rosemary, even dill or parsley.  Add the crumbled bacon, and allow to completely cool.

And while the Caramelized Tomatoes and Onions are cooling, let's start working on the bread pudding portion...

Caramelized Tomato - Onion & Brie Bread Pudding 

3 cups cubed day old baguette 

1 cup diced Brie cheese 

3 eggs 

1 cup each 10% cream and milk 

1. In a large bowl, toss together bread, cheese, and onion mixture. Spoon into shallow, greased 8-cup gratin dish.
2. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, milk, ; pour over bread mixture and press. Let stand until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
3. Bake at 350F until crisp, browned, and knife inserted in centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

I also had some provolone cheese that I grated and added to the top...

BLT with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes... God Bless you!

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