Lazy Sunday Mornings...

This breakfast dish has become an absolute staple in our house and has evolved over the past few years. I’m not sure it’s exact origins, but more than likely it was born out of necessity (living with two very hungry men) and availability of product in the house on any given Sunday morning. My family has a long standing tradition of great bread puddings and I am pleased to offer up my own evolution of a dish that is commonly served as a desert. My grandmother used to make the desert variety in sheet pans for her 11-yes, you read that correctly- children, and is now a staple at our family’s restaurant in Bangor. I brought this to a “Nestie” get together back home in Maine (with some fabulous ladies and awesome homemade treats!) over the holiday, and it seemed to go over well and traveled easily to boot.
I made this on Valentine’s Day morning (we’re not big celebrators of the day, but it did happen to fall on a Sunday this year), and it didn’t fail to satisfy. The making of the pudding actually had less to do with the holiday and more with the abundance of leftover bread from the aforementioned snow day, which worked out beautifully in the final product. It is yet another fantastic way to use up any odds & ends from the week and not feel like you’re skimping on your Sunday brunch with a very wallet friendly dish that it totally suitable for company. It’s also great as a “breakfast for dinner” dish, and reheats well. Any combination of breakfast meat (be it the real McCoy or the veggie variety), veggies and cheese work fabulously in this, so don’t feel confined to this combination, it just happens to be my favorite…

Breakfast Bread Pudding
-½ lb. Bulk breakfast sausage, or links broken up
-3 Cloves garlic, minced finely
- ½ Large sweet onion, sliced thinly
-6-7 Crimini mushrooms, sliced
-7-8 Large fresh eggs
-3 Tbspns ricotta cheese
-2 Tbspns milk
-¼ lb. Smoked Gouda, cubed
-¾- 1 loaf old bread, torn into pieces (I used a combo of white milk bread & herb and garlic rolls, so there was no need to add in extra herbs, bonus!)
- Fresh herbs (flat leaf parsley, dill, thyme, etc), optional
-Couple of tablespoons of olive oil
-Fresh cracked pepper & sea salt

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a good sized oven proof Dutch oven or baking dish over medium heat with a little olive oil and brown sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon into smaller pieces. Add in onions and sauté until slightly softened. Add in garlic and mushrooms & let cook for additional 4-5 minutes until softened and remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine eggs, milk and ricotta cheese with salt & pepper (season to your taste preference) and any herbs used. Add torn bread pieces and cubed cheese to sausage and vegetable mix in Dutch oven and toss to combine. Pour egg/ricotta mixture over all ingredients in pan and stir to coat all bread, pressing down lightly to ensure all of egg mixture is soaked up. Place bread pudding in oven for 35-40 minutes on until eggs are set (may vary depending on oven model- if top browns before eggs are set, cover with a round of tin foil to avoid burning). Serve with a side of breakfast potatoes, Cuban style French press coffee, bloody marys and pajamas.