Bread puddings can be sweet or savory. Savory Sausage and Cheddar Bread Pudding is a new favorite of mine. I made this recipe for Dave for dinner and he couldn’t believe how good it tasted, not only the first time, but even the leftovers. Ina Garten, the Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa, has a sweet bread pudding recipe that she serves to her guests for breakfast or brunch. It’s sort of an easy way to serve a larger crowd french toast. And she is quoted as saying “without having to be a slave to the stove cooking french toast individually”. Savory or sweet, this is an excellent way to use up bread and it’s delicious!
Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the sausage and cook while breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or potato masher into small clumps. Add a little pepper. When the sausage has browned transfer to a large mixing bowl and leave the fat in the pan.
Over medium heat, add the onions and red pepper along with the second tablespoon of butter. Salt and pepper. Sauté and stir until translucent for about 5 minutes. Add the onions and peppers to the mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the cream or milk with the eggs, parsley and garlic powder. Add the zest of the orange and 2 tablespoons of orange juice to the liquid mixture. Blend well with a mixer and set aside.
In the large mixing bowl, add the bread cubes and cheese. I recommend blending all these ingredients with your hands. Then add the liquid mixture and repeat blending well with your hands.
Grease a 13” by 9” by 2” pan. Pour the combined mixture into the pan. Press down the ingredients so they are well coated with the liquids. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes uncovered until puffy and golden brown. This recipe serves 6-8.
The easiest way to remove sausage from the casing is to cut the sausage in half and squeeze the ground meat out.