My Russian Super Started a Fire in My Building: The Bread Pudding II

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See the previous entry for the explanation of why I've been getting free Russian black bread... My Russian super gave me another loaf while I was doing laundry Friday morning, so I figured I'd try out another recipe.

This one's a savory spinach and artichoke bread pudding.

I'm actually in the middle of making this right now so I can't rightly vouch for it and I may make some edits to this later. But I figured I'd type this up before I get too lazy to.

This one's a LOT more work. A LOT more ingredients. My goal was to SAVE money by living off this free bread, but the cost of ingredients racks up. Fortunately, I ought to be making enough to last me a pretty long stretch, so hopefully it balances out...

I adapted the recipe again.

INGREDIENTS

olive oil
2 packages of frozen, chopped spinach
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
italian seasoning
salt
black pepper
3 (8 1/2 oz) cans of quartered artichoke hearts, drained
3 cups fake eggs (equivalent of 6 eggs)
2 cups fat free half-and-half (1 pint)
3 cups low-fat milk
2 tbls fresh lemon juice
RUSSIAN BLACK BREAD!!! (or crusty French bread), one loaf cubed
1 lb brie, rind removed, cut into little cubes
1/2 cup parmesan

DIRECTIONS

Nuke the frozen spinach. Break it up. Squeeze as much water from it as you can. (Use your clean hands.) Set aside.

In a large pan, sauté chopped onions in a bit of olive oil until nicely carmelized. (Took me about 10 minutes.) Add garlic, 2 tsp italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper; stir until garlic is "fragrant", about 30 seconds. Add artichoke hearts and stir well for another 2 minutes or so. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a very large bowl, combine egg substitute, half-and-half, milk, lemon juice, 1 tbl italian seasoning, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper. Whisk well.

This is where it pays to have a very large bowl...

Add the artichoke mixture, the chopped spinach and the cubed bread into the bowl, along with 1/4 cup parmesan and the pieces of brie. (I had to alternate between a big bowl and a large pasta pot.) Incorporate well.

Cover with plastic wrap. Pop in fridge to let it soak through.

Wash the dishes. Watch what you got from Netflix yesterday. Update your blog. Contemplate the kind of life you're leading and what kind of world your unborn children will inherit.

When you're ready to rock, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a large baking dish (or several) with olive oil. Scoop your bread pudding concoction evenly to the pans, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake until firm in the center and golden brown -- "about 1 hour". Serve warm.

Well, this one's a doozy. Took forever for me just to cut up the tough bread. And I didn't actually think to use frozen chopped spinach, so I had to do all that manually. And I'm not even sure my "adaptation" works yet, so reader beware. But nobody really tries to make the recipes off this blog, do they...?

My Russian Super Started a Fire in My Building: The Bread Pudding I

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There's a story here, so have a seat. My Russian super started a fire in my building a few weeks ago. Of course, it's not the official cause, but I'm pretty certain. He's the only person who walks around my building with a lit cigarette.

Anyway, the fire started in the hallway leading to my apartment. It was confined to the hallway, thanks to the heroes of the local NYFD, but I suspect out of guilt the guy has been giving me free Russian black bread since it happened. He's got friends at a Russian bakery and he gets tons of the shit.

This stuff is big, crusty and dense. I've been rather poor lately so I figured I'd try to live off the stuff, but it's tough to swallow, so I looked up a savory bread pudding recipe.

This uses wild mushrooms. I adapted it slightly to make it a little less decadent than the original recipe. I've got to think of my health, right?

INGREDIENTS

butter
3 yellow onions, chopped
2 tsp salt
cayenne pepper
ground black pepper
1/2 pound (about 3 cups) of wild mushrooms (whatever you can find), chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 eggs (or the equivalent of fake eggs)
2 cups fat-free half-and-half (1 pint)
1/4 tsp tabasco sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
RUSSIAN BLACK BREAD!!!, cubed, about 4 cups
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS>

In a large pan, melt about 2 tblspoons of butter. Add chopped onions, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and about "12 turns" of black pepper. Sauté for about 4 minutes.

Add chopped mushrooms to the pan, sauté for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another minute or so. Remove from heat and cool.

In a very large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add half-and-half, 1 tsp salt, a few shakes of cayenne pepper, tabasco, worcestershire. Whisk until fully incorporated.

Stir in the cooled mushroom mixture. Add bread cubes and incorporate well.

I had a LOT of bread cubes and ended up having to mix it using TWO big bowls, to get everything evenly distributed. After I'd mixed it, I packed the whole thing into one of the bowls, covered with plastic wrap and popped it into the refrigerator overnight so it could all thoroughly soak through. I recommend letting it sit like this.

When you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a really large casserole dish or two medium casserole dishes. Scoop your mixture evenly into your dish(es), sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Bake for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

I made enough to feed me for a fucking while. It's essentially stuffing. You could heat it up by sautéing in a pan with a little olive oil. The stuff lasts a long time and is one of those things that seems to get better as it goes. (But when you're starving, anything tastes like prime rib...)

That Manno Clam Dip

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This one's courtesy of Dr. Helene Manno. It's one of the unique pleasures I enjoy anytime I'm invited over to the Manno Compound. It's brilliant on crackers, chips or just scooped high on a plate. When I die, I'd like to be buried in this.

INGREDIENTS

1 clove garlic, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup butter

2 cans minced clams ("tuna fish size cans")
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
breadcrumbs

DIRECTIONS

Sauté garlic in olive oil and butter.

Scoop into a big bowl. Add clams, parmesan, and enough breadcrumbs to give the mixture a thick consistency.

This is one of the few recipes on here that I haven't actually tried making on my own. I actually fear my access to this recipe. I'm liable to make enough of it to kill myself several times over. Moderation? What's that?