Here are a couple recipes I've used for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They're
REALLY good, but -- like all really good things -- they're terrible for you.
You've been warned! :-)

Roasted Garlic Bread Pudding
(from _Recipes from America's Small Farms_)

24 garlic cloves, unpeeled
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 cups 1-inch cubes fresh Italian or French bread
5 large eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons bourbon or brandy (optional)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or rounded 1/4 tsp dried)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (or rounded 1/4 tsp dried)

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Snip off and discard the tip from each garlic
clove; toss the cloves with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper to
taste. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes,
until softened. Let cool, then gently peel.

Grease a 13x9-inch pan with olive oil. Arrange the bread evenly in the pan.

Mash the garlic cloves with a fork in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and beat
until slightly fluffy. Beat in the milk, cream, cheese, liquor (if using),
thyme, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture
evenly over the bread.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, and serve hot.


White Winter Vegetables Baked in Cream

2 to 3 medium leeks, white parts only
1 fennel bulb
4 to 6 small red potatoes and/or turnips
1 celery root
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt
White pepper
8 to 10 branches fresh lemon thyme or 6 branches thyme, the leaves removed
from the stems
2 cups heavy cream or half milk and half cream
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup coarse bread crumbs

Slice the leeks into 1/4-inch rounds or strips about 2 inches long, and wash
them well. Quarter the fennel bulb, trim away most of the core, and slice
it lengthwise into pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Peel the potatoes or
turnips, and slice them into rounds 1/8 inch thick. Cut away the gnarly
surface of the celery root, cut it into quarters, and slice it thinly. If
it is not to be used right away, cover it with water that has been
acidulated with a few spoonfuls of lemon juice or vinegar.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter the bottom and sides of a baking dish,
and rub with the crushed garlic clove. Layer half of the vegetables in the
dish, and season them with salt, freshly ground white pepper, and the lemon
thyme or thyme leaves. Make a second layer with the rest of the vegetables,
and season them as well. Add the cream, or milk and cream, and dot the
surface with small pieces of butter, using about 2 tablespoons in all. Lay
a piece of foil loosely over the top and bake.

Melt the rest of the butter, and toss it with the bread crumbs. Remove the
gratin from the oven after half an hour, take off the foil, and cover the
surface with the bread crumbs. Return the gratin to the oven and continue
baking until the vegetables are tender, about another half-hour. Remove the
gratin from the oven and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

NOTE: I've made this with lots of vegetable combinations. I particularly
like to substitute carrots for the fennel; it takes about two carrots to
make a volume equal to one fennel bulb.

Bob Terwilliger

> Here are a couple recipes I've used for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
They're
> REALLY good, but -- like all really good things -- they're terrible for
you.
> You've been warned! :-)

HOW did I miss this post yesterday??!? Both recipes sound terrific, but for
some reason the Roasted Garlic Bread Pudding *really* has me all a-dither!
I will probably tote it along to the Turkey Day festivites, in addition to
my other contributions. After all, what's not to like? Copious amounts of
garlic, bread, eggs, grated cheese, fresh herbs . . .

Thanks for sharing, Bob.

Mmmmmmm.

Spitz
--
"Home, James, and don't spare the horses!"

One time on Usenet, "Bob Terwilliger" >
said:

> Here are a couple recipes I've used for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They're
> REALLY good, but -- like all really good things -- they're terrible for you.
> You've been warned! :-)

<snip recipes>

The Roasted Garlic Bread Pudding sounds good, but the White
Winter Vegetables Baked in Cream must be heavenly! I've got to
make that for at least one holiday. Thanks for sharing... :-)


--
Jani in WA (S'mee)
~ mom, Trollop, novice cook ~