NOT HEALTHY: savory bread pudding

I've really been wanting to make savory bread pudding recently. I thought, what would taste great all mashed up in a baking dish with bread, milk and eggs? Why not bacon, caramelized onion, rosemary, and gruyere? Duh...

So I made it in both muffin

and loaf form.

and may I say, it is delicious. I brought a few muffins to the Silent Barn last Thursday night where my friends Coasting were playing, and both the band and the muffins were praised highly that night.

This is a little time-intensive, and a lot unhealthy. I like the idea of bread pudding muffins, because it is a pretty heavy food item and the standard muffin size is a perfect portion.

So here's how you make it--and note that the proportions will vary, based on the size of your baking dish/dinner party/appetite:

If you don't already have stale bread, just leave some good crusty bread, cut (or torn) into approximately 1/2 inch cubes, out in a large bowl overnight to stale. When you're ready to cook, slice an onion and caramelize in a saute pan with a little oil, salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, roughly chop some rosemary and set aside. I really mean roughly, because presentation-wise larger flecks of green are more attractive than tiny, and you want the herb, onion and bacon to equally compete with each other in each bite. When the onions are done, set these aside as well, and mix the rosemary in using the heat from the cooked onion to release the fragrance of the herb. Fry bacon and drain on paper towels before chopping into small pieces.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and combine with whole milk, seasoning well with salt and pepper. I used 2 1/2 cups whole milk and 4 eggs, but honestly this is really flexible, so adjust depending on how much you're making. The idea is to be able to soak your bread into a wet dough/batter consistency. Toss onion, rosemary, and bacon with the dried-out bread, then add the egg-milk mixture and mix well.

Allow the mixture to sit for around ten minutes so that the liquid is absorbed by the bread. Toss the mixture a few times as the liquid will tend to settle toward the bottom of the bowl. Transfer either to muffin tins lined with baking cups, or a buttered casserole dish (you don't want it to stick!). Top with grated gruyere. Muffins will bake at 375 for about 30-35 minutes (do check on them); loaf needs around 45-50 minutes.

For serving, may I recommend a small amount of this extraordinarily rich main dish with arugula salad, lightly dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, and parmiggiano?