Goat cheese and Pomegranate Bread Pudding

This idea came to me last night upon opening the door to the refrigerator (really) and seeing all the wonderful stuff newly stocked. I was fishing for something I generally keep in the door and noticed that the butter compartment was filled w. wonton wrappers and that I had a few pounds of butter scattered in random places throughout the interior!! So, two of the first things I spotted were a big hunk of goat cheese and a container of pomegranate seeds. Yum, what could I do with these I thought. Then I closed the door, and noticed the sour dough bread. Done.

And so here we are. Cooking in the mornings isn’t something I normally do these days, but since all the best light has been jam-packed into a few early hours, I’m learning to shift my experimental habits to earlier in the day. Although, my kitchen-ing habits have waned recently, as you can tell by the dearth of posts. I was recently inspired to get back to cooking (don’t I always say this!!) after reading up on Heidi Swanson, the author of 101cookbooks.com. In one of her interviews she says that new cooks should devote time to trying out new recipes regularly, presumably before the process of inspiration hits. I’m lucky to have bouts of inspiration, as infrequent as they are, after only a few short months mulling around a kitchen. But to get better, I’ve picked up some cookbooks and have plans to experiment with homemade chocolates (who knows maybe someday I’ll be good enough to buy molds to package treats for my friends!).

Goat cheese and Pomegranate Bread Pudding
(makes one individual serving using a 4.5″ individual pan, scale up accordingly)

-3 slices of sour dough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-1/6 cup of pomegranate seeds
-2 tsps maple syrup, the good stuff, never skimp on the maple syrup!!
-1/2 cup of milk/soy milk
-2 tsps goat cheese, crumbled
-1 tsp butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease your baking dish. Add the bread cubes.

In a bowl, or measuring cup (as pictured), mash your pomegranate seeds with the back of a spoon. This should result in just enough juice to turn the bread pudding ‘sauce’ pink/purple later on. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look like a lot. Add the milk/soy-milk, maple syrup, goat cheese, and butter. Mix until the ingredients are incorporated and the goat cheese is largely mixed in. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes. Be sure to coat each piece of bread, otherwise you will end up with burnt bread! I like to then press the bread cubes in my hand to make sure each piece is absorbing the mixture like a sponge. Then bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown. 

A vegetarian friend is hosting Thanksgiving at her home this year. My friend B. and I are planning to bring a slew of desserts using my new tart pans!!! Or maybe my spinach mac ‘n cheese??!! Maybe both, who knows. I am working on three different tart fillings. My new baking obsession has me so excited about Thanksgiving this year. I’m disappointed it’s still ten days away, but I plan to test one of the tarts on my French group this week, so I should be posting a sneak peek. I am curious, what are your plans for dessert on Thanksgiving?

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