I’m officially a grown up. For the first time, I am hosting Christmas at my house. While I’m excited about not having to travel over the holidays, I’m nervous about the pressure of having a delicious Christmas dinner. My dad is an amazing cook and I know I could just let him whip up a traditional holiday feast and it would be wonderful, but as the hostess, I feel I should contribute. So I’ve been pouring over several food magazines’ holiday editions and scouring my cookbooks for recipes to test as I plan the big meal.
The first one up to bat was Individual Savory Horseradish Bread Puddings from Fine Cooking magazine. The result was a unique and tasty side that would be Christmas dinner worthy. I’m not sure if it will be a final contender for the menu, but it’s definitely on the list. I love how muffin tins are used to bake up individual servings. So cute. This is also a straightforward, easy recipe, which would make a perfect side for an otherwise fussy holiday meal.
Even though I tend to indulge more than usual on holidays, I healthified the recipe, just a little. The major change I made was swapping out the regular white bread the original recipe called for and using sourdough. The fermentation in sourdough bread makes it a healthy choice for bread that doesn’t cause a huge spike in your blood sugar. I made a few other changes as well and think in the end my version was healthier without compromising taste.
Holiday Side Dish Test: Individual Savory Horseradish Bread Pudding
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
An easy and tasty side dish for a gathering
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup organic half-and-half
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/8 cup prepared white horseradish (look for a good brand without HFCS)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups small-diced sourdough bread, with crusts (about 3–4 slices)
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmigiana-Reggiano (the recipe called for freshly grated, but the grocery store only had shredded. Shredded worked fine…I’d probably use grated next time)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and use the butter to grease 6 muffin tins.
- In a liquid measuring cup, thoroughly whisk the half-and-half and eggs. Whisk in the horseradish, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper and set aside.
- Portion half of the bread cubes evenly among the 6 muffin cups. Then do the same with the cheese and chives. Repeat with the remaining bread, cheese and chives.
- Whisk the custard again and carefully pour it into the muffin cups, distributing it evenly. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You can keep refrigerated for up to 6 hours. {I did this step during Meghan’s nap. I love recipes that you can do part of it ahead of time!}
- Bake until the puddings are set and the tops are nicely browned and puffed, 18-22 minutes. I could have let mine brown and puff a little longer but it was dinner time and a hungry husband was waiting. 😉 Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before serving. Carefully remove the puddings from the pan. I used a rubber spatula around the edges and they came out nicely.
Notes
Adapted from Fine Cooking magazine, December 2008/January 2009
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 170
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 237mg
- Fat: 9.1g
- Carbohydrates: 12.1g
- Protein: 9.3g
Makes 6 servings. I halved the recipe. You can easily double it back up if you are cooking for a crowd.
If you read yesterday’s post and are wondering how my little cutie pie Meghan is doing after yesterday’s fever, I’m happy to report that she was back to her happy, healthy self today! No fever, good appetite, and her usual energy levels were back. YAY for a strong immune system! 🙂
Replacing white bread with fermented sourdough bread is a great idea, making the dish healthier while still retaining flavor. This would definitely be a delicious and creative addition to my Christmas feast. It would be even more interesting to take the rice purity test with friends and share memories with each other.