In the summer it easy and good for us just to serve the freshest veggies that can be grown or found in the local markets. It’s almost August and I still can’t get enough corn, fresh squash, butterbeans, and my favorite- tomatoes. But sometimes my guys want a little something different. Last night we were grilling pork tenderloin, I had butterbeans, corn for the grill, and okra – not a bad spread – but I decided to treat us to a good old southern classic that my Mom calls Cheese Pudding. That’s actually a pretty fair name in my opinion. Other folks call it just a Soufflé or a Mock Soufflé, but to me it’s much more of a pudding consistency and has none of the bad temper that can accompany an unruly soufflé. It’s much easier than a soufflé because you can put the whole thing together in minutes and smack it in the fridge for as little as an hour or up to a day until you’re ready to bake it. You might even have the ingredients on hand without even making a trip to the store! This Cheese Pudding uses bread as a base to soak up the eggs and cheese. It may not be total health food, but the result is a cheesy delicious concoction that goes very well with your lovely veggies and could even be the main dish as a vegetarian option. Let me assure you that no one will refuse a bite – it’s just that good. And if you’ve been living right – you may just have a tiny piece leftover in the morning to secretly enjoy with your coffee. I wasn’t so lucky this time – oh well I’ll just need to make another quite soon!
Ingredients
½ stick butter, softened
8 to 10 slices of firm white bread (depending on the size- I like Pepperidge Farm)
8 oz grated sharp cheese
4 eggs
2 cups milk
½ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp dry mustard
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Directions
Butter a square-baking dish (8 cup capacity).
Cut crusts off of bread and lightly butter one side.
Place half of the bread, buttered side up, in the casserole – you may need to cut one piece to fill casserole.
Cover with half of the cheese and top with remaining pieces of buttered bread. Top with remaining cheese.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, eggs, milk, salt, mustard, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce and pour over the bread.
Let the casserole rest, covered, in the refrigerator for an hour before baking or up to a day.
Bake at 350 degrees until the top is puffy and browned, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly and enjoy!
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