Savory Breakfast Bread Pudding

So yes.  This isn't a baked sweet.  But it is baked.  And it does have some sweet elements to it.  But yes--it is technically a savory dish.

I'm trying a new filter on my photos.  How does this one look?

Contrary to basically every single one of my posts I do more often than not cook/bake things that are savory because if I ate the kind of things I've posted about every day I'd probably weigh a thousand pounds and already need dentures at my ripe young age.

What about this one?

At the same time I felt like taking a quick break from the baked goods and post about something else.  It also gave me another chance to make something completely up with my farmers market booty.  By the way, the farmers market is starting to depress me a tad.  

And this one?

The outdoor market has moved indoors (due to the blustery winter to come), the amount of vendors is starting to dissipate and although there is still a bit of a stockpile of greens around I can already see the root vegetables becoming more and more prevalent--and eventually that is all there will be for months on end...  I like root vegetables but like the winter weather, they wear on me.  Blah.  

This?

I get the winter blues a lot and technically it's still fall.  But we had an early start of winter here with a blast of arctic air swooshing through that caused me to break out my winter coat that makes me look like I'm wearing a potato sack.  Whatever.  I'll get through it.  Maybe I'll move to Hawaii.  That sounds like a sweet plan.  

And this one too?

Nevertheless!  On to brighter topics like savory bread pudding!  Like I mentioned, I made this recipe up all by myself.  It wasn't that hard since I knew that me and my partner were the only ones going to be eating (testing) it and I feel like cooking some savory items can be more forgiving than baked goods (cue the salt...)

What about this one?

I decided on a breakfast item because that day I could make it when the light was best in my apartment so I could get some good pictures.  Also, I really like savory bread puddings because like a quiche or a frittata you can put just about anything you want in them.  So, I gathered up some carrots, sweet potatoes, leeks and ground italian sausage at the farmers market for it.  

Hmm?

I think it turned out pretty well.  The only issue I would re-examine is the way I integrated the carrots.  I decided to peel ribbons (as you can see via the pics) and just set them atop and bake it.  It tasted fine but they looked weird when they came out of the oven.  Some may think it looked cool because they all wilted and looked like spider webs or something but I wasn't too keen on the appearance.  So I'd either shred or chop them up next time OR bake the bread pudding without them and once it's done strew the carrot ribbons over it after it comes out of the oven so it looks more like it did below (before I baked it because I think it looked prettier).  But again, it's a nit picky thing and it didn't affect the taste of anything so who cares?

Yes? No?

What I did:

3 medium leeks sliced 1/4" thick (1 heaping cup or 135g)

1 heaping cup of chopped sweet potatoes (240g)

1 heaping cup of carrot ribbons (115g)

1-2 tbsp butter

6 large eggs

1lb ground Italian sausage

2c milk (I used skim)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

10 twists of a pepper grinder (maybe 1/4 tsp?)

8c of whole wheat bread chopped into 1" cubes

1.)  Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat

2.)  Add the leeks and sweet potatoes and cook until softened (maybe 15 minutes)

3.)  Add the ground sausage.  Break it up with a spatula/wooden spoon and cook just until it isn't pink anymore

4.)  Remove from heat and set aside

5.)  Whisk the eggs, milk, salt, cinnamon and pepper in a big bowl

6.)  Butter a 9x16 casserole dish and then spread the bread cubes evenly over the bottom of it

7.)  Spread the leek, sweet potato and sausage mixture over the top of the bread

8.)  Pour the milk egg mixture over that evenly and let is soak in for at least 15 minutes (Like most savory bread puddings you could probably make this the night before and just keep it refrigerated)

9.)  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375

10.)  Spread the carrot ribbons atop and bake for 45-50 minutes

11.)  Remove from heat and serve