The Jewels of New York's Leek Bread Pudding

Earlier this summer, I was part of a photo shoot for West Elm and Kinfolk magazine. A group of us gathered for a faux Thanksgiving dinner, and Gentl & Hyers shot the meal for the West Elm website and catalog. The Jewels of New York cooked the dinner, and while it wasn't really a dinner party, the pretend guests (myself included) did get to eat the food. The best thing we ate that afternoon was the leek bread pudding. I am thrilled to see that West Elm has published the recipes for our meal on its site. I typed up the Leek Bread Pudding recipe to share with you: Give it a try. And yes, it's wickedly rich.

Leek Bread Pudding
From The Jewels of New Yor

Ingredients:
4 T. unsalted butter
4 c. leeks, sliced 1/2-inch thick (white and green parts only)
1/4 t. salt
freshly ground pepper
4 large eggs
2 1/2 c. whole milk
2 1/2 c. heavy cream
nutmeg
2/3 c. shredded comte (or gruyère),
2 loaves brioche (or challah), cubed
2 T. finely chopped chives

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat; add leeks and season with salt.
3. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until leeks are soft and caramelized 10-15 minutes; season with pepper to taste.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, a generous pinch of salt, pepper, nutmeg and comte; add the leeks to the bowl and toss to combine.
5. In a buttered baking dish, line the bottom with the bread.
6. Pour enough of the custard mixture to cover the bread; let soak for about 10 minutes.
7. Place dish into the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the pudding is set and the top is brown and bubbling.
8. Scatter with chives to serve.

UPDATE: I finally got around to making this recipe in December, and it is a HUGE recipe. I cut everything in half and still filled a 9 x 13 baking dish, which was plenty of bread pudding for 6-8 people. Also, the custard mixtures won't really "cover" the bread, but that's okay, it's nice to have the under layer soft and creamy and the top piece a little crisp.