Savory Bourbon Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding isn’t only for dessert! We made ours savory, with bacon, blue cheese, and of course Belle Meade Bourbon! If you’re tired of boring stuffing at holiday dinners, why not try this recipe out? It’s perfect at any meal, even breakfast!

1 ½ lbs crusty bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups diced onion
1 ½ cups diced celery
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 T chopped fresh rosemary
1 T plus 1 tsp salt
1 tsp plus ½ tsp pepper
8 large eggs
3 ½ cups cream
¾ cups Belle Meade Bourbon
1 lb bacon
2 cups chopped fresh parsley (flat leaf)
2 cups crumbled gorgonzola cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Place bread cubes on large baking sheet and toast in oven until crusty, but not brown. Remove from oven and place in large bowl. Cook entire pound of bacon until slightly crisp. Chop or crumble and set aside. In large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and sautee until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, celery, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.  Sautee another 3-5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add red peppers and cook until peppers have just begun to soften, but haven’t lost any color. Remove pan from heat and stir in rosemary. In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs, cream, bourbon, 1 T salt and 1 tsp pepper. Add onion mixture, bacon, parsley, and gorgonzola to bread cubes and toss to combine. Pour egg custard over bread mixture and gently stir to coat. Place pudding in a buttered 9x13 baking dish or 12 inch cast iron skillet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until top is evenly browned.