Leek Bread Pudding

Just a quick one today - a friend had leeks that she didn't want, so she gave them to me. Meanwhile, I had baked bread a few days ago, and had a little left. I found this recipe for "Leek Bread Pudding" on NYT Cooking, but was missing a lot of ingredients - cream, herbs, etc - so I winged it, and it turned out remarkably well, especially for me!

I had about two thick slices of bread left on the loaf, and three leeks - I used about two of those. I shredded some cheddar into the bottom of three mini-ramekins (a church sale find that I continue to treasure), then a layer of toast cubes and leeks, then more cheddar, more toast cubes, and then I poured one beaten egg and about 3/4 cup milk into them,* then more cheese.

Baked it all for about 50 minutes in the ramekins.

I LOVED it. It was so rich and elegant. My small backup dancer did not like the leeks, which was a pleasure for me, because I finished hers off in a heartbeat.

Backup dancer's leftover leeks that I POLISHED OFF

*Absent the herbs, I discovered this mystery sauce in the fridge, left over from last week's anniversary feast. I threw in about a teaspoon's worth into the milk/egg.

Delicious mystery sauce

Bonus shot: my backup dancer was doing her usual infinite back-and-forth bike ride on our block when she noticed this adorable baby bird hanging out on someone's windshield wiper. I think it is a mourning dove, but am not certain.