I will be one of the hostesses for the Christmas Tea, which involves decorating a table for eight and bringing the main dish for my table. Our church will supply the salads, scones, devonshire cream, desserts, favors and tea. We will be treated to Christmas music, a message and fellowship with friends. And the men will be waiting on us! ;-) I am looking forward to it a lot!
When I went to set up my table today I saw sneak previews of the other tables. They were quite gorgeous! Here are a few of my favorites:
The gold deer centerpiece is very striking!
Lovely in lavender. The table topper is edged in feather trim.
Blue and silver elegance.
Here is my table: 
I used my wedding china, which has a very simple black/gold trim. I googled "napkin folding" and learned how to fold the napkin into a rose. Elizabeth thought it was great fun. "Just like origami!"
It took me a while to decide on the main dish. The hostesses were given a little recipe book for ideas--finger sandwiches, quiche and chicken salad were a few of the suggestions. After some thought, I decided to make a favorite dish of mine that I haven't made in a while: Monte Cristo Bread Pudding. It's a yummy cross between a strata and a quiche.
The only problem was that I couldn't find the recipe.
No problem, I thought. I'll just google it. I knew it was a recipe from Bon Appetit magazine from the 90's. And if I recalled correctly, it was contributed by a Bed & Breakfast. So I typed in "Monte Cristo Bread Pudding." No success. I tried "Ham and Cheese Bread Pudding." Lots of recipes, but not the one I was looking for. I tried a dozen other search words. After going through over 30 search pages of websites, I gave up. The only reference I could find was a 2004 post on the Bon Appetit Forum by a woman who was looking for the same recipe. I wonder if she ever found it?
It was a rare instance, but Google let me down.
I prayed and continued searching. I finally found it in my recipe file cabinet! A miracle, if you saw the hundreds of recipes that are in that file cabinet. Alan corrected me: "thousands are stuffed in that cabinet." A miracle, I tell you.
Here it is for posterity's sake.
Monte Cristo Bread Pudding
2 Tablespoons butter
12 oz mushrooms
salt and pepper
18-20 slices white sandwich bread, crusts trimmed
10 oz sliced Black Forest Ham
3 cups packed grated Gruyere cheese (about 12 oz), divided
10 large eggs
3 1/2 cup whole milk
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until golden, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Generously butter a 13"x9"x2"-inch glass baking dish. Line bottom with half of bread slices, cutting to fit into pan. Top with ham slices, then 2 cups of cheese, then mushrooms. Add enough remaining bread in a single layer to cover. Whisk eggs, milk, 1 T fresh thyme, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Pour over bread. Cover baking dish and refrigerate 6-8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover bread pudding. Bake until puffed and golden, about 1 hour. Mix remaining 1 cup cheese and 1 T fresh thyme, and sprinkle over bread pudding. Bake until cheese melts, about 3 minutes. Cool slightly. Slice and serve.
If you run into a woman looking for this recipe, tell her you saw it on my blog. :-)
"She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar." Proverbs 31:13-14
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