Strata for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

A friend of mine, Laura, whipped up a breakfast strata with sausage and cheese to feed a handful of women she invited over. It made me go hunting for these strata recipes I used to make all the time for guests from a Cooks Illustrated issue. Its just so easy to entertain with kids when you can prep everything the night before and just pop it in the oven when everyone gets there. My personal favorite is the Spinach and Gruyere but Laura's sausage strata makes me want the other recipes. Hope these make it into your entertaining fallback recipes. All these recipes serve 6. I usually double them over the holidays and the recipes take about 20 min longer to cook. There are great pictures on this blog which features these recipes as well.

Strata with Spinach and Gruyere

8-10 slices of bread (Italian, French, I use leftover hot dog buns in the freezer that I finish off and toast them in the oven at 200F for 30 min)

5 T. unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c. shallots, minced (about 4 bulbs)

10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, squeezed dry

salt and pepper

1/2 c. dry white wine or dry vermouth

6 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 c.)

6 large eggs

1 3/4 c. half-and-half (I just use whole milk because thats what I have in my frig)

Butter the toasted slices of bread on 1 side with 2 T. of butter. Set aside.

Saute shallots in 2 T butter until translucent, about 3 min. Add spinach, salt and pepper until combined. Transfer to bowl. Add wine to skillet and simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/4 c. about 2 min. Set aside.

Butter 8 in. square baking dish with remaining 1 T. butter. Arrange half of buttered bread slices, butter-side up, in a single layer. Sprinkle half of spinach mixture, then 1/2 c. grated cheese. Arrange remaining bread slices in a single layer over the cheese then sprinkle remaining spinach mixture and another 1/2 c. cheese evenly over the bread.

Whisk eggs. Mix in reduced wine, half and half, 1 t. salt and pepper to taste. Pour egg mixture over the bread layers. Cover the surface flush with plastic wrap. Weigh down with boxes, cans or heavy cartons so bread can properly soak in all the egg mixture. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove dish from frig and let sit at room temp. for about 20 min. Heat oven to 325. Uncover strata and sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. of cheese over the top. Bake until edges and ceter are puffed and edges have pulled away from sides of dish, about 55-60 min. Cook on a rack for 5-10 min then cut into squares and serve.

Strata with Sausage, Mushrooms and Monterey Jack

8-10 slices of bread(day old or toasted like recipe above)

3 T. unsalted butter, softened

8 oz bulk breakfast sausage crumbled

3 shallots, minced( about 1/3 c.)

8 oz white button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

salt and pepper

1/2 c. dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

6 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 c)

6 large eggs

1 3/4 c. half and half

2 T. fresh parsley, minced

Butter slices of toasted bread with 2T. butter. Set aside.

Fry sausage in skillet until it browns, about 4 min. add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 1 min. longer. Add mushrooms to skillet and cook until mushrooms no longer release liquid, about 6 min. Transfer mixture to bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add wine to skillet and simmer until reduced to 1/4 c. Set aside.

Butter 8 in. square dish with remaining 1 T butter. Arrange half of buttered bread slices, buttered side up, in single layer. Sprinlke half of sausage mixture then 1/2 c. cheese over bread. Arrange remaining bread slices in single layer over cheese. sprinkle remaining sausage mixture and another 1/2 c. cheese evenly over bread. Whisk eggs and parsley in bowl until combined. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover surface flush with plastic wrap, weigh down and refrigerate overnight.

Remove dish and let stand at room temp. for 20 min. Preheat 325F. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. cheese over surface. Bake until edges have pulled away slightly from sides of dish, 55-60 min. Cool for 5-10 min before cutting into squares and serving.

Strata with Potatoes, Rosemary and Fontina

8-10 slices of day old or toasted bread

5 T. unsalted butter, softened

salt and pepper

12 oz new potatoes (about 2 medium) cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3 shallots, minced (about 1/3 c.)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 t. fresh rosemary leaves

1/2 c. dry white wine

6 oz fontina cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 c)

6 large eggs

1 3/4 c. half and half

2 T fresh parsley, minced

Butter toasted bread on 1 side with 2 T. butter. set aside.

Bring 1 qt of water to boil, add 1 t. salt and boil potatoes until tender, about 4 min. Drain potatoes.

Heat 2 T butter and cook potatoes until brown, about 10 min. Add shallots and cook  until translucent, about 2 min. Add garlic and rosemary and cook about 2 more min. transfer to bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. Simmer wine until reduced to 1/4 c.  Set aside.

Butter 8 in. square baking dish with remaining 1 T. butter. Arrange half of buttered bread, buttered side up, in a single layer. Sprinkle half of potato mixture, then 1/2 c. grated cheese over the gread. Arrange remaining bread slices in a single layer over the cheese then sprinkle remaining potato mixture and another 1/2 c. cheese over the bread.

Whisk eggs then add wine, half and half, parsley, 1 t. salt and pepper to taste. Poor egg mixture over bread layers. cover surface flush with plastic wrap. and weigh down with boxes or cartons. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove from frig and let sit at room temp for 20 min. Preheat oven to 325. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. cheese over the top. Bake about 55-60 min until edges and ceter are puffed and edges have pulled slightly away from sides. Cook on rack for 5-10 min. Cut into squares and serve.