make ahead Strata Recipe

This Recipe is from the magazine House Beautiful, it's easy and GOOD! I used sausage and Cheddar.

I made it for Herc's birthday brunch, but would be great for a casual holiday get together!  Hope you enjoy it :)

STRATA

Serves 8

Strata is the bread pudding of savory egg dishes. This super-easy treat generally includes cubes or slices of bread that have been soaked in custard, then baked in a casserole dish or a rectangular baking pan. This is a great make-ahead dish — it tastes best if you prepare it the day before and let it soak overnight before baking. Like many egg dishes, a strata can incorporate all sorts of different ingredients, so there's a lot of flexibility here.

5 cups of cubed French bread (with crust)
Grated cheese (see Variations)
10 large eggs
1 quart whole milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
Filling ingredients (see Variations)

1. Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Put the bread cubes in the dish and sprinkle them with the cheese. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, and salt. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes. Sprinkle the filling ingredients over the egg mixture and fold them in gently. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Uncover the baking dish and bake for 60 minutes, until the mixture has puffed up slightly and is golden brown on top, and the strata doesn't shimmy with uncooked custard when you shake the pan. Tent the dish with foil if the top is browning too quickly. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve by the spoonful, using a large serving spoon.

Alex Makes the Strata

I'm hooked on Gale Gand's strata. It's 100 percent make-ahead — great for a summer brunch or buffet. I always feel cheated by a make-ahead dish when I still end up with mountains of pots and pans — but I assembled, baked, and served the strata in one casserole. Like quiche and bread pudding, there are endless variations. I made the straightforward version and the bacon, cheddar, mushroom, and tomato (plus my own stripped-down version — bacon, cheddar, and spinach). And like all comfort foods, this custardy egg dish is cheap therapy. Deeply gratifying.

Five Variations

BACON, CHEDDAR, MUSHROOM, AND TOMATO

Sprinkle 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese over the bread cubes. Distribute 1 cup crumbled cooked bacon (6 to 8 strips), 1 cup sautéed sliced white or shiitake mushrooms, and 1 cup chopped tomatoes over the egg mixture.

CHICKEN, BROCCOLI, CORN, CHILES, AND JACK

Sprinkle 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese over the bread cubes. Distribute 1 cup frozen corn kernels, 1 cup cooked broccoli florets, two 4.5-ounce cans (drained) chopped green chiles, and 1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken over the egg mixture.

HAM, SWISS, AND ASPARAGUS

Sprinkle 2 cups grated Swiss cheese over the bread cubes. Distribute 1 cup blanched asparagus pieces, 1 cup cubed ham, and 1/2 cup caramelized onions(see below) over the egg mixture.

FONTINA, SPINACH, SALAMI, AND ROASTED GARLIC

Sprinkle 2 cups Fontina cheese over the bread cubes. Distribute 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, 1 cup Italian salami (cut into matchsticks), and 1/2 cup roughly chopped roasted garlic cloves (see below) over the egg mixture.

VEGETABLE-BLUE CHEESE

Sprinkle 1 cup crumbled blue cheese over the bread cubes. Distribute 1 cup cooked cubed celery root, 1 cup sautéed sliced zucchini, and 1/2 cup sautéed sliced onions over the egg mixture.

Caramelized Onions

Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 large onion, thinly sliced, turn down heat to medium-low, and sauté slowly for 20 minutes, until the onion caramelizes a bit.

Roasted Garlic

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a square of foil, large enough to make a bundle around however many bulbs of garlic you plan to roast, on a work surface. Cut about 1/4 inch off the top of the garlic bulbs and place them on the foil, cut side up. Sprinkle each bulb with about 1 teaspoon olive oil, and gather the foil to make a bundle. The bundle doesn't need to be airtight, but it should be gathered at the top. Roast for about 1 hour, until soft. Then remove the garlic from the oven and let it cool, still bundled up, for at least 10 minutes. Open the bundle, separate the cloves, and peel them by popping the garlic out of the skins. The garlic should be soft and golden brown. Roasted garlic keeps for up to a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.