3.09.2010

Breakfast for Dinner

Breakfast for dinner is such a great idea - its usually pretty easy, pretty filling, and even hits a variety of food groups!

Lately I've been working hard on finding dinners to prep the night before so they are ready to go the next night for dinner. This strata is a great example. It took a little pre-preparation, but I had time on Sunday to do a few of these things (dry the tomatoes, cook the ham, cut the bread, etc...). Last night, I combined the bread, cheese, tomatoes, and ham in the baking dish and in a bowl, whisked the milk, cream, eggs, and seasoning. This morning I poured the eggs over and let it sit in the fridge, and when I got home at 5, I tossed it in the oven and it'll be good to go in just a few minutes! Can't wait...

Ham and Cheese Strata with Oven-Dried Tomatoes
Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1 pint grape tomatoes, washed and halved
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
10 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup fat free cream
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup diced baked ham
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons thinly sliced fresh chives
2 cups shredded cheese (your choice)
2 demi-loaves sourdough bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (should be about 16oz by weight)

Directions
Do ahead: Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  Toss tomatoes with olive oil and salt. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 1.5-2 hours, until slightly shriveled but not dried completely. If not using immediately, store the tomatoes in a sealed container in the refrigerator, for 3 to 4 days.

For strata: Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Set aside. In a small bowl, toss together the bread, ham, tomatoes, parsley, chives and cheese.

Pour the egg mixture over the strata and gently press it down with the back of a large spoon to make sure the top layer is moistened with the custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the strata, uncovered, until golden brown and slightly puffed, about 45 to 55 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 comments:

  1. We learned from a Scrubs episode that breakfast for dinner is "Brinner". We love brinner at our house!

    ReplyDelete