Food June '09: The Egg

By starting my blog with chicken, clearly I have weighed in on the "which came first" debate.  That said, the egg is still (beyond incredible and edible) one of my favorite go-tos for all three meals of the day.  This month will feature fantastic breakfast, lunch, and dinner egg recipes. The first of these installments is the strata: an Italian egg dish traditionally made with egg and meat and served for breakfast or brunch.  Finally, later in the month, a few friends with family egg allergies will weigh in on great egg free recipes for the kids.  

Strata

The strata is divine not just in its taste but in its accessibility to the host.  Made the night before a large brunch for family or friends, you can feed large numbers of people a decadent meal without having to cook the day of the event; allowing you to enjoy the people that you invited over.  Think of it as the lasagna of breakfast with stale bread used in place of pasta.  While traditionally it is made with meat and eggs, there are many great vegetarian versions.  First introduced to strata's through my Aunt who is a big fan of the Union Square Cafe recipe, I have monkeyed with it over the years and created two different size templates that I fill with different flavors based on what's fresh, in season or simply in my fridge.   Here are my two favorites - make it your favorite by cutting and pasting the vegetables, the type of bread, the cheeses, or even switching sausage for bacon.  While you will see some options for making each of the recipes more healthy, truthfully, they are much better when cooked richly and enjoyed rarely.  

NOTE: if you live in the NY area, Union Square Cafe and its affiliate restaurants, Gramercy Tavern, Table, Eleven Madison Park, Blue Smoke and the Modern will be donating $2 for every egg dish ordered towards City Harvest, an organization that feeds fresh food to New York City's hungry.  

Yellow Pepper Goat Cheese Strata 

This recipe is cooked in a 9"x 11" dish serves 6 alone or 8 when served with a fruit salad and a muffin.  Also served for brunch with spring greens tossed in a vinaigrette.    

3 yellow peppers chopped finely

1 vidala onion chopped finely

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon canola oil or olive oil

1 tablespoon herbes de provence

5 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

8 extra large or 10 medium eggs

3/4 cup cream (can be substituted for half and half or whole milk)

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 lb. fresh mozzarella sliced length wise as thin as possible

1/2 rustic sized french loaf or 2 french baguettes (buy day old, stale, or buy in advance, slice and leave out for a day)

teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

In a large skillet, melt the butter, adding oil and when translucent, reduce the heat to low and add onions.  Let the onions cook on low/ simmer for ten minutes.  When they are beginning to "sweat" and get sweet, add the yellow peppers and herbs and let cook on medium for another 5 minutes until the peppers are getting soft.  Take off heat and cool.  

While the vegetables are cooling, butter or oil the dish.  Slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices, removing the crust.  Create a layer of bread on the bottom of the pan, completely covering the pan (cutting creative shapes where you need to fill in the gaps.)  Spread the cooled vegetables evenly over the bread layer, and the goat cheese crumbles evenly over the vegetables.  Add an additional layer of bread.  

Beat together eggs and cream (or milk) until well combined and pour evenly over the dish making sure that the egg mixture visibly ends just at or under the top layer of soaking bread. If the egg mixture is not enough, beat an additional egg with a couple of tablespoons of milk or cream until it reaches the right level.  Add the shredded mozzarella and finish with slices spaced evenly of the fresh mozzarella.  Cover with tin foil.  Let soak at least 8 hours or overnight.   

The next morning, take the strata out of the fridge at least 30 minute before cooking to bring it to room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Keeping the tin foil on, create a bend in the foil (almost like a tent) so that the foil is not actually touching the cheese at the top of the dish.  Bake for 20 minutes with foil on, take off and bake approximately 12-18 more minutes until the strata starts to rise like a souffle and the cheese slightly browns.   

Bacon Vidala Cheddar Strata

This recipe is cooked in a 13"x 11" lasagna pan or casserole dish and serves 10 as a main course or 12 as a side dish.   

1 (12 oz.) package of bacon

1 vidala onion chopped finely

2 cups spinach or baby spinach, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon canola oil or olive oil

2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

8 oz. block of sharp cheddar ( I love Cabot Private Stock), shredded

    (or about 2 cups shredded and loosely packed) 

10 extra large or 12 medium eggs

1 cup cream (can be substituted for half and half or whole milk)

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/3 lb. fresh mozzarella sliced length wise as thin as possible

1 loaf hall ah bread, crust off (buy day old, stale, or buy in advance, slice and leave out for a day)

pepper to taste

In a large skillet, melt the butter, adding oil and when translucent, reduce the heat to low and add onions.  Let the onions cook on low/ simmer for ten minutes.  When they are beginning to "sweat" and get sweet, take the onions out of the pan and set aside, leaving the oil.  Add the chopped bacon and cook on medium stirring frequently until the bacon is starting to brown.  Add the chopped spinach and onions back and stir for about one minute until the spinach begins to wilt.  Turn off heat and strain the fat and bacon oil out of the pan, setting aside the bacon, onions and spinach to cool.  (Note: be careful not to add salt to this strata as the bacon - even low sodium - and cheddar, have enough for an army).

While the vegetable/ bacon mixture is cooling, butter or oil the dish.  Slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices, removing the crust.  Create a layer of bread on the bottom of the pan, completely covering the pan (cutting creative shapes where you need to fill in the gaps.)  Spread the cooled vegetable/ bacon mixture evenly over the bread layer and the shredded cheddar on top.  Add an additional layer of bread.  

Beat together eggs, cream (or milk), and nutmeg until well combined and pour evenly over the dish making sure that the egg mixture visibly ends just at or under the top layer of soaking bread. If the egg mixture is not enough, beat an additional egg with a couple of tablespoons of milk or cream until it reaches the right level.  Add the shredded mozzarella and finish with slices spaced evenly of the fresh mozzarella.  Cover with tin foil.  Let soak at least 8 hours or overnight.   

The next morning, take the strata out of the fridge at least 30 minute before cooking to bring it to room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Keeping the tin foil on, create a bend in the foil (almost like a tent) so that the foil is not actually touching the cheese at the top of the dish.  Bake for 20 minutes with foil on, take off and bake approximately 20 more minutes until the strata starts to rise like a souffle and the cheese slightly browns.   

NOTE: if substituting sausage for bacon, make sure to take it out of the casing.  One of my favorites is Swiss Chard and Sweet Italian sausage with parm and Gouda.