Savory Strata Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F. In large bowl, stir biscuit ingredients until soft dough forms. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, in ungreased 15x10- or 13x9-inch pan, toss roasted vegetable ingredients until evenly coated with oil; arrange in single layer.
• After removing biscuits from oven, bake vegetables 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Cover vegetables; refrigerate until needed. Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat eggs, milk, oil and pepper with wire whisk or electric mixer on low speed until blended.
• Break biscuits into random-sized pieces; spread in ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Pour egg mixture over biscuits. Sprinkle with onions and cheese. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 350°F. Stir biscuit mixture in dish. Top with vegetables. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes or until top is golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
• Whisk the eggs, milk, half-and-half, nutmeg, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl. Fold the greens, meat, bread and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese into the mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake until the strata is puffed, golden brown at the edges and set in the center, about 15 minutes more. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Whisk together milk, eggs, 1/4 teaspoon salt, Tabasco and nutmeg. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
• Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add leeks, and toss to coat with oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes or until leeks are soft. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cool.
• Mix together ricotta, Parmesan, pepper and herbs. Stir in the cooled leeks.
• Grease a roasting pan 9 by 12 by 2 1/2 inches with 1 teaspoon butter. Lay 6 slices of bread in the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the ricotta-leek mixture. Repeat with a second layer. Place the last layer of bread in the pan, and spread the top with the softened butter.
• Pour the custard over the bread, gently pressing top slices into the mixture. Place on a cookie sheet, wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic, and sprinkle the top with the cheese. Place in a larger pan, and put on the middle rack of oven. Fill the larger pan with boiling water to come up about halfway on the smaller pan. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until puffy and brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add asparagus, mushrooms, garlic salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender., Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Top with asparagus mixture, goat cheese and remaining bread., In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, thyme, salt and remaining pepper. Pour over top; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Refrigerate, covered, overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, uncovered, 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, prepare sauce mix according to package directions. Serve with strata.

Steps:

• Rub olive oil on the peppers and roast them at 350 degrees for about a half hour, until they are soft and have started to color. When they are cool, slice into strips, discarding the seeds and stem. Set aside.
• Cook bacon (preferably in the microwave, between layers of papertowel). Do not overcook. The bacon should not be brittle. When cool, chop into medium sized pieces. Set aside.
• Melt half the butter, and cook the sliced mushrooms about ten minutes, until they give up their liquid. Set aside.
• Melt the rest of the butter and slowly cook the onions and garlic until they are translucent and soft. Set aside.
• This will work best with a good quality, crusty bread. Cut it into slices about an inch thick. If it's not stale, lightly toast the slices.
• Butter the bottom of a large casserole. First put down one layer of bread (break up as necessary), and then layer the following in a way that appeals to you: cheese, peppers, bacon, onions, mushrooms. You should have enough for three full layers of each ingredient, but if you don't, it doesn't matter.
• Beat the eggs with the milk, half and half, salt and pepper to taste, and the tarragon. Some people prefer basil, but I like the contrast of the tarragon to the cheese.
• Slowly pour this mixture over the layered casserole. You have to give the layers of bread time to soak up the mixture, so don't rush this. When you're finished, a finger pressed into the top should cause liquid to bubble up. If that doesn't happen, add more milk or half and half.
• Cover with a layer of grated cheese.
• Baked covered casserole in a 375 oven for about forty-five minutes. Take the lid off the casserole and bake for another twenty minutes until pressing the flat of a spoon into the top of the casserole does not cause liquid to well up. It's done when the top is crispy and browned.
• Let this sit for twenty minutes to half an hour before serving. It will be very, very hot.
• I serve this with a green salad and fruit.