Singing for my Strata

I made the most DELCIOUS breakfast this past Monday morning EVER! Well, maybe not EVER, but it was pretty much up there. I'm finally home from a rehearsal and the leftovers from my Strata rocked my face off. Yum yum yum.

Ever since seeing The Family Stone (you know... Sarah Jessica Parker with Luke Wilson and Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton!) I've been kind of obsessed with trying Strata. SJP prepares it for her boyfriend's family as a holiday peace offering after a disastrous weekend, and in a hilarious scene the soggy wet raw strata ends up all over her clothes, the floor, everywhere! It's fabulous. In fact, you can see it at the end of this trailer:

As far as I can tell, Strata is basically a savory breakfast bread pudding. It's simple but well, the simplest recipes taste the best, don't they? Just take cubes of crusty bread, add them to a casserole with any cheese, veggies, or meats you like, and cover with an eggy milky mixture. Soak for a few hours, or better yet, overnight, and then bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees to perfection! The break soaks up most of the egg custard and stays soft in the center and gets nice and crispy and golden on top. Uh-oh. Gimme more leftovers, please!!

I've had Strata once before this, at one of my favorite joints in Boston: Trident Booksellers Cafe on Newbury St. It was pretty good, but since I didn't get to experience the whole process of making it, I wasn't as taken with it. Yes, it was yummy. But I had to make it to really love it.

For my Strata, I of course added my boyfriend: KALE. For some saltiness I added some shreds of prosciutto (after carefully removing lots of the fatty parts. I'm weird like that...) I threw in some fancy parmesan cheese, too. Oh, and my bread was just a lovely loaf of ciabatta from the supermarket. I sliced it into 1 inch cubes, and baked them for 10 minutes at 375. This was my roommate's idea from her family's Breakfast Casserole... probably very similar to Strata. It turned out heavenly!

Bread + Kale + Prosciutto:

With Custard Mixture (12 eggs+1/2 C milk + nutmeg + salt + pepper):

Getting happy overnight in the fridge:

All puffed up in the morning!

After baking! Smells amazing!

Our lovely table:

Alongside the Strata I served a couple pastries from Panera (Cherry Cheese and Apple Tartlet), grapes, and Strawberry Apple Tea from Tealuxe.

PLATE!!

Had to be the BEST Monday morning in ages!!