Ham and Asparagus Strata

March 27, 2011 at 4:35 pm (asparagus, eggs, french bread, fully cooked ham, garlic powder, Italian bread, italian cheese blend, lemon juice, Main Dish, microwave, milk, mozzarella, oven, vegetable cooking spray)

The savory bread pudding called strata has become one of America’s favorite egg casseroles. Strata means layers and layering is almost all you have to do to make one. Once you’ve poured on the custard, bake or microwave the strata right away or cover and refrigerate it for several hours or even overnight. With a cold mixture, allow a little more cooking time to serve up a quick meal whenever you need it the next day.

Makes 6 Servings

Cooking spray
12 to 16 (1/2″ thick) slices French or Italian bread (about 4 oz)
1 C (4 oz) shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella or Italian blend cheese, divided
1 C (4 oz) chopped cooked lean ham, divided
8 oz fresh asparagus spears, cut into 1″ pieces (about 2 C)
6 eggs
1 C skim or low-fat milk
2 T lemon juice
1/4 t garlic powder
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Even coat 8″ square baking dish with spray. Layer half of the bread slices on bottom of dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 C of the cheese, 1/2 C of the ham and 1 C of the asparagus pieces. Cover with the remaining bread slices, laying them flat or in a shingled pattern. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, ham and asparagus pieces. In medium bowl, beat together eggs, milk, lemon juice and garlic powder. Pour evenly over layers. Cover with plastic wrap.

Microwave on full power 5 minutes. Microwave on 50% power until thermometer inserted near center reads 160 degrees and/or knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 10 to 12 minutes.

OR

Cover dish with aluminum foil instead of plastic wrap. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until thermometer inserted near center reads 160 degrees and/or knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes.

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Savory French-Toast BLT

November 12, 2010 at 4:41 pm (bacon, baguette, bibb lettuce, boston lettuce, butter, chives, coarse kosher salt, eggs, french bread, fresh tomatoes, heavy cream, Italian bread, Main Dish, oven, pepper, Quick Dishes, romaine, stovetop, whole-grain french bread, whole-wheat baguette)

This breakfast-for-dinner dish can be made in 30 minutes.

Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Serves 4

8 slices bacon
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, plus more for serving
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 slices crusty bread, cut 1 inch thick
4 lettuce leaves (romaine, Boston, or Bibb)
8 slices tomato
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place bacon on a rimmed baking sheet; cook until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, in a large shallow dish, whisk together eggs, cream, and chives; season with salt and pepper. Lay bread in a single layer in egg mixture and soak 3 minutes on each side. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium. When butter sizzles, add bread and cook until golden and crisp around edges, about 3 minutes per side, flipping once.

To serve, layer lettuce, tomato, and bacon on each slice of French toast and sprinkle with chives.

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Spicy Open-Faced Egg Sandwiches

October 5, 2010 at 3:09 pm (7 ingredients or less, Breakfast, butter, eggs, goat cheese, Italian bread, Main Dish, oven, pepper, poblano pepper, Quick Dishes, salt, stovetop)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves 4.

4 oz fresh goat cheese
4 large slices crusty Italian bread
1 T butter
1 large poblano chile, seeded and chopped
6 large eggs, beaten
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
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1. Position a rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Spread one-quarter of the goat cheese on each slice of bread. Place on a baking sheet and bake until bubbly, 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the poblano and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring until the eggs are scrambled, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Top each toast with the scrambled eggs.

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Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

January 18, 2010 at 5:51 pm (butter, cinnamon, dessert sauces, eggs, french bread, granulated sugar, Italian bread, lemon juice, milk, oven, puddings, raisins, rum extract, sandwich bread, stovetop, vanilla, whole wheat bread)

Pudding:
6 slices day-old bread
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sauce:
3/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. water
1 or 2 tsp. rum extract
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. butter
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Break bread into small pieces into an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

For sauce: Combine first 4 sauce ingredients; cook, then add last 2 ingredients. Pour over baked bread pudding.

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Bread and Allium Soup

April 6, 2009 at 2:58 pm (baguette, butter, chicken broth, french bread, garlic, gruyère cheese, heavy cream, Italian bread, leeks, milk, nutmeg, onion, parmesan, pepper, shallots, soup, sour cream, stovetop, yogurt)

Allium is the botanical family name for shallots, garlic, onions and leeks. Any one of them will work in this peasanty bread-thickened cream soup. What allium you use, as well as which dairy enrichment, depends entirely on what you have on hand. The bread thickening is called a panade in French and many recipes of this sort call the whole soup panade.

Serves 4.

6 slices firm or even stale white bread (preferably made without sugar), crusts removed and broken into pieces, OR 2 C dry French or Italian bread, crusts removed
2 C milk
2 T butter
1 C coarsely chopped shallots, OR 10 large cloves of garlic,coarsely chopped, OR 1 1/2 C coarsely chopped leeks or onions, OR a combination of these
2 C chicken broth
Freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 C milk, yogurt, sour cream, heavy cream or a combination (optional)
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1. Combine the bread and milk. Set aside to soak.

2. In a 2- to 3-qt saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add your allium of choice, and saute about 3 minutes, until wilted.

3. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, with a wooden spoon, mash the bread into even smaller pieces.

5. Add the bread and milk to the saucepan and stir frequently with a wire whisk or wooden spoon while bringing the mixture to a simmer. Simmer, covered, another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the bread has dissolved and the soup has thickened. The soup may not look perfectly smooth, but you should not feel any lumps in your mouth.

6. Season with a few grinds of pepper and nutmeg to taste. (Salt is generally not necessary because broth contains enough.) For a thinner or richer soup, blend in one of the dairy additions.

7. Serve very hot, with a pepper mill to add more pepper to taste.

Variations: Beat up to 1/2 C Parmesan cheese into the soup just before serving. Or, pour the soup just before serving. Or, pour the soup into individual crocks, top with Gruyère, and place bowls in a preheated 375-degree oven, until cheese melts and gets a brown glaze.

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