Sausage Mushroom Breakfast Strata

A few months back my dad gave me a copy of The America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook with every recipe they covered on their show from 2001-2010. I receive their Cook's Country magazine and know that when it comes to testing recipes, this crew doesn't mess around! If a tricky recipe takes weeks to perfect, so be it! The testers for the magazine discuss the process of how they work on each recipe until they have the desired end result. In the ATK cookbook, each recipe begins with an excerpt on "Why This Recipe Works". The team explains how each particular recipe is THE one you want to make. After cooking around 20 different recipes from this book, I'm a believer. Going into each recipe, I know it's been thoroughly tested and will have great results.

While flipping through the back pages I hit the "Come for Brunch" section and immediately halted when I saw the photo of their breakfast strata. Baked slices of bread coated with spinach, egg and cheesy goodness? Yes please! I began with the basic recipe that uses layers of toasted bread, spinach and Gruyere. I assembled the dish the night before, allowing the egg-milk mixture to be fully absorbed by the bread. Then the next morning all I had to do was pop it into the pre-heated oven. Easier than pouring a bowl of cereal! Let me tell you, this dish was phenomenal. The layers all bake together into the perfect breakfast dish and gets your day off to a great start!

When I was in Portland last week my parents and I decided that this would make a great "Breakfast for Dinner". The ATK book has a variation of the basic recipe that includes breakfast sausage and mushrooms instead of spinach and Monterey Jack in place of the Gruyere. We added some spinach into the sausage-mushroom mix anyways. The result was perfect! The sausage gives the dish a warm hint of flavor that blends perfectly with the cheese and mushrooms. This is the ideal recipe to make when you know you'll have morning guests. Bring on the brunch!

Breakfast Strata with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Monterey Jack

The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook

*To double the recipe, use a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and increase the baking time to 1 hour and 20 minutes.

8-10 (1/2-inch-thick) slices supermarket French or Italian bread

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
8 oz. bulk breakfast sausage, crumbled

3 medium shallots, minced (6 Tbsp)

8 oz. white mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered (I sliced)
Handful of fresh spinach leaves (or box of frozen spinach, thawed and moisture squeezed out), chopped

Table salt and ground black pepper

1/2 Cup dry white wine

6 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 1/2 Cups)

6 large eggs

1 3/4 Cups half-and-half

2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Heat the oven to 225-degrees and place the rack in the center position. Arrange the bread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp, about 40 minutes, turning slices over halfway through (Alternatively, leave slices out overnight to dry). Spread butter evenly over one side of each bread slice, using 2 tablespoons of the butter.

2. Fry the sausage in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking the sausage apart with a wooden spoon, until it loses its raw color and begins to brown, about 4 minutes; add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook until they no longer release liquid, about 4 minutes (if using spinach, add during last minute of cooking); transfer to a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the wine to the skillet, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes; set aside.

3. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish with the remaining butter; arrange half of the bread slices, buttered-side up, in a single layer in the dish. Sprinkle half of the sausage-mushroom mixture, then 1/2 cup of the shredded Monterey Jack, evenly over the bread slices. Arrange the remaining bread slices in a single layer over the cheese; sprinkle the remaining sausage-mushroom mixture and a 1/2 cup more Monterey Jack evenly over the bread. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until combined; whisk in the reduced wine, half-and-half, 1 teaspoon salt, the fresh parsley, and a pinch of pepper. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread layers.

4. Wrap the strata tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the surface of the strata. Weigh the strata down (I used heavy containers of leftovers that were already in the fridge), and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

5. Remove the dish from the refrigerator and let stand at room temp for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust an over rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Uncover the strata and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Monterey Jack evenly over the surface; bake until both edges and center are puffed and the edges have pulled away slightly from the sides of the dish, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes and serve.