Hey All.

For as long as I can remember, I have been wanting to make a strata. I have had strata once or twice in my life. I have no idea why I always think about it when I am contemplating things to bake. I always remember the scene in The Family Stone when Sarah Jessica Parker’s character makes a strata for Christmas morning.  

This afternoon, I was once again contemplating what to make for Sunday night’s dinner… and I was hoping that whatever I did make I would have enough for lunch tomorrow. I was leafing through one of Bittman’s books, when I came across a strata with tomato, basil and goat cheese.

I have plenty of basil. We have a lot of homegrown tomato. I do not love goat cheese, so I switched that out for monterey jack. I added mushrooms. I did a lot of chopping. I did a good deal of sautéing. I did a lot of tearing. (Basil and french bread, that is!)

Prep:

I sautéed mushrooms in a 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Then I sautéed the onions.

I washed and shredded the basil (this came out of my own backyard! If you want to save money, grow your own basil!):

I layered the ingredients:

I added the eggs (7 beaten), splash of milk, pinch of garlic powder, paprika and tomatoes and topped with cheese again:

I finished the prep work at around 2pm. I covered the strata and put it in the refrigerator. I snacked on strawberries and a piece of french bread and went back to my book. At around 5:15 my mom, sister and I decided we were ready for the strata. I took it out of the refrigerator and pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees.

The strata baked for 20 minutes, and then I put it under the broiler for 2 minutes to brown the top. Here is the finished product:

My plate (for the record, I decided on lunch plates for everyone, because I do not think this is a meal you want to eat a lot of):

I am really pleased with how my first strata came out. I really liked it. I loved the addition of the sautéed mushrooms.

Mark came home with the most beautiful roses (for me!) the other day. I just think they are so amazing, so I figured they belonged on the blog too 🙂

I love flowers so much. I had a long day on Thursday, and coming home to these (they are still beautiful on Sunday!) really made my day so much better 😀

OK, happy cooking everyone! I’m going back to my book. See you tomorrow!