Asparagus Mushroom Strata Food

OVERNIGHT ASPARAGUS MUSHROOM STRATA

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the mushrooms until their liquid has mostly evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Set the mushrooms aside.
• Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish, and arrange 8 muffin halves, cut sides up, in the bottom of the dish. Stuff pieces of remaining muffins into the spaces between the halves. Spread 1 cup of Colby-Monterey Jack cheese over the muffins in a layer, and distribute the asparagus pieces, mushrooms, red pepper, and onion over the cheese.
• Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, dry mustard, and black pepper in a bowl, and pour the egg mixture over the muffins and vegetables. Cover the dish, and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let stand for 30 minutes. Spread 1 cup of Colby-Monterey Jack cheese in a layer over the casserole.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted near the edge comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

STRATA WITH MUSHROOMS AND CHARD

Steps:

• If the bread is soft, toast it lightly and rub each slice front and back with the cut clove of garlic. Cut in 1-inch dice. If the bread is stale, just rub the slices with garlic and cut them into 1-inch dice. Place in a very large bowl, and toss with 2/3 cup of the milk. Set aside.
• Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl or a Pyrex measuring cup, and cover with 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. Set a strainer over a bowl, line with cheesecloth, a coffee filter or paper towels, and drain the mushrooms. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract all of the broth. Rinse, away from the strainer, in several changes of water to wash off sand. Squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely. Measure out 1 cup of the mushroom broth, and combine with the remaining milk.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil or butter a 2-quart baking dish or gratin. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the chard. Stir until the leaves begin to wilt in the liquid left on them after washing. Cover the pan, and let the chard steam until it has completely collapsed, about two minutes. Uncover and stir. When all of the chard has wilted, remove from the pan and rinse briefly with cold water. Press or squeeze out excess liquid. Chop coarsely and set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan, turn the heat down to medium and add the minced garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and stir in the reconstituted mushrooms, the rosemary and the chard. Stir together for a couple of minutes, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, and transfer to the bowl with the bread cubes. Add the cheeses, and toss together. Arrange in the baking dish.
• Beat together the eggs in a medium bowl. Add salt to taste (I use 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon), the remaining milk and the mushroom broth. Add a few twists of the peppermill and pour over the bread. Press the bread down into the custard mixture. Sprinkle a little Parmesan over the top, and drizzle on the remaining olive oil. Place in the oven, and bake 40 to 50 minutes, until puffed and browned. Remove from the oven, and serve hot or warm.

VEGETABLE STRATA

Steps:

• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the broccoli until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes; drain and set aside.
• Whisk together the half-and-half, Parmesan, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl.
• Layer half of the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the Monterey Jack, followed by the mushrooms, broccoli, scallions and tomatoes. Cover with the remaining bread cubes and pour the egg mixture evenly over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (This can also be assembled the day of; just let soak at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.)
• On the day of baking, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Let the strata sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Remove the plastic and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Monterey Jack. Bake until slightly puffed and just no longer jiggly in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

MUSHROOM AND THREE-CHEESE STRATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool.
• Combine bread and milk in large bowl. Let stand until milk is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
• Whisk half and half and next 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Stir in goat cheese.
• Place half of bread mixture in single layer in prepared glass baking dish (bread will not cover bottom of baking dish). Top with half each of mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, Fontina cheese, and half and half mixture. Repeat layering with remaining bread, mushrooms, Parmesan and Fontina cheeses, and half and half mixture. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Bake strata uncovered until firm in center, puffed and golden, about 1 hour.

MUSHROOM AND CHEESE STRATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large skillet cook onion and garlic in hot margarine or butter over medium heat for 2 minutes.
• Add mushrooms and cook about 3 minutes more or until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat.
• In a small mixing bowl combine the mozzarella, fontina, and herbs; toss to mix.
• In a greased 2-quart square baking dish place half of the bread cubes.
• Top with the mushroom mixture, cheese mixture, and prosciutto or Canadian-style bacon.
• Top with the remaining bread cubes.
• In a mixing bowl combine beaten eggs or egg product, milk, sour cream, mustard, and pepper.
• Pour over layers in dish.
• Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours.
• Bake, uncovered, for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Let stand 10 minutes.
• To serve, cut into squares; garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.

ASPARAGUS STRATA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add asparagus; boil, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately place asparagus in ice water. Drain and pat dry., In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, milk, bread cubes, eggs, cheese and salt. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for 5 hours or overnight., Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

PORTABELLA & ASPARAGUS EGG STRATA

Steps:

• Night before:.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and thyme, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, and half of the salt and cook for 5 more minutes. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, parsley, pepper and the remaining salt.
• Spread half of the bread cubes over the bottom of a 10x8x2-inch non-stick pan. Top with half of the vegetable mixture and a third of the crumbled goat cheese. Layer with the remaining bread cubes and vegetables, and pour the egg mixture evenly over the top. Cover strata and refrigerate overnight.
• Supper time:.
• Preheat oven to 375°F Remove strata from refrigerator while the oven heats. Sprinkle remaining goat cheese over top of strata, and bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes, or until firm in the center and golden brown. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

ASPARAGUS AND HAM STRATA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk the first six ingredients until blended. Stir in bread, 1 cup cheese, ham and asparagus. Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight. , Preheat oven to 325°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 40-50 minutes longer or until puffed, golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.Freeze option: After assembling, cover and freeze strata. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 325°. Bake strata as directed, increasing time as necessary for a knife inserted in the center to come out clean.