Italian Style Strata Brunch Casserole Food

SPINACH & CHEESE STRATA

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and drained spinach and cook 2 minutes more. Set aside.
• Butter a 3-quart or 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread one third of the bread cubes in the dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. (Try to break it up as much as possible so there are no huge clumps of spinach.) Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice, ending with cheeses.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the half-and-half, mustard, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and whisk until well combined. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the strata. Cover the strata with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake the strata, uncovered, until puffed, set and golden brown all over top, 70-80 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving. It will settle a bit as it cools.
• Note: The cook time is based on the strata going immediately from the fridge to the oven. If it sits out at room temperature before baking, the cook time will be about 10 minutes less.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPER STRATA

Steps:

• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon, until brown, about 5 minutes; transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the bell peppers to the skillet with 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
• Whisk together the half-and-half, Parmesan, parsley, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl.
• Layer half of the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella, followed by the sausage and peppers. Cover with the remaining bread cubes and pour the custard evenly over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let soak at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour. (To make ahead, after adding the custard, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight and then let the strata sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.)
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the plastic and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake until slightly puffed and no longer jiggly in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• Using 1/4 cup butter, spread one side of each bread slice with butter. Place half of the bread, butter side down, in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms and onions in remaining butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon half of the mushroom mixture over bread in prepared pan. Top with half of the sausage and cheese. Layer with the remaining bread, mushroom mixture, sausage and cheese. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, Dijon mustard, nutmeg and ground mustard. Pour over cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight., Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, covered, at 350° for 50 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with parsley. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

ITALIAN-STYLE STRATA BRUNCH CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Grease a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish.
• Spread half of the bread cubes in the bottom of the baking dish.
• Top evenly with the prosciutto or ham cubes, then the chopped roasted red peppers, then green onions and then sprinkle with about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Spread the remaining bread cubes on top, then tomatoes, then olives and the the mozzarella cheese.
• In a bowl whisk together the eggs, full-fat milk, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt and black pepper.
• Pour over the layered ingredients.
• Sprinkle about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or to taste) over the top.
• Cover and chill for a minimum of 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
• When ready to bake set oven to 325°F.
• Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until the center is set and the top is lightly browned.
• Sprinkle with capers (if using) and parsley.
• Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting into squares.
• Serve warm or room temperature.

ITALIAN-STYLE BREAKFAST STRATA RECIPE WITH FILLO CRUST

Steps:

• First make the strata filling: Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the chicken sausage. Saute until browned, breaking it up into small bite-sized pieces (about 7 minutes). Transfer the sausage to a large bowl and set aside for now.
• In the same skillet, or a different one if you prefer, heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the chopped onions, peppers and celery for about 4 minutes. Add dried oregano, salt and pepper. Transfer to the same bowl with the chicken sausage. Set aside to cool briefly, then add add the sundried tomato bits, parsley, and diced tomato. Mix everything together until well-combined.
• In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and milk together, set aside for now.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the butter in a smaller bowl and melt briefly in the microwave. To the melted butter, add 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and mix with a fork.
• Prepare a 9" X 13" heavy baking pan like this one or something similar. Brush the pan with a bit of the butter-oil mixture.
• Place 16 sheets of The Fillo Factory Fillo Dough on a clean and lightly damp kitchen towel. Trim the fillo sheets slightly with a pair of scissors, and cover with another clean and lightly damp towel. Keep the fillo covered as much as you can while working.
• Now, line the baking pan with 1 fillo sheet. Brush generously with the butter-oil mixture. Fold in excess fillo. Repeat with next 7 sheets.
• Sprinkle the top of the last fillo sheet with grated Parmesan cheese.
• Lay the next 8 sheets of fillo, one sheet at a time. Brush each sheet with the butter-olive oil mixture, but do not fold. Instead, drape any excess fillo to make a "nest" for the strata filling.
• Now spread the strata filling evenly across the pan lined with fillo dough. Pour in the egg-milk mixture,and fold the excess fillo in to "encase" the strata filling.
• Bake in the 350 degrees F heated-oven for 30-40 minutes or until the eggs dry and the strata filling puffs up. Remove from heat; wait 4-5 minutes and cut into 12 squares. Serve warm with your favorite salad.

SPINACH AND PANCETTA STRATA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a bowl. Add the onion to the pan drippings in the same skillet and saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the spinach and garlic. Saute over medium-low heat until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, nutmeg, and the cooked pancetta.
• Place half of the bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the bread, then top with half of the spinach mixture. Repeat layering.
• Whisk the milk, eggs, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over the strata. Chill the strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake strata uncovered until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

ITALIAN APRICOT-PANCETTA STRATA

Steps:

• In large skillet, cook pancetta until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Discard drippings, reserving 1 tablespoon in pan., Add 1 tablespoon butter to drippings; heat over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir 4-6 minutes or until tender. Transfer onion to a large bowl., Heat remaining butter in pan. Add mushrooms; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until tender. Stir in spinach; cook 30-45 seconds or until wilted., Add bread cubes, mushroom mixture, pancetta and almonds if desired to onion; toss to combine. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., In a large bowl, beat eggs, cream, salt and pepper until blended. Beat in mascarpone cheese just until blended; pour over bread. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Asiago cheese; spoon preserves over top. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, uncovered, 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with basil. Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.

ITALIAN STRATA

Steps:

• In large skillet, cook sausage, drain.
• Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
• Cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes.
• In a large bowl, combine sausage, bread and mushrooms.
• Put in prepared pan.
• In same large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and seasonings.
• Pour over bread mixture.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning, preheat oven to 350°F.
• Bake uncovered 1 hour. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses.
• Bake 15 minutes longer.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

BRUNCH STRATA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and ham; cook and stir until vegetables are tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain and pat dry. , In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and cream until smooth. Gradually beat in eggs. Stir in the remaining ingredients and vegetable mixture., Transfer to two greased 11x7-in. baking dishes. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.