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Breakfast Strata with Sausage, Mushrooms and Monterey Jack

A classic breakfast strata.

Breakfast Strata

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 8-10 1/2 inch slices supermarket French or Italian Bread
  • 3 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
  • 8 ounces bulk breakfast sausage
  • 3 medium shallots minced
  • 8 ounces mushrooms wiped clean and quatered
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 3/4 cups half-n-half
  • 2 Tbsp parsley minced

Instructions
 

  • Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange the bread in a single layer on a large baking sheet and bake until until dry and crisp, about 40 minutes, turning the slices over halfway through. Alternatively, leave the slices out overnight to dry. Let the bead cool completely, then spread spread butter evenly over one side of each bread slice, using 2 Tbs of butter.
  • Fry the sausage in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, breaking the sausage apart with a wooden spoon until it looses it's raw color and begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes.
  • Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook until the mushrooms no longer release liquid, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.
  • Add wine to the skillet, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes, set aside.
  • Butter an 8-inch square baking dish with the remaining 1 tablespoon 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 cheese, evenly over the bread slices. Arrange the remaining bread slices in a single layer over the cheese; sprinkle the remaining sausage-mushroom mixture and 1/2 cup more cheese over the bread.
  • Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until combined; whisk in the reduced wine, half-n-half, 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the bread layers.
  • Wrap the strata tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the surface of the strata. Weigh the strata down (see note), and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
  • Remove the dish from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees.
  • Uncover the strata and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over the surface; bake until both edges and the center are puffed and the edges are pulled away from the sides of the dish, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes and serve.

Notes

To weigh down the strata, use two 1 pound boxes of sugar laid side-by-side on the plastic covered surface. Alternatively, you could use rice in zip lock bags.
To double this recipe, use a 13 by 9 inch baking dish greased with 1 1/2 Tbs butter  and increase the baking time to 1 hour and 20 minutes.