Sausage strata

I'd been missing one of my favorite brunch dishes from The Kitchen in Boulder. Lucky for me, the restaurant posts many of its recipes on line. I seemed to have most of the ingredients already at home, so with a few minor modifications, I was on my way.

Here is the recipe as posted. It's a creamy, delicious, savory bread pudding of sorts.

Sausage Strata
[Recipe Serves 6-8]

Ingredients:
3 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
1 pint whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
1 1/2 lb sausage meat (out of casing)
8 slices of rustic white bread
1 1/2 cup gruyere cheese-- grated
2 hand full fresh spinach
Salt and pepper.
Large gratin dish
Instructions:
Take the sausage meat and cook in a sauté pan until cooked.

Mix together eggs, yolks, cream and milk in a bowl. Season with a little salt and pepper. Next, take the gratin dish and start to layer the bread, sausage, spinach and cheese (like you would for lasagna), keeping some cheese for sprinkling over the top.

When you have layered every thing together, pour over the custard and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Leave to stand for at least one hour or over night.

Cover with foil and bake in 350º oven for about 1 hour. Check to see that the center is cooked and the custard is set.

Just before serving, put the strata under a broiler until brown. Watch closely so that it does not burn.

I used skim milk rather than whole milk, and the only bread I had at home was 100% whole wheat sandwich bread. I also didn't have any fresh spinach greens, so I used about a half package of frozen spinach that I cooked in the microwave, seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. I browned some sausage, then layered it with the sandwich bread, spinach, and grated gruyere. I poured the cream/milk/egg mixture over it and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so. I popped it into the oven, and we had a decadent, sumptuous brunch an hour later. Super easy (though not super healthy), and so much better than other breakfast casseroles I've had. Try it!