Wednesday Unplugged – Sausage Strata with fontina and bell pepper

“When all else fails, take a vacation.” —Betty Williams

NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!

Cousins got together with John’s older brother last week… we had laughs at the Guthrie production of Little Shop of Horrors… and our son’s family headed off on their waterfall tour. Then I tested positive for Covid and the rest of the week is a blur!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

I wasn’t cooking last week, but was reminded of some of our wonderful lake retreats with our Marriage Care friends. I last posted this delicious brunch strata 15 years ago… I think it is time for a redux.

SAUSAGE, FONTINA & BELL PEPPER STRATA

recipe from Bon Appetit

• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound hot Italian sausage
• 1 large red bell pepper – halved, seeded, cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1-1 1/2 pound loaf rustic French bread, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 2 cups loosely packed coarsely grated Fontina cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2 inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.

Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to one side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Saute over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown on spots, about 7 minutes.

Arrange half of bread slices in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausage-pepper mixture. Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge.

Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.