Wednesday, August 09, 2006

How Girls Weekend Was Like The Family Stone



How is girls weekend like The Family Stone? (You know, the brilliant movie about the girl who has to hang out with her crazy in-laws?) Strata. In the movie Sarah Jessica Parker makes some for the family and then in a clever comedic twist, spills it all over the floor. (I'm laughing right now just thinking about it!) At girls weekend, Aunt Robin made a to-die-for strata for Sunday brunch. She didn't spill it. We ate it. It was delicious. Here's her recipe complete with her notes.

Strata

8 servings

1 cup milk
½ cup dry white wine
1 day-old loaf French bread, cut into ½-inch slices
4 oz. prosciutto, thinly sliced
2 cups trimmed fresh spinach leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz.)
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
½ cup commercially prepared pesto sauce
4 eggs, beaten with salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
½ cup heavy cream

Prepare the night before.

Mix the milk and wine. Dip bread, gently squeezing as much liquid as possible without tearing the bread. Place in single layer in bottom of 9”x13” buttered pan. Cover with half the prosciutto, then half the spinach leaves. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with half the cheese and then layer half the tomato slices. Drizzle with half the pesto. Repeat the layers.

Pour the eggs over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle the top with the cream and bake, uncovered, until puffy and browned, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve immediately.

Robin’s notes

I substituted ½ cup of milk for the ½ cup of wine, so I used 1-1/2 cups of milk in total
I used 6 eggs
I used this recipe to serve 14 even though the recipe serves 8 (when I was putting the recipe together I realized I had only bought ingredients for 8). I decided to divide the ingredients between two pans and stretch the ingredients as best I could. I think it turned out fine, but would increase the ingredients if I was to do this again for 14!
Bon Appetit!

6 comments:

Mumsy said...

Yum! I have been looking for a good strata recipe.

Anonymous said...

You're so funny, Erin.

jordan said...

The strata was good but the movie was the worst ever.

Salem said...

The presence of gay people is another reason the weekend was like the movie. I saw two guys holding hands and one had a BYU sweatshirt on. Awesome. I think many saw Jared and I as a poster child for gay rights as I toted Ben around.

Gabrielle of Design Mom said...

The strata was so good. I snuck in the kitchen after the table was cleared to eat the last slice.

Jenni said...

I love The Family Stone and I bet I'll love this strata when I get a kitchen and Aunt Robin sounds like a good aunt. What a fun weekend you girls had. Tell us more.