Three Cheese Breakfast Strata

Recipe Source: Jessica Burns

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of good fresh baked bread, cubed until you have 6 cups
• 10 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of fontina cheese, grated
• 1 cup of sharp aged cheddar, grated
• ½ cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of chicken broth, plus ½ cup if needed
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, grated or ground
• ½ teaspoon each of Salt and Pepper, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

1. In a well buttered baking dish (approximately 13x9 or larger), place the cubed bread. Melt a 6 tablespoons of butter and pour over the bread cubes. Scatter approximately ¾ of the cheese over the top of the bread cubes, set aside.
2. In a skillet, melt the remaining butter over medium high heat. Cook the onions until just translucent, approximately 4 - 6 minutes. Add the garlic and the flour and cook down for two minutes or until slightly browned. Add the stock and the wine to deglaze the pan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer on low until the mixture thickens, approximately 10 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the sour cream and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. To temper the eggs and bring the mixtures together, add about a quarter of the hot mixture to the eggs gradually, stirring vigorously as you add it. Then take the tempered egg mixture and add the whole thing gradually to the hot sour cream mixture, stir to combine.
4. Pour the mixture over the bread and cheese in the baking dish, ensuring its evenly dispersed. Sprinkle remaining cheese and parsley over the top. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. Before baking, let strata come to room temperature - approximately 1 hour. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, removing the cover and bake for 30 minutes or until set. Serve immediately.