When I was young I can still remember the Spring holidays at home with my family. My Mom would host brunch and she would always make some version of a Strata which would quickly vanish. She always filled it with different seasonal vegetables, stale bread, and egg custard. A perfect dish for a crowd that goes from the oven right to your brunch table. This dish is inspired by my Mom but can easily be customized to your liking.

Ingredients

• 12 large eggs
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups of whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup scallions, sliced thin plus more for garnish
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. neutral oil
• 2 Shallots, diced
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 lb. of cubed ham
• 1 French baguette, cubed
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme, chopped
• 8 oz of Brie, chopped with rind
• 1 lb. of fresh spinach cooked down, squeezed dry and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk vigorously the milk, cream, eggs, mustard, scallions, salt and pepper together until well combined and a bit frothy on top. Set aside.
3. In the D3 Stainless 6-quart Mother of All Pans, heat the butter with 1 tablespoon of neutral oil over medium heat. When hot add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sundried tomatoes and continue to cook until the mushrooms liquid has been released and then evaporated roughly 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the ham and cook combining it with the vegetables for 5 minutes. Add the baguette and let cook for an additional minute. At this time add the aromatics including the garlic and thyme. Let the dish become fragrant incorporating the entire mixture. Add the cooked spinach. Turn the heat off and combine it with everything in the pan.
5. Let this mixture cool for 5 to 10 minutes before adding the custard. Pour the custard into the pan moving the mixture around as you do from side to side letting the custard reach every nook. Slightly press the mixture with your hands into the custard and let sit on the stove for 10 more minutes letting it soak in.
6. Place the pan into the oven covered and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove the lid from the pan and continue to cook for an additional 30-40 minutes or until the custard is set.
7. Remove from the oven. Garnish with scallions and serve on the table.

Pro Tip

This dish can be prepared the night before. Complete steps 2 through 4. After, cool the pan completely before moving forward. Pour your custard into the pan combining completely as above. Cover and sit overnight. The next day preheat your oven while letting the pan come back up to room temperature out of the fridge. Place in the oven and bake as shown above.

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