Food You Can Eat: Cheese Strata

Grossed out? Me too.

First things first:  This is as mid-20th Century breakfast as it gets.  Which is probably also why I felt the need to dress it up with some Bueno Hatch Salsa when it was done.  Also, the bread stays pretty moist so, texture-wise, this was kind of a turn-off for me.  Yes, I’m telling you how it turned out before I’m giving you the instructions, so you can feel free to bypass this entirely.

A caveat before we get started:  This is yet another dish from my grandmother’s recipe box which has baking times that don’t work.  I needed to bake this for another 15 minutes in order to get most of the liquid to cook off.  Also, I should have gone with the two extra eggs.

Here’s what you’ll need:

4 Eggs

2 Cups Milk

½ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Dry Mustard

6 Slices Bread, cubed

¾ Lb. Cheese, grated

Optional Mandatory:  2 Cups Ham, chopped, and 2 extra eggs

Butter a casserole dish.  Put half the bread cubes in dish; add half the cheese and repeat.  Beat eggs, milk, salt and mustard together.  Pour into casserole dish. 

That doesn’t look so bad…
…nevermind.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 35-45 minutes an hour unless you like eating a soggy mess that will completely fall apart.

It looks better than it tastes.

This is Food You Can, But Probably Shouldn’t, Eat.

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About butcherbakertoiletrymaker 557 Articles
When you can walk its length, and leave no trace, you will have learned.

10 Comments

  1. All that cheese cannot be a bad thing…

      • @Butcherbakertoiletrymaker, is there any possibility that your grandmother perhaps made this with old bread, or the… heels?(Isn’t that what that generation of folks called the crust ends of the loaves that they always seemed to put into “the bread bag in the freezer”😉)

         

        It seems like a bit of a bread pudding-y  concoction, which would’ve often used “day old” or otherwise dry & nearly inedible bread… and miiiight also explain the shorter baking time she wrote down?

        • That’s certainly possible. I’d forgotten about the bag full of end slices!

  2. Wait, is Butcher Brad Pitt???

  3. I’ve seen plenty of breakfast casseroles made with hash browns that are amazing.

    I don’t know how this would be considered something to make and serve your family. And I’m saying that as someone who even likes scrambled egg sandwiches.

    Maybe you make this when it’s 1957 and you’re mad at your husband but only have passive-aggressive ways to express yourself?

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