Skip to footer

Make ahead Mother’s Day brunch: mushroom, spinach and gruyere strata

Pamper the favorite women in your life all at once with a Mother's Day brunch. A meal you can prep the day before will keep the gathering hassle-free and fun.

|
Whipped, The Blog
A strata is an easy make-the-day-before option when hosting a crowd for brunch.

Gathering together for brunch is my new favorite way to entertain. I remember we once had a delightful, long dinner party some years ago but recovery at that time was a little harder with a baby who woke up before 7 a.m., no matter when you got to sleep. On a Sunday morning during that time, we had guests over and thanks to a menu that could be prepared entirely the night before, it was one of the easiest social gathering I've hosted.

My pal Ebony, ultra creative owner of Snow & Graham, inspired yet another culinary decision of mine. She had served us a memorable strata layered with goat cheese, fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes. I followed her lead and welcomed strata into my brunch repertoire. Strata is basically an eggy bread pudding that soaks overnight. Below is the recipe I used and a few variations. Be creative.

I love the menus that Kristen at The Kitchen Sink Recipes offers. So, here is one of my own for an easy Mother’s Day Brunch to feed a crowd.

Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls

Mushroom, Spinach & Gruyere Strata

Fresh Fruit Salad

Coffee

Consider a little take home gift of baked goods if you have time in advance. Perhaps some White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies packed in paper-covered recycled canister or mini Banana Bread Loaves.

Mushroom, Spinach & Gruyere Strata
Serves 8-10

8 cups day old bread cut in 1-inch pieces (Italian loaf would be good. I used Challah)
9 eggs
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
8-10 sliced button mushrooms
1 cup fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1. Use day old bread for this recipe orheat cubes of bread in a 250 degree F., oven for about 10 minutes to dry it out. The dryer bread will soak up the egg and milk mixture better.

2. Beat together eggs and milk with a whisk. Add mustard, salt and pepper and whisk together. Put bread in a buttered 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Add mushrooms, spinach and half the cheese. Use your hands to mix it together slightly, spreading it evenly around the pan. Gently pour the egg mixture over it, covering the bread mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the strata for 30-40 minutes until egg is set and edges are browned. Serve warm.

Variations: Make the same bread and egg mixture but try different veggies and cheese: Goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and basil OR Canadian bacon, mushrooms and cheddar cheese.

Related post on Whipped, The Blog: Sun Dried Tomato, Goat Cheese & Basil Strata

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Make ahead Mother’s Day brunch: mushroom, spinach and gruyere strata
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Food/Stir-It-Up/2016/0506/Make-ahead-Mother-s-Day-brunch-mushroom-spinach-and-gruyere-strata
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe