Thanksgiving Strata

Post by Anna

Thanksgiving coincides with Hannukah this year. This turned out to be a great scheduling miracle for the opportunistic, carb-loving people who have always wanted to make sweet potato latkes or deep-fry a turkey. I have managed to steer clear of most of the brouhaha over Thanksgivukkah, needing to focus my energy on the more urgent priority: leftovers.

Even our late grandmother, Noni, was savvy on this idea. We dug up an old recipe card with instructions for what to do with leftover mashed potatoes. So in a sense, we are cut from the same cloth, minus the penmanship.

This year Molly was responsible for a vegetarian stuffing that used toasted cubes of a seedy, sourdough bread and a mess of shallots, celery, mushrooms, and fresh herbs. All of these ingredients are present in my version of heaven.

Having emerged from Thanksgiving dinner net positive on food, including an entire pan of uneaten stuffing, we knew just what to earmark for brunch. It was as easy as pouring some eggs and cream on top: Thanksgiving strata.

Prep time: 2 mins / Cook time: 35-40 mins / Serves 6-8 

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 3-5 cups of stuffing (or toasted bread cubes if it’s no longer holiday season) in a 9×7 buttered pyrex or loaf pan
• 6-7 eggs
• 3/4 cups whole milk
• 2-3 sprigs of thyme
• Handful of cheese (goat, parmesan, or gruyere would work well)
• Salt & pepper

WHAT YOU DO:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, set rack to center
• Whisk together eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and herbs
• Pour egg mixture over stuffing or bread, making sure that cubes are submerged. Allow to rest for 5 minutes to be sure bread is completely soaked.
• Sprinkle cheese on top
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until eggs are set and firm in the center (for a more shallow pan, the cook time will be closer to 20 minutes)

Sleepy kids full of thanks + treats