Sausage Strata with Broccoli for Holiday Brunch |Cooking With Amanda

As holidays approach, I always begin thinking about the meals ahead. I love as everyone gathers for the hearty family dinner. A long table filled with holiday delights as everyone chatters away about life and the day's events. A holiday family dinner seems to have such a buzz about it in our household. Perhaps it's because our holiday meals host as many as 50 people. As much as I love that experience, brunches are still my favorite.

For me, brunch has a different energy. Brunch is less of a buzz and more like a lazy stretch while still lying in bed, then shuffling down to eat a slow, cozy meal. Slow paced, yet none-the-less spectacular. I enjoy giving my brunch guests a lot of options like a fresh fruit salad, apple strudel or a sweet bread. My family always requests my cinnamon pear twist bread.

Among the fresh fruit and sweet breads I always make sure there is also something hearty and savory that will really fill everyone up. But I also want to enjoy brunch and not be in the kitchen the whole time.

A strata can be put together the day before then just pop it in the oven to bake before you're ready to serve it. This is one of the many reasons that sausage strata is the perfect choice when making your holiday brunch menu.

If you aren't familiar, a strata is like a bread pudding of sorts, filled with any number of tantalizing goodies. That's what makes this sausage strata perfect for a holiday brunch. Filled with warm, melted cheese, flavorful sausage and tender broccoli florets, this is a meal that will have your guests going back for seconds.

A strata can also be made sweet too by using fruit, cheeses, and with the use of cinnamon swirl bread, this pear and gruyere strata was elevated to something truly special. I made this sausage strata using Italian bread, and this French bread recipe would work perfectly too.

Sweet or savory, stratas are easy to prepare, great for feeding a crowd and will free you up to enjoy your meal in a leisurely fashion. That's entertaining at its finest.

Sausage Strata Recipe

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Ingredients

1 pound broccoli florets
1 yellow onion, small, diced
1 pound italian sausage, casings removed
1 loaf italian bread, cubed
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
8 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Directions

Prepare a large bowl with water and ice cubes to create an ice bath. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the broccoli florets and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove broccoli from boiling water and add them to the ice bath immediately.
Once all the broccoli has cooled in the ice bath, drain the water and set the broccoli in the bowl aside.
Spray a large skillet lightly with nonstick olive oil cooking spray. Place the pan over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the sausage, cooking until browned and no longer pink, breaking up the sausage as it cooks.
Remove the sausage onion mix to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick olive oil cooking spray.
Add half the cubed bread pieces to the prepared dish.
Sprinkle half the cheese, half the broccoli and half the sausage.
Add the rest of the bread and sprinkle remaining cheese, broccoli and sausage over the top.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream and milk until well combined.
Add the salt, ground mustard and black pepper. Whisk again to incorporate.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture slowly, allowing it to be absorbed a bit to prevent overflowing.
Press the bread down into the mixture as necessary to allow it all to be covered.
Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Uncover baking dish and bake strata in the center of preheated oven for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, until the top is golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.