A Lotta Strata!

As promised, we have done a lot of cooking up here at the mountain house. After a stormy but restful night, I was up early and got a jump on breakfast. The general store up here was not plentiful in choices so I had to make some substitutions, but it was a hit!

Sausage, Fontina, and Bell Pepper Strata

• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch wide-strips
• 1 1-pound loaf rustic French bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 cups (loosely packed) coarsely grated Fontina cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch ceramic or glass baking dish.

Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.

Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to 1 side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Sauté over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork, until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown in spots, about 7 minutes.

Arrange half of bread slices in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausage-pepper mixture.

Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge.

Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine