Entertaining / Mains / Recipes / Transfer

An International Bread Pudding — English Muffin, Canadian Bacon, & American Cheddar — Eggs à la Jenjen

Sunday, 23 June 2019

Long before instant internet recipes — heck, long before the internet — my mom created a cookbook for me full of family favorites. In it was her variation of a breakfast strata called Eggs à la Trish which was her go-to prep ahead overnight egg dish for company.

Fast forward 40 years after my mom started that cookbook (check out the 70’s feel to the cover – lol). . . . Grandma came to visit Miles and me for a few days and I made my signature savory bread pudding. We decided to make it a real family meal and invited Mom and Papa to join.

Papa said, “so I hear you made your mother’s recipe.” It was then I realized, it wasn’t her recipe anymore. It was definitely inspired by the savory bread pudding Mama scribed into my cookbook so many years ago, but it was all my own now. Heck, I don’t think they even sell the cheese it called for anymore!

Ina Garten says recipes evolve over time. And over the years I put my own spin on the strata. Some of it was inspired — like when I saw the Pioneer Woman put heavy cream into her everything bagel casserole and I thought well I bet a little cream would be better than just milk. Some was conscious — like when I noticed other stratas with bite size pieces and I thought it would be easier to eat if it was assembled that way. Some practical — like when I thought 6 English muffins come in the pack so I might as well use all of ‘um.

So upon reflection of just how many changes I made to the recipe (7 off the top of my head) I decided it was no longer Eggs à la Trish. But in honor of mom’s recipe that started me on my strata stroll I’ve kept the “Eggs à la” in the naming. Folks, I give you: Eggs à la Jenjen. Ta da!

It really is so delicious! I kid you not, everyone went back for seconds and some folks went back for thirds and fourths.

Scroll through the slide show for a photo tour of how Eggs à la Jenjen is assembled.

Eggs à la Jenjen

A Make Ahead English Muffin, Cheddar, & Canadian Bacon Strata

Course Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword make ahead
Servings 8
Recipe courtesy of Jennifer Holtzman

Ingredients

  • 6 english muffins such as thomas', torn into small pieces
  • 6 oz cannadian bacon cut into bite-size pieces
  • 8 oz cheddar cheese shreadded
  • 6 eggs (free range)
  • 3 cups whole milk (organic)
  • 1 cup half and half (organic)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground mustard

Instructions

from the cupboards . . .

  1. 2 1/2 quart baking dish with a lid

  2. large mixing bowl

  3. cheese grater

  4. kitchen sheers

  5. cup measure

  6. wisk

  7. 1/4 teaspoon

  8. 1 teaspoon

preparation . . .

  1. in a 2 1/2 quart baking dish with a lid layer your english muffin pieces, cheddar, and cannadian bacon

  2. stir

  3. in the mixing bowl add your 6 eggs to the mixing

  4. wisk them a bit to break the yolks

  5. add milk, half and half, kosher salt, pepper, and ground mustard

  6. wisk

  7. pour your mixture into your baking dish (don't worry it will fit)

  8. cover and refridgerate overnight

when ready to bake . . .

  1. take the strata out of the refridgerator to get it closer to room temperature, about 15 – 20 minutes

  2. while strata is getting up to room temperatuer preheat oven to 350

  3. bake for 30 minutes covered

  4. bake an additional 30 minutes uncovered

  5. let stand 10 minutes tented

  6. serve hot

Today I served it with pre-cut cantaloup from the market. And a simple mixed baby greens salad with my spin on Ina’s Lemon Vinaigrette. I’ve served it with roasted tomatoes before and roasted asparagus. Both taste great. It makes for a wonderful supper as well as brunch dish and the leftovers heat-up beautifully.

And as bread puddings go this one is super low maintainance — no toasting bread before, or cooking up bacon, or sautéing veggies. A prep ahead, low maintenance recipe that doesn’t sacrifice on flavor. I’d say those are my favorite kind!

Bon appetite! xxx


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