Spinach and Artichoke Strata

Over Christmas, I was finally introduced to the wonders of strata.  There is a new bakery by my parent's house and we had a surplus of bread laying around as well as extra bacon from the butcher behind our house (spoiled, I know).  The bread was going stale so I made some french toast and a big pan of strata!  Basically a strata is like a savory bread pudding, with layers of bread, veggies, and cheese topped with a savory egg custard.  A new french bakery opened in my neighborhood, so I decided to grab a baguette and give it another go!

Because strata is a great way to use up leftovers, I stuck with that theme while constructing mine.  I had two lonely slices of bacon, opened packages of frozen artichoke hearts and spinach, half a container of sliced cremini mushrooms, and asiago cheese leftover from an attempt to stuff a deboned chicken thigh.  All beautiful ingredients that needed a home, and the deliciously fresh french bread was the perfect palette!

A custard of egg and milk is poured over the layers and allowed to mellow in the fridge over night.  This is the step is what makes this a perfect brunch dish!  I let it come to room temperature, while the oven was heating up, and baked it off in about 30 minutes.  Cheesy and eggy with crispy bacon on top?  This one is a winner!