No Offense, Oatmeal

I'm back in New York after spending a week in the sun. Oatmeal's on the stove and it's pretty gray outside. It's a far cry from where I was a few days ago. We'd just come home from a gorgeous, grueling early morning run up and down some very steep hills. The turquoise vistas from the top of the inclines certainly were nice, but the real reward came when we returned home and dug into breakfast.

That day, my mom had made a strata--which, in my mind, is tastier than an omelette, much more fun than eggs and toast, and even a little healthy.

This strata included torn bits of English muffin, ham, cheese, asparagus, tomatoes--and, of course, eggs. My mom prepped them the night before, adding each ingredient to a small ramekin (she had stuffed five of them in her suitcase and brought them from home--'cause everyone does that when they go on vacation, right?). Then, in the morning, she arranged them on a roasting pan and put them in the oven for a half-hour.

The stratas were delicious. The eggs were gently cooked, still very soft, and the bread, asparagus, tomatoes and ham were nestled inside, suspended within bits of egg white and yolk. A dollop of dijon mustard added zip. This was the perfect breakfast. Sorry, oatmeal, didn't mean to offend you.--S

Strata
serves 2

1. Combine 1 1/2 English muffins torn into pieces with 2 slices cooked, crumbled bacon (or cooked ham), and 1/4 c cut-up asparagus or broccoli (you can blanche the veggies first if you want).
2. Divide between 2 (6-8 oz) ramekins. Pour over this a mixture of two eggs beaten with 1/2 c milk, 2 T Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 1 thinly sliced green onion, 1 t Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Chill 2 to 24 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, bake 30-35 minutes, until inserted knife comes out clean. Sprinkle grated cheese and diced tomato over stratas. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Traditional Home