Breakfast Strata with Sausage, Belford and Asparagus
This recipe doubles easily; use a 9 by 13-inch baking dish greased with only 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and increase the baking time as directed in step 4.
Serves 6
- 8 slices French bread (1/2 “ thick)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 5 medium shallots, minced (1/2 cup)
- 1 lb Garden’s fresh asparagus
- 8 oz Whey Good Pork bulk sage sausage
- ½ cup medium-dry white wine
- 6 oz Mature Belford cheese, grated (1½ cups)
- 6 large James Ranch eggs
- 1 cup half-and half
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange bread in single layer on large baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp, about 40 minutes, turning slices over halfway through drying time. (Alternatively, leave slices out overnight to dry.) When cooled, butter slices on one side with 2 tablespoons butter; set aside.
- Fry sausage in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking sausage apart with wooden spoon, until sausage has lost raw color and begins to brown, about 4 minutes; add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 1 minute longer. Add asparagus to skillet, and cook until asparagus is slightly brown about 6 minutes; transfer mixture to medium bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add wine to skillet, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes; set aside.
- Butter 8-inch square baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon butter; arrange half the buttered bread slices, buttered-side up, in single layer in dish. Sprinkle half of mixture, then 1/2 cup grated cheese evenly over bread slices. Arrange remaining bread slices in single layer over cheese; sprinkle remaining mixture and another 1/2 cup cheese evenly over bread. Whisk eggs in medium bowl until combined; whisk in reduced wine, half-and-half, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread layers; cover surface flush with plastic wrap, weigh down (see note, above), and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Remove dish from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Uncover strata and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over surface; bake until both edges and center are puffed and edges have pulled away slightly from sides of dish, 50 to 55 minutes (or about 60 minutes for doubled recipe). Cool on wire rack 5 minutes; serve.
(Adapted via Cooks Illustrated November 1, 2001)
Eggplant Gratin
- Serves 4 for main dish or 6 as a side dish
This dish can be a light main course or a delicious side dish. Its rich flavors are a wonderful complement to beef.
- 2-2 ½ pounds eggplant
- Olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 large yellow onions, finely diced
- 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 large bell pepper, diced
- 3 large tomatoes, chopped (peel if you like)
- 1 handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 1/3-1/2 pound James Ranch Mature Belford cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice the eggplant into rounds about ½ inch thick – in season, there is no need to salt the eggplant as some recipes state. Brush both sides of each piece with oil and bake on a sheet pan until browned and tender on both sides – about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees.
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil or butter in a wide skillet. Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until limp – about 10 minutes. Raise the heat a little, add the pepper and tomatoes and continue cooking , stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and thickened into a jam – about 20-30 minutes. Raise the temperature at the end to reduce the juices if any and add the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Lightly oil a 2 ½ quart gratin dish. Put a layer of eggplant in the bottom, cover with half the tomato mixture, follow with another layer of eggplant, the rest of the tomato mixture and then top with the grated Belford.
- Cover and bake for 45 minutes then uncover, raise the temperature to 375 degrees and bake another 25 minutes.
Becca’s Macaroni and Cheese (The cheese maker’s wife)
This is a great recipe for winter, spring, summer and fall. If you’re looking for comfort food, this is one of those recipes everyone loves!
- 1 lb. pasta such as Fusilli or Penne
- 1 to 1.5 pounds of grated Young Belford James Ranch Artisan cheese
- ½ cup (1/4 pound) unsalted butter
- ½ cup flour
- 4 cups milk
- ½ to 1 tsp. salt to taste
- ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- Dash cayenne
- Pepper to taste
- Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al denté. You want it slightly undercooked to avoid mushiness in the final product.
- Melt butter in a large sauce pan. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes. Slowly add milk. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally at first and then constantly as it starts to thicken. This sauce will still be rather thin but will thicken more when baked.
- After the sauce has thickened a bit, add nutmeg, salt, cayenne, and pepper. Remove from heat and add 2/3 of the cheese, reserving 1/3 for the top. Stir until the cheese is melted.
- Combine the pasta and cheese sauce and pour into a 9x13 pan. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. It should be all bubbly.
- Turn on the broiler for the last minute or two if the cheese on top did not get as brown and crispy as you like. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, if you can wait, and then serve.
