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.
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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