Egg Bake Recipe

The following is the egg bake recipe we used for yesterday's brunch. The recipe comes from allrecipes.com and was submitted by Gloria Rohlfing.

Brunch Egg Bake

"Here's an easy, tasty dish to make for company that still allows you to spend plenty of time with your guests. I grew up in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and food was always the center of attention at our family get-togethers. We think brunch is the best meal of the day to gather and enjoy. -Gloria Rohlfing, York, Pennsylvania"

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 (4.5 ounce) jar sliced mushrooms, drained

1/3 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 cups diced fully cooked ham

8 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Combine cheeses; place 3 cups in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish and set aside. In a medium skillet, saute mushrooms, onions and red pepper in butter until tender; drain. Place over cheese; top with ham. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. In a bowl, beat eggs. Add milk, flour, parsley, basil, salt and pepper; mix well. Slowly pour over the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minute before cutting.

Dale made the egg bake and I thought it was absolutely delicious. It served seven people comfortably and we still had a couple of large servings left over.

Holiday Brunch 2010

On December 23, Dale and I hosted a holiday brunch. We invited our friends Chris and Alyn who brought along with their very mobile and delightful toddler son Ellis. We also invited our friend Eric who brought along his delightful boyfriend Erich. The menu included champagne, mimosas, an egg bake, sausages, hash browns, mixed fresh fruit, and a maple pecan bundt cake. Everything turned out quite well but I was particularly excited about the bundt cake as it was the first one I ever made.

The recipe for the bundt cake is from Nigella Lawson's book Nigella Kitchen and can be found on page 239. Use of the fleur de lis bundt pan that I bought a few months ago made this particularly fun.

The recipe for the egg bake is from one of those Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks (you know, the kind you get at the grocery store check-out lane) and is dated from May of 1993. The recipe is found on page 21 of that publication and is as follows:

Confetti Egg Bake

Ingredients:

Half cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 (9 oz.) pakage of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain

Half pound bulk turkey Italian sausage, cooked

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

Half cup chopped green onion

1 (2 oz. jar sliced pimiento, drained [I used a 4 ounce jar]

6 eggs

1 cup half-and-half

Half cup shredded Swiss cheese

Half teaspoon paprika [I forgot to add this]

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8-inch square (1 1/2 quart) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Layer Cheddar cheese, spinach, Italian sausage, mushrooms, green onions, and pimiento in spray coated dish. In medium bowl, combine eggs and half-and-half; blend well. Pour egg mixture evenly over layered mixture. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and paprika.*

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 6 servings.

*Note: This can be assembled a day in advance. Cover and refridgerate. Bake at 350 F. but increase the cooking time to 40-50 minutes.