Last night it hit me why I like writing. It's because I find it so much easier than speaking. I rarely feel like I adequately express myself with spoken words. Their meaning usually gets jumbled on the way out. (Occasionally I wonder if something I've just said even made sense.) But when I write, the words seem to flow. I am able to portray what I'm really thinking much more clearly. And it doesn't hurt that I can go back and revise. When you're talking you only get one attempt to get it right. (Because usually by the second try you'll have lost your listener's attention.)
And that's why I like blogging. It gives me the opportunity to speak what's on my mind in a more efficient and effective way. To tell the stories that might otherwise be misunderstood. Those of you who are close to me know that I do plenty of talking, but sometimes I like to seek refuge in writing. Have you ever tried to tell someone how much they mean to you in words? Most of us would write a letter or scribble a note rather than rely on our oral eloquence. Whenever I have something meaningful to say, I write it down.
While many of these posts are simply descriptions of delicious recipes, a few are slightly more. This has become a place for me to liberate my thoughts. To give voice to the words I find difficult to say. Sometimes somewhere to just ramble about nothing (like today)! And honestly, I don't care if anyone is listening. Most of what I write is meant for me. I hope you're here for the recipes!
OK. Back to food. This strata was very loosely adapted from Bon Appetit. Since fresh tomatoes are falling out of season, I used sun-dried. I plucked a few peppers from my bushes out back. I incorporated some surprisingly delicious maple apple chicken sausage that I'd bought and didn't know what else to do with. And the Asiago was left over from another dish. Somehow it all worked so well.
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large bell peppers, julienned (I used a red and a green)
12 oz. chicken sausage, cut into bite-size pieces (I used maple apple chicken sausage from Trader Joe's)
8 cups whole wheat boule or sourdough bread, cubed
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, drained and julienned
2 cups Asiago, grated
8 eggs, whisked
3 cups milk
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. dried basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and bell peppers and saute until tender-crisp. Add the chicken sausage and cook until browned. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and add the cubed bread, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1 cup of Asiago. Toss to combine. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the eggs, milk, Dijon, and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour over the bread and sausage mixture. Top with the remaining cup of Asiago.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until puffed in the center and golden on top. Remove from the oven and let set several minutes before serving.
Serves 8.
(Adapted from Bon Appetit)
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