Strata

Serves six to eight people as a main course

Ingredients

• loaf of Challah (egg) bread (about 12 slices)
• 4 cups of cheese (cheddar, mozza, gruyere, where ever you tastes take you)
• 3 cups milk
• 6 eggs
• 1 tsp each salt, pepper, mustard powder
• 3 chopped leeks
• 1/2 cup red pepper (one should be enough)
• 12 strips of bacon (about half a package) or sausage or whatever meat you want
• 9x13 pyrex dish (or a smaller-but-deeper oval dish, but then do more layers)

Directions

1. cook the bacon
• I usually use the oven: put wax paper on a cookie sheet and lay out all 12 strips of bacon then bake at 350 until they're done)
2. chop up the bacon, leeks, and peppers
3. shred the cheese
4. mix the egg, milk, & spices
5. grease the pyrex
6. layout a double-layer of bread, make sure layer is solid - fill gaps with bits of bread
7. cover with half the leeks, peppers, bacon, & cheese
8. put a single layer of bread, ditto
9. put the rest of the leeks, peppers, bacon, & cheese
10. slowly pour the egg & milk mixture into the pyrex starting from middle and moving outwards as necessary to get even coverage
11. refrigerate at least a three hours, preferably over night
12. bake at 350F for 1 hour

Goat Cheese and Zucchini Aperitif Cake

Serves 8

Ingredients

Standard meause	Ingredient	Metric measure
1/2 cup	Whole milk	125 ml
2 tbsp	Olive oil	30 ml
1	Zucchini thinly sliced	1
3	Eggs	3
1 cup + 1 tbsp	Flour	265 ml
3 tsp	Baking powder	15 ml
1/2 tsp	Salt	2 ml
1/2 tsp	Freshly ground pepper	2 ml
1/3 cup	Vegetable oil	75 ml
1 1/4 cup	Grated gruyere cheese	100 grams
3 oz	Chevre en buche goat cheese, diced	100 grams
3 tbsp	Chopped chervil, tarragon, or parsley	45 ml

Note: for a milder taste use less Chevre en buche, or use a milder goat cheese - such as the creamed goat cheese that comes in a plastic tube with metal crimps at each end.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 Celsius).
2. Butter a 4 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch loaf pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper.
   
3. In a small saucepan scald the milk and set aside.
4. Head the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and saute the zucchini slices until lightly browned (about 10 minutes). Let drain on paper towels.
5. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.
6. Gradually whisk in the vegetable oil and warm milk.
7. Fold in the gruyere, the zucchini, the goat's cheese, and the herbs.
8. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
9. Bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted inot the centre comes out clean.
10. Let cool slightly before un-moulding, the let cool completely before slicing.
    

You can probably get three small loaves out of this recipe instead of one large loaf.