Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted on here. I've finished my junior year of college with a pretty taxing finals week; since I finished classes I've been decompressing and doing a lot of cooking. Eamae and I had a great dinner last night—salad with strawberries, feta, romaine, and a balsamic vinaigrette; roasted vegetables, and a berry "strata" for dessert.
The vegetables are easy, this is my favorite way to make vegetables recently. I soaked a chopped clove of garlic in olive oil while I cut up some carrots, parsnips, and brussels sprouts and tossed them in the oil with pepper and sea salt. I also did some small potatoes (I think they were called butter potatoes?) with just oil, salt and pepper. Then I threw them all on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for maybe a half an hour, or until they got browned and soft.
The berry strata is a result of my addiction to food network, which I don't get at school so whenever I visit my parents I watch a lot of cooking shows. I saw the recipe for this on Giada's Everyday Italian. It's such an easy dessert and it's really delicious!
Berry Strata
adapted from Everyday Italian
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
4 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup whole milk (I used 2% and it was fine)
Splash of vanilla
4 slices of bread, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
1 (10-ounce) bag frozen mixed berries, thawed and drained
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off the heat, add the honey, and stir to combine.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the eggs, ricotta, and sugar. Using a fork, mix to combine and beat the eggs. Add the milk, vanilla, butter and honey mixture, and bread. Stir to combine. Gently fold in the berries.
Place the ingredients in a 10-inch round (2-quart) baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the strata until golden on top and baked through, about 40 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon into dishes and serve.
