Spinach and Gruyere Make Ahead Casserole

Have you got friends or family staying over for the holidays? Want to serve a breakfast that's a bit more interesting than cereal or bagels and cream cheese? Try this easy-to-make dish that can be (and should be) assembled the night before you bake it. Remove it from the fridge in the morning, pop it into the oven while you open Christmas gifts, and you'll have a hearty, delicious breakfast ready by the time you're finished unwrapping that last package. I remember making something similar to this in the 1970s, when people referred to it as a "strata." Whatever you call it, it's filled with eggy and cheesy goodness. If you want to gild the lily, you can always add some cooked sausage or bacon to the casserole. Or keep it just as is for your vegetarian family and friends. Merry Christmas readers.

Serve it piping hot from the oven, or even at room temperature. Leftovers are great reheated in the microwave too.

Spinach And Gruyere Casserole

(From The New York Times)

• 8ounces baguette or other crusty bread, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
• 6tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), more as needed
• 2leeks, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced into half-moons
• 10ounces fresh spinach
• ¼teaspoon grated nutmeg
• large pinch of ground cayenne
• 1teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2tablespoons dry vermouth or white wine
• 8large eggs
• 2cups half-and-half (or use a mix of milk and heavy cream)
• ½teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 4ounces Gruyère, grated (2 cups)
• ¾cup grated Parmesan

1. Step 1

   Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or a large gratin dish.

2. Step 2

   Spread baguette cubes on a baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cubes to a large bowl and toss with 4 tablespoons melted butter and a pinch of salt.

3. Step 3

   Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add leeks and a pinch of salt, and sauté until tender and lightly golden, about 5 minutes.

4. Step 4

   Stir in about half of the spinach leaves, a pinch of salt, nutmeg, cayenne and lemon zest, and stir until wilted, about 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in remaining spinach and another pinch of salt. Sauté until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the vermouth and let cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pan looks dry. Taste and add more salt if needed. Let spinach cool.

5. Step 5

   In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Add mixture to the baguette, tossing well. Add spinach, 1¾ cups Gruyère and ½ cup Parmesan, and toss everything until mixed (your hands work well for this).

6. Step 6

   Pour mixture into prepared baking dish, cover, and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

   
   

   
   

7. Step 7

   When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover and top casserole with remaining ¼ cup grated Gruyère and ¼ cup grated Parmesan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the center is set and no longer liquidy (it might puff, and that’s fine). Let sit for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

Schnecken

Whenever I visit New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, I have to stop by William Greenberg Desserts on the Upper East Side, a renowned bakery that sells everything from babka to black and white cookies. But the thing I can't resist when I enter the shop are the schnecken, those sticky, irresistibly buttery, brioche rolls laden with cinnamon, pecans and raisins. I am in rapture with a copycat recipe I found from Lion's Bread website that mimics William Greenberg's schnecken perfectly.  The photo above are the ones I made, and the photo below is from the bakery's website. They are really identical in taste and appearance.

They do require quite a few steps and a good amount of time, but much of that is just giving the dough time to proof. These freeze beautifully and are great to have on hand for Christmas morning while everyone is opening gifts, so get a head start and make these soon. Start out by mixing the dough the night before and putting it in the refrigerator. The next day, mix the softened butter and brown sugar and place into cupcake tins.

Add the pecans (add raisins if you like, but there are raisins inside the dough so I didn't add any on the outside.)

Roll out the dough, spread with more of the butter and sugar mixture, then a layer of raisins.

Slice into twelve pieces and lay on top of the sugar/butter mixture in the cupcake tins.

Let them rise about 1/2 hour or so, then bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Remove and flip onto a platter. These are delicious at any temperature, but fresh from the oven, they're addictive.

Schnecken

recipe from The Lion's Bread

THE DOUGH

• 12 tablespoons salted butter, 170g at room temperature
• ½ cup sugar, 60g
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sour cream, 120g
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast, 4g
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 360g
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

THE GLAZE AND FILLING

• 16 tablespoons salted butter, 2 sticks, 226g
• 2 cups dark brown sugar, 426g loosely packed, divided
• 2 cups roughly chopped pecans
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup raisins

Instructions

1. Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle and cream at low speed until smooth. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, then the sour cream, yeast, vinegar, and vanilla, mixing at medium speed for about 3 minutes, until well incorporated.

2. Replace the paddle with the dough hook and add the flour gradually, mixing at a low speed for about 10 minutes. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky. Remove the dough, dust the top with flour, and press it into a rectangle about 2 inches thick. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next day, place the 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) of room temperature butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and mix until smooth. Spoon the creamed butter-sugar mixture into the bottoms of a standard 12 well muffins tin. Use a pastry brush to coat the inside of the cups completely with the butter mixture.

4. Scatter the pecans generously over the butter-sugar mixture in the muffin cups. Set aside.

5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Flour your work surface generously and roll it out an into an 8-by-13-inch rectangle about ¼" thick.

   Sprinkle the dough with the 1 cups brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1 cup raisins. Your lightly floured hands to gently press the raisins and sugar down into the dough. With the long side of the rectangle facing you, roll the dough up tightly into a log.

6. Trim the ends of the rolls slightly and cut the log into 12 slices, about 1 inch thick for the regular schnecken. Place each piece into the prepared muffin cups, cut side down, so that the swirls are face up. Press them down gently into the tins. Cover the baking pan loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and Let the schnecken rise for about 30 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Place the muffin tin on top of a rimmed cookie sheet, to prevent any buttery spills in your oven. Bake the schnecken on the middle rack until golden, about 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and invert onto a clean baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow to the schnecken to cool mostly, but they are amazing when enjoyed fresh from the oven!

8. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.