Morton Family Strata from "The Family Stone"

On Christmas morning we often have a slew of relatives who have stayed over from our Christmas Eve dinner the night before, and we always try to serve up a nice brunch to get everyone started on their day of traveling to other family events. So last year I wanted to try something new for a change and I remembered that there was a recipe on the DVD of The Family Stone for a delicious looking strata.

In the film, Meredith Morton (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) prepares her family's recipe for strata to serve to the eccentric Stone family on Christmas morning. If you have seen the movie, you undoubtedly remember the scene where this strata is dropped all over the kitchen floor! 

Despite being accident prone myself, I managed to avoid spilling this anywhere. It was a great dish to prepare for a brunch because it needs to sit in the fridge over night, so you get to make it well in advance and just pop it in the oven when you wake up on Christmas morning.

What you'll need:
8 slices of White Bread
8 ounces Mozzarella Cheese, sliced or grated
14 ounces Tomatoes, sliced
13 ounces sliced Mushrooms, drained (or sauteed fresh)
1 medium Onion, thinly sliced into rings
5 Eggs
3 cups Milk
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Oregano
1 pinch Garlic Salt
Parmesan Cheese
Black Olives, sliced (optional)

 Using a cookie cutter, donut cutter or lid from a jar, cut bread into shapes or circles. Set aside.

 Place bread scraps in bottom of buttered 13' by 9' baking dish. 

 Layer half of the cheese over bread. 

 Arrange half of the tomatoes on top of the cheese.

Add the onion on top of the tomatoes.

 Saute the mushrooms in a little bit of butter.

 Place mushrooms on top and cover with the rest of the cheese.

 Arrange the bread shapes on top of the cheese.

 Put slices of the tomato in the center of each bread shape.

Combine slightly beaten eggs, milk, salt, oregano and garlic salt. Pour over the bread.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dot with olives if you'd like. Cover. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Bake 1 1/2 hours in a 325°F oven, or until knife comes out clean.

 Let stand for 5 minutes or until firm.

Deliciously cheesy! 

Serves 8

Printable Version (coming soon!)