To go along with the heart surprise-inside Mother's Day cake that I made this year, my husband and I also cooked up a lovely brunch for my Mom. The night before the brunch, I assembled my Canadian bacon strata (it's basically like a savory bread pudding). I have made this strata many, many times, and I love it each time. I usually make it when we have house guests, because this is the perfect morning breakfast dish that you can prepare the night before, and then pop in the oven first thing in the morning. That way, you can catch up with your house guests over coffee while it bakes, and you won't have to be busy in the kitchen cooking up breakfast!
I saw this recipe on the Everyday Food cooking show several years ago, and have been using the same recipe ever since. First halve and toast your English muffins (I like to do this all at once on a sheet pan in the oven, but you could also use your toaster if you prefer).
Once toasted, slice each English muffin in half to create a half circle. Then get your Canadian bacon and slice those into half circles as well, and then alternate English muffins and Canadian bacon when layering them into your buttered baking dish.
Next, assemble your custard mixture (milk, eggs, mustard, hot sauce, and seasonings) and pour it all over the English muffins and Canadian bacon.
Finally top it with grated cheddar cheese and a little bit of grated parmasan.
And that's it! So simple! Cover it with plastic wrap and let it set in the refrigerator overnight (or you could just let it set for 2 hours if you are making it the day-of). Then first thing in the morning, remove the plastic wrap and bake it at 350F for a little over an hour (the recipe says one hour and 30 minutes, but I usually don't need to bake it that long).
For our Mother's Day brunch, I set a nice and simple table, with champagne glasses for Mimosas. :)
For the Mimosas I just combined equal parts orange juice with champagne, but you can also add Triple Sec if you like.
To go with the strata, I also made a simple fresh pea soup adapted on this recipe from Sunset Magazine, with a sprig of fresh parsley and drizzled with good olive oil. (I excluded the almonds since my daughter is allergic to all nuts, used parsley instead of mint, and also added a bit of sour cream for richness).
Finally, my husband whipped up my favorite Mario Batali asparagus to go with the brunch. Lightly blanched and then tossed with lemon zest, garlic, and olive oil, this asparagus dish is so fresh and tasty, even the kids like them!
Hope you had a happy Mother's Day, Mom!
