Day 14: Mushroom and Herb Strata

This vegetarian-friendly meal was prepared by Kristin Appenbrink, the associate editor of RealSimple.com and Home & Organizing blogger on Simply Stated. In addition to writing and editing for the site, Kristin is the voice behind Real Simple's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

 

 

I chose the Mushroom and Herb Strata because it was one of the ones in the story that was vegetarian from the start. Or ovo-lacto vegetarian, meaning it includes eggs and dairy. I'm also a huge fan of stratas. The cutting and prep takes a little bit of time, but they are still incredibly easy to put together. And, well, they almost always include cheese. Enough said right there.

 

 

When I was younger, even camoflauged with cheese you wouldn't have gotten me anywhere near this recipe because of the mushrooms. Especially if I'd seen actual dirt on the mushrooms beforehand. Now, I think it was actually one of the best parts of the recipe and the prep. Don't those mushrooms look great?!

 

 

Putting together the recipe did take me a little bit longer than the 20 minutes listed, but only because I took about 40 photos, and I kept stopping to pay more attention to the conversation I was having with my friend Vanessa, who had come over to help me photograph and enjoy the spoils.

 

 

I was really happy with how the recipe turned out. The struggle I normally have with stratas is making sure that they are cooked all the way through without burning the top. This was perfect. I did have to make one switch, which was to use a pie plate instead of an 8-inch square baking dish. It worked just fine, but there was a precarious moment transfering it from counter to oven. I also recommend a trick I learned from working at Real Simple to prevent tears when you're chopping onions: Strike a match right before you start cutting. I did it with each half and my eyes stayed completely dry.

 

Here's the final plated meal:

 

 

In place of the mixed greens, I bought baby arugula and dressed it with olive oil, white wine vinegar, and sea salt and pepper as the recipe called for. It was a perfect accompaniment. Vanessa and I both loved the dish, plus it got rave reviews from Vanessa's boyfriend who was lucky enough to snag leftovers since he had to work while we played in the kitchen. I can't wait to make this recipe again.

 

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how you liked it in the comments, and share your photos by following @RealSimpleFood on Twitter and using the hashtag #OctDinner.