Overnight Sausage and Cheddar Breakfast Strata

Ingredients

• 1 lb bulk breakfast sausage
• 1 lb day-old sourdough or French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 large eggs
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dry mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Before you cook

• Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and leave them out on a sheet pan for an hour to dry if the loaf is fresh.
• Dice the onion and bell pepper and mince the garlic.
• Shred both cheeses.
• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Steps

1. Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, breaking it into crumbles.
2. Lift the sausage out with a slotted spoon and set it aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
3. Add the onion and bell pepper to the fat and cook for 6 minutes, until soft.
4. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then take the pan off the heat.
5. Whisk the eggs in a very large bowl until fully blended.
6. Whisk in the milk, cream, Dijon, salt, pepper, mustard powder, and nutmeg.
7. Scatter half the bread cubes in the buttered dish.
8. Spread half the sausage and half the vegetables over the bread.
9. Scatter 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar over that layer.
10. Add the remaining bread, sausage, and vegetables.
11. Pour the custard evenly over everything.
12. Press the bread down firmly with your palms until every cube is submerged.
13. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 8 hours or overnight.
14. Take the dish out of the refrigerator 45 minutes before baking so it loses its chill.
15. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
16. Uncover the strata and scatter the remaining cheddar and all the Gruyere over the top.
17. Bake for 65 minutes, until the strata is puffed, deep brown, and a knife in the center comes out clean.
18. Rest the strata for 15 minutes so it settles, then scatter the chives over the top and cut it into squares.