I’ve always been intrigued by GPOYW. I’ve seen some of my friends post gratuitous pictures of themselves on Wednesday. And coincidentally, I spent this Saturday afternoon with my photographer friend Allie, who just launched a brand new photography website. She snapped some photos as I was making a spinach and cheese strata.

There. Now you’ve all seen it for yourself. Everyone knows that I’m legit, but even more importantly, that my kitchen is a mess when I cook. I try to clean as I go, but yeah, that doesn’t always happen.

Let’s talk about spinach and cheese strata for a moment now, shall we? Or perhaps we should just let the photo (and the ingredient list) speak for itself.

Spinach and Cheese Strata

Gourmet (February 2003)

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze of all excess liquid, and chopped
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread in 1-inch cubes (1/2 lb)
6 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
2 ounces finely grated parmesan (1 cup)
2 3/4 cups milk
9 large eggs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1. Sauté onion in butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking for one minute. Stir in spinach, remove from heat and set aside.

2. Spread one third of the bread cubes in a well-buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other ceramic baking dish. Top with one-third of bread cubes,one-third of spinach mixture and one-third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach and cheese.

3. Whisk eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for several hours or up to a day.

4. Remove from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350°F. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Thanks to Allie for letting me swipe a few of her fab photos!