Brie And Crab Strata

Total Time: 7 hrs Preparation Time: 6 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup additional unsalted butter
• 4 cups cubes day-old french bread (about 8 slices)
• 1/4 lb fontina cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup packed chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 lb cooked fresh crabmeat, well picked,flaked
• 6 ounces brie cheese, chilled very cold
• 1/4 lb cream cheese, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon mace
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Recipe

• 1 using 2 tbsp of unsalted butter, grease a 2-quart baking dish.
• 2 place half of the bread cubes in the dish, then grated fontina, then chopped basil, then crab meat; top with remaining bread cubes.
• 3 take the chilled brie from the refrigerator and trim the rind (note: the colder the brie remains, the easier it will be to cut, so don't take it out of the refrigerator too soon before this step).
• 4 cut the cheese into small cubes, then dot the top of the strata with the cubes of brie.
• 5 using a food processor or an electric mixer, beat together the softened cream cheese and the eggs until light and fluffy.
• 6 melt the 1/2 cup of butter, then into the cream cheese mixture beat the milk, pepper, mace, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, and melted butter.
• 7 pour mixture over the strata; using the back of a spoon, press the bread cubes down into the mixture so that all are moistened well.
• 8 refrigerate over night or at least 6 hours.
• 9 preheat oven to 350 degrees, then bake the strata for 1 hour or until puffy and golden brown.
• 10 let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving either hot or warm.