Dairy Overload

Out of pure fear of running out of something last week I sort of over-purchased eggs and milk for the cupcakes.  Because of this I'm bordering on a series of expiration dates that will result in me losing sleep over having to (dare I say it) throw out food.  Fear not fellow anxiety-ridden-food-thrower-outers.  My resourcefulness led me to make spinach and cheese strata for dinner last night and dulce de leche (for future use) out of sheer boredom.

I made the dulce de leche simply because I wanted to use up the milk.  I really haven't decided what to do with it yet though.  I have some leftover naked (un-frosted) cupcakes so I was thinking of incorporating them into it somehow too.  Here's the recipe:

Dulce de Leche
Yield: 2 cups

1 quart whole milk
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all ingredients in a large heavy pot and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  The baking soda will cause it to rise and get very foamy, so you need to make sure it has room in the pot to expand.  Let it simmer for a while, until it is reduced by about half.  I let mine go for about 2 hours.  You'll need to play with the temperature a bit, adjusting to make sure it is staying at a simmer.  Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate it if you don't plan on serving it right away.  Incidentally, I like to keep caramel stored in a squeeze bottle in the fridge so that I can easily use it to decorate tarts.

Now, onto the strata.  Here's the recipe for that gem:

Spinach and Cheese Strata
Yield: 6 or more servings

olive oil
butter
1 medium onion, medium dice
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 oz. spinach
12 oz. day old bread, cut in small cubes
9 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
10 oz. cheese, small dice

I used my 12" cast iron pan for this.  You could also use a ceramic casserole dish or a loaf pan to get a different shape.  I wanted to use a casserole dish, but mine is packed away in the basement somewhere and I wasn't in the mood to wade through all of my crap to find it.  However, since I used cast iron I was able to do the whole thing in one vessel, which was quite nice.  The clean up was not so nice though.  As for the cheeses, I used up whatever was in my fridge which ended up being mostly asiago with a little cheddar and gouda mixed in.  For the bread, I used some sundried tomato and herb rolls I bought at Le Bus Bakery last week.  Side note:  I've taken recently to buying day old bagels and rolls from that little bargain bin at Le Bus to the right of the register.  What a great deal.  If you use a bread that does not have as pungent of a flavor like the sundried tomato bread I used, you should definitely go for a strong cheese and add a lot of herbs to it also.

Saute the onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil and butter (I didn't measure it), stirring, until soft for a few minutes.  Add the garlic and white wine.  Cook, letting the wine reduce by half.  Turn off the heat, add in the spinach and mix, the residual heat will wilt the spinach.  Mix in the bread cubes.  In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper, going easy on the salt if you're using a very salty cheese.  Add the egg mixture and the cheeses to the bread mixture and stir to incorporate all ingredients.  Most strata recipes will tell you at this point to pour the mixture into a buttered baking dish, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours.  I skipped this step as I didn't have the time to wait and mine still came out really tasty and moist.  Bake it, uncovered, at 350 for about 40 minutes.  Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving.  It can be served as an entree with a small salad or you can serve it as a side dish with some grilled meat (sausages = yummy) or a hearty soup.