Featherbed eggs (cooks country)

Featherbed Eggs
From Cook's Country | October/November 2013
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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Most recipes for this cornbread-based strata call for making homemade cornbread, cutting it into cubes, and staling it in the oven before proceeding with the usual strata protocol—mixing the bread with custard and letting it sit overnight. To speed up the process, we bake our cornbread on a… read more

SERVES 10 TO 12

To weigh down the assembled strata so the custard permeates the bread, fill two 1-quart zipper-lock bags with rice or sugar and lay them side by side over the plastic-covered surface. Serve the strata with hot sauce.

INGREDIENTS

CORNBREAD
1 cup (5 ounces) cornmeal
1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
CUSTARD
10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 1/2 cups)
6 scallions, sliced thin
4 1/2 cups whole milk
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons salt
INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE CORNBREAD: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with vegetable oil spray.

2. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper, salt, and cayenne together in bowl. Whisk milk and eggs together in separate bowl. Whisk milk-egg mixture into cornmeal mixture until just combined. Pour batter into prepared sheet and spread to cover entire sheet. Bake until lightly browned and edges of cornbread pull away from sides of sheet, 17 to 19 minutes. Let cornbread cool in sheet on wire rack for 10 minutes.

3. FOR THE CUSTARD: Spray 13 by 9-inch baking dish with oil spray. Tear cornbread into 1-inch pieces and place in prepared dish. Add 1½ cups cheddar and scallions to cornbread and toss to combine. Whisk milk, eggs, and salt in bowl; pour custard over cornbread mixture. Top casserole with remaining 1 cup cheddar. Cover with plastic wrap, weigh down, and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours.

4. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove weights from casserole and discard plastic. Bake until lightly browned and center registers 170 degrees, 50 to 60 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes. Serve.

TEST KITCHEN TECHNIQUE: CORNBREAD QUICKER
Before we could even think about starting our strata, we needed to bake and stale cornbread for its base. But would the extra work torpedo the whole concept? Not if we could simplify. So we cooked cornbread in sheet form rather than baking it in the usual deeper pan. Spread thin, the batter baked very quickly. We let it overbake slightly so we could skip the step of staling or toasting it. No need to neatly cube it either; we tore up the sheet with our hands.


FASTER, DRIER, EASIER: We bake the cornbread in a thin sheet.