Ham and Fontina Overnight Strata

I love so many things about the holidays, but one of the things I love most of all is the familiar smells and tastes. I love tradition, and pulling an overnight strata or egg bake out of the oven on Christmas morning is one of my favorite parts about the day. Stratas require very little effort, especially in the morning when you’re ready to serve. All you have to do is toss it in the oven! The smell is undeniably good. They’re also incredibly versatile. Make it vegetarian and add in some sliced mushrooms and additional peppers, or switch up the protein to crumbled sausage or bacon. We used fontina cheese from our friends at Ferndale Farmstead and it worked so beautifully. Creamy, melty and delicious. An overnight strata has been a longstanding tradition at my house, and I hope you’ll fall in love with this recipe and make it your own!

INGREDIENTS:
1 loaf sourdough bread, cubed
Olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
½ white onion
½ red bell pepper
½ t red pepper flake
Small handful spinach
1 cup milk
½ cup half and half
8-10 eggs
1 T dijon
Salt and pepper
1-1½ cups thick cut ham, diced
1 ½ cups fontina cheese
Scallions

DIRECTIONS:
1.) Cube the sourdough into one inch pieces, and dice the ham. Set both aside.
2.) Sauté the diced onion and bell pepper in oil in a medium high skillet for about 4 minutes, along with garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flake.
3.) In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, milk products and dijon along with additional salt and pepper. Mix in 1 cup of fontina cheese. Gently fold in the bread cubes and diced ham, making sure all of the bread is coated by the egg mixture.
4.) Prepare a large casserole dish by lightly greasing it. Pour in the strata and cover with the remaining half cup of cheese. 
5.) Cover with foil and set overnight in the fridge. In the morning, pull the strata out a half an hour before baking. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, covered. Then remove the foil and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Garnish with freshly sliced scallions.