Our big cooking class is really beginning to find its groove.  This strata has many (easy) steps, and the mini-chefs seemed to each have his or her role secured in bringing it together.  The older ones helped the younger ones, and the younger ones generally smiled big smiles when they got their turn to do their important part of the cooking.

A mom asked me a couple of weeks ago how to get her older son to eat green things, or really just more veggies in general.  This is one of my responses.  Savory, satisfying things with plenty of greens and plenty of other child-pleasing flavors can ease a kid into collards, kale, spinach, or swiss chard- all of which can be used interchangeably in the recipe below.  For some reason, spinach and swiss chard are the greens to which most people seem to be receptive.  For me, it is a texture thing.  They are also slightly sweeter than some of the other greens, so start with them when you’re thinking about adding them to a your family’s palate.

Now, this strata is not your low-fat dish.  Note the cheese, eggs, cream, and whole milk, not to mention the optional bacon.  Do not skip any of the ingredients or try to do the low fat version, please!  It will not taste good.  As my Aunt Holly says about Fettucine Alfredo: If you are afraid to use lots of cream and butter, do not make an Alfredo.  Make marinara, and call it a day.  If you are a family that needs to watch fat intake, skip this recipe and go for a turkey meatloaf with greens or even an egg white frittata.  The lush quality of this strata, however, did bring a few new swiss chard eaters to our table, and it might just bring some to yours as well.

Swiss Chard and Cheddar Strata

• 1 T. butter, softened to grease the pan + 4 T butter, softened, to butter the bread
• 10-12 slices of sandwich-style French bread (pre-sliced), stale or dried out in the oven
• 2 bunches of swiss chard, rinsed well , patted dry, and chopped
• 2 red onions, about 2 cups, finely diced
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 3 T. apple cider (or apple juice)
• 1 1/3 c. cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/3 c. parmesan cheese, grated
• 7 eggs, room temperature
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/4 c. whole milk
• 3/4 c. cream
• 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
• optional: 4 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled

1. Big Person: Heat the olive oil over low heat in a medium pan.
2. Add the red onion and cook slowly till the onion is pink and translucent.
3. Add the vinegar and the apple cider and cook another couple of minutes, till some of the liquid evaporates.
4. Add the swiss chard, turn the heat up to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, till the swiss chard is bright green and slightly tender.
5. With your mini-chef, crack the eggs into a medium sized bowl (pulling out any stray pieces of shell that happen to find their way into the bowl); whisk the eggs and season with some black pepper.
6. Add the parmesan cheese, half and half, and the nutmeg.  Whisk till combined.
7. Butter the entire bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
8. Use the 4 tablespoons of butter to butter one side of the bread slices.
9. Place a single layer of bread slices in the bottom of your pan, buttered side up.  You may find that you need to puzzle the slices together, cutting some in half or in quarters to cover at least most of the bottom of the pan.
10. Spread half of the swiss chard mixture on top of the bread slices and top with a sprinkling of about half of the cheddar cheese.
11. Place another layer of the bread, buttered side up again, on top of that.
12. Spread the second half of the swiss chard mixture and the bacon if you are using it.   Sprinkle with remaining half of the cheddar cheese.
13. Pour the egg mixture over the entire thing.
14. Cover completely with plastic wrap and place a bag of rice or beans on top of the plastic wrap to weight it down while the egg mixture soaks into the bread.
15. Refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 10 hours.
16. When you are ready to cook the strata, Big Person, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Pull the strata out of the fridge while the oven comes up to the right temperature.
17. Make sure you take the plastic wrap off before cooking!
18. Bake in the oven for about an hour.  Cool for a few minutes and serve warm. Enjoy!