Know Thy Neighbors

The strata recipe (below) comes by way of my next door neighbor, Reshma.  We live in a townhome community and our houses are joined together.   For the first few years, we would have conversations from our driveways.  Our earliest conversations were easy as we both work in the same field.  Then, gradually we got to know each other on a more personal level.  We've even compared notes on the dating situation in the ATL and agree that we might just need to get the hell on up on out of here if we wanted a real relationship or wanted to get married.

A couple of years ago, Reshma invited me over for my birthday and fixed me some of the Indian foods she grew up eating.  I raved about the food.   Reshma didn't think it was a big deal.   A couple of months ago, I was standing outside her door on my way to walk Brandi and chatting about nothing but then ended up telling her about a tribulation I was working my way through.  She fully understood.  We parted and I felt better.  I had walked almost a house length away and she called out to me Karen, I really am very sorry that you are having to go through this.  Even from that distance away, I could sense her deep concern.  I forgot my exact response but I do remember having tears in my eyes. 

For almost 6 years, we've watched our community grow.  We moved into a brand new community when some of the townhomes were still being built.  I found it strange being among the first set of settlers living amongst unfinished 3 story houses and the eery quietness.   It was nice when all of the homes were finally completed and occupied.  To this day, I remember when our community came to life with the sound of children playing in the street.  I've been here long enough to watch some of these kids graduate from high school.  And now there are still a good number of kids around, some whom we wish would grow up a little faster and quit all of that crying and hollering. 

We've been talking about getting a few neighbors together for a long time.  Well...Reshma would talk about it and I would agree that she should have something at her house.  One day Reshma sent out an invitation to her home for a Sunday brunch which included three other homeowners. We all happen to live side by side.  Nitesh and Jaimini are newlyweds and moved into the community within the last year.  Then there's Rhonda who has lived here as long as Reshma and I.  We all accepted.  It was a wonderful.  Reshma is an exceptional hostess for all of the right reasons one might expect.  She's also a great cook and that is my preference when invited over for a meal. 

She fixed breakfast strata (recipe to follow), rosemary potatoes, orange-cranberry scones (store-bought), fresh berries with vanilla, honey, and cinnamon yogurt, and vanilla almond granola.  There was also tea, coffee and OJ.

Unfortunately, the photos from the brunch did not come out very well but I thought I would include them anyway. 

Reshma’s Vegetable and Chicken Sausage Strata

(adapted from several strata recipes from food.com and Epicurious.com)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
9 eggs
3 links of chicken sausage (no casing), diced
1 large onion, cut into 2 inch long thin strips
1 large bell pepper, cut into 2 inch long thin strips
3 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cumin
1 clove garlic (finely chopped or pressed)
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 tbs butter, softened (to grease baking dish)
Approximately one loaf of ciabatta bread
1 (6 ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped.
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat.

2. Add peppers, onions, sausage and sauté until tender and onions have sweated a bit, about 6-10 minutes. Then add garlic. Press all liquid out of thawed spinach and add to skillet. Add the artichoke hearts.

3. Add nutmeg and cumin. Cook for another minute and then remove from heat.

4. Beat eggs in a large bowl until frothy and add milk, salt, pepper.

5. Grease a 13x9 baking dish with a small amount of the butter.

6. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes. (8-9 cups of cubed bread should result)

7. Layer half the bread cubes, then half the sautéed vegetable mixture, and half the cheddar cheese.

8. Repeat layers in order, ending with cheddar cheese.

9. Cover dish and refrigerate overnight. (It needs 8 hours in the refrigerator)

10. Remove from refrigerator and uncover 30 minutes prior to baking.

11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

12. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown on top and firm in center, a knife inserted in center will come out clean.

13. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.