Today is National Croissant Day, so grab a Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant or fill a warm croissant with crispy bacon or use leftover croissants to make this Bacon Chive Croissant Strata!
RECIPE:
Serves 6-8
8 cups cubed croissant pieces
5 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup chopped chives
4 pieces of bacon, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking dish, set aside.
Fry bacon in a pan until very crispy. Allow to cool on a paper towel and then crumble into bite-sized pieces.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and milk. Season generously with salt and pepper. Mix in the chives and crumbled bacon.
Cut up your croissants into about 1″ pieces, a serrated knife works best. Toss the croissant pieces in with your liquid mixture and press down with your spoon a little so they absorb most of the liquid. When you push the croissant pieces to the side of the bowl, there should still be a cup or two of liquid in the bottom of the bowl. This will cook into the binding custard as it cooks. Depending on how moist (or fresh) your croissants are, you may need to add a little more liquid.
Pour the mixture into your prepared baking pan, using the back of your spoon to smooth it down in the pan. There should be visible liquid around your bread pieces. If your bread looks dry once you smooth it out, I recommend topping the mixture with about 1/2 more milk, poured evenly over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 – 30 minutes. To check if it’s done, the top should look a little crispy and there should be no visible liquid in the bottom of the pan as all of it should have absorbed into the bread / custard mix while baking.
Photo & recipe courtesy of: http://www.everythingbutthe.com/2011/05/08/bacon-chive-croissant-strata/
