Lynn – Date Night

I spent the rest of my Saturday doing this:

I haven’t had a chance to pick up “This Book Will Save Your Life” since we were housesitting last week, so I’m only in the middle of it. It’s great, though. I am still loving it.

There was a lot of leftover bread going stale so I decided to make a strata for dinner. A strata is basically a savory bread pudding. It’s one of my favorite things to eat, and couldn’t be easier to assemble. Usually I make it with a ton of veggies (like spinach, onions, etc.) and I’ve called it “Erik E. Strata” (named after the actor from “Chips”) but last night’s version was a much less bulked up one, so I’ll just call it…

Simple Strata (serves 6)

Take some day-old bread and cut it into cubes, or even big pieces like you see below. Spray a 13″ x 9″ Pyrex and lay out the bread, sprinkling it with some cheese (I used parmesan):

Whisk 6 eggs with 2 cups of milk (I used organic low fat) with 1/4 tsp. salt and some pepper. Pour over the bread:

Cover with foil and leave in the fridge for a few hours (you can do this overnight). I did all of this before I left for my blogger lunch, so this had been chillin’ for 5 hours. Here’s what it looks like after it’s soaked up the custard mixture:

Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before you pop it into a preheated 350-degree oven (middle rack). Bake for 30 minutes with the foil on top, then 20-30 minutes uncovered, or until it’s cooked all the way through. It should look something like this:

Let it stand and set for about 10 minutes, then cut and enjoy! I had mine with a 1/2 a pear, 1/2 an apple, enjoying a brunch-like dinner:

Egg-y, chewy goodness. It needed a dash more salt and pepper at the table.

One more little piece…with a cup of Decaf Lemongrass Green Tea.

Halfway through sucking my caramel tootsie I realized “I’m not done eating!” Abe and I had plans to go see the movie “Date Night” so I suggested going out for ice cream, cause what says “Date Night” better than going out for dessert?

Abbot Kinney in Venice was busy, so I hopped out and headed into N’ice Cream while Abe waited in the car.

N’ice Cream makes fresh gelato and sorbet daily, with organic milk and fresh, locally grown fruit. It’s right next door to a Pinkberry, and seemed to be kicking frozen yogurt ass, from the looks of the lines.

Abe and I hadn’t discussed what flavor he’d like, but I knew I couldn’t go wrong choosing the coffee gelato:

I asked for a sample of Marzipan/Coconut Gelato, just because I was curious, but wound up going with the Salted Caramel Gelato.

We exchanged a few licks in the car. The coffee was REALLY coffee-ish. Since I don’t drink coffee anymore it wasn’t my cup of tea…er, coffee. Mine was more up my alley – just totally sweet. I’d say more sweet than salty. And in case you’re wondering, I finished up the other half of my caramel tootsie pop after I finished the cone. What can I say – I love sugar!

On the way to the movie theater I saw this guy, whose head just happened to be perfectly positioned in a Starbucks window for this picture:

The movie was pretty good – just as we expected it to be. Most hilarious one of the year? No. Fun date night film? Yes (not just a clever title). Abe and I both agreed that had it not been Steve Carell and Tina Fey, it may not have been as enjoyable.

And what night, date night or not, would be complete for me without a cup of cocoa before bed?

We turn back into pumpkins later today, so I’m going to enjoy the rest of our Sunday on the beach reading, relaxing, taking a walk, and eating leftovers…

Oh yes, and the giveaway winner, picked via random integer is…

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