Retreat Breakfast Casserole with Spicy Gravy

This is sort of like the Fritatta that LaToya showed me how to make a few years ago, though bigger. Serves a big slice to 12 people.

You will need a total of 2 dozen eggs before you get through. Since the ingredients go in by layers, I have marked each different ingredient in bold once below, in case you have to hit the grocer's.

• 25 oz frozen uncooked hash brown potatoes (grated style) [Alternative: This might be good with 1/4 - 1/2 inch round slices, cut from baked potatoes. Bake the night before and slice after they are cool. Skins or no-skins? You decide. I haven't tried this. Let me know if you try it.]
• 1-2 Tbsp parsley flakes

Press these into the bottom of a large greased casserole dish sort of like a crust. Sprinkle with the parsley.

I used a dish I got at Walmart marked 10 inch by 13 inch, 4 quart. This is the picture to the left. If your dish is smaller, you will need to reduce the quantities of eggs, at the least.

Bake "crust" at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes while you prepare all the other stuff. They can turn brown but don't let them burn. When you remove the potatoes, turn the heat down to 350 degrees F.

• Med onion, about 2" diameter, chopped.
• 2 Tbsp butter, olive oil, or bacon grease
• 3/4 cup diced ham

Saute in a large skillet until onion is translucent and water is out of the ham on medium heat. Remove from pan and set aside.

• 2 bunches fresh spinach, washed and coarsely chopped
• 4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 tsp salt

Melt butter over medium heat in same pan. Add spinach and sprinkle with salt. It will seem like too much spinach and you may need to add it to the pan by parts. When the spinach is wilted but not totally soft remove the pan from the heat.

• 8 eggs
• 1/4 cup cold water (No need to be precise on this)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

You should remove the pan from the oven if you haven't already. (And turn the heat down to 350 degrees F.) Beat the eggs, water, salt and pepper together with a whip or a fork thoroughly. Pour evenly over the potatoes in the dish. Try to get some egg on every part of the potato "crust."

Spread the spinach over the top of the eggs. It is hard to get it even but try to get some in what will become each serving sliced out of the casserole dish when you are finished.

• 12 eggs
• 1/3 cup cold water (preciseness not required)
• 1 tsp salt

Beat the eggs, water and salt together as before. Add the sauteed onion and ham that you previously set aside. Stir well. Pour into the pan gently and spread around trying not to disturb the spinach too much.

• 4 eggs
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese (substitute mozzarella or cheddar if you wish)
• 1/2 cup grated havarti cheese (substitute as above)
• 2 Tbsp parsley flakes
• 1/4 Tsp black pepper
• 1/2 Tsp salt

Beat the eggs with the water. Stir in the salt, cheese, parsley and pepper. Mix well. Pour over the top evenly in the casserole dish. (Note: If the dish is over 2/3 filled from the top, it will overflow when you cook it. There is no solution other than to have a bigger pan or reduce the amount of eggs. Sorry.)

Cook somewhere between 40 and 60 minutes. The trick is to remove and serve hot just as the eggs in the middle get cooked. Cover for a more tender top crust. Don't cover for a more crispy top. (For the retreat, I cooked it at home uncovered for about 20 minutes on 350 in the convection oven. I then drove 20 minutes in my car to get to the retreat. Then it was cooked, this time covered, for about 40 more minutes in a regular oven set on 375 but that oven is notoriously inaccurate.)

Fresh Roasted Green Chile

While the eggs are cooking, make the spicy gravy.

• 4 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 1 quart buttermilk (or 3 cups milk and 1 cup sour cream)
• 1 cup New Mexico green chile, chopped coarsely (this is about 4 of the small cans)
• (optional but not recommended) 1-2 finely chopped fresh Jalapeno pepper to make it more spicy hot. Seeds, if included, will make it hotter.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on med-low. Meanwhile microwave the buttermilk a minute or two to get it warm.

When the butter is melted, add the flour and stir together. Cook the rawness out of the flour. Don't let it turn brown. This takes about 3 minutes from the time you have the flour and butter thoroughly mixed. But if it starts to burn, move to the next step.

Add the warm buttermilk all at once. Move the heat to medium and stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. It should thicken at this point but depending on unknown factors you may need to simmer a bit to thicken.

Add the chile (and optionally, the Jalapenos), stir well and bring back to a simmer, still stirring constantly.

The egg mixture will puff up, higher than the sides of the pan but shouldn't overflow. When it is done, as described above, remove from heat and let it set for 3-5 minutes before cutting.

Serve a 2" by 2" square with a ladle of gravy over the top. A tiny bit of finely chopped red bell or fresno pepper looks great on top.