TRINITY RIVER ADVENTURE INN

"It would be a very big mistake not to do the meal plan, as Heidi & Steph are phenomenal cooks,
and I can guarantee you that when you meet them, you're going to want to spend as much time with them as possible."
Gail High/Lake Tahoe, CA

Meals are available for some dates, but must be arranged at least one week in advance.
Be sure to arrange meals and include preferences and any special requests when you return your reservation form.

Meals are served at our cabin in Bucktail, Laughing Salmon, on the patio spring-fall; inside overlooking the river in winter. They may be delivered to your cabin for an extra fee. Emphasis is on flavorful, organic, healthful & abundant.

Dinner is $30/adults; $15 kids 6-18; under 6 is free. Breakfast or lunch$15 for everyone over 10;
$10 for kids 6-10; under 6 is free.

Breakfasts usually include fresh fruit and yogurt smoothies and can include omelettes, Mexican chilequiles (with corn tortillas and lean chorizo), baked strata (a rich and satisfying layered casserole; recipe below), country potatoes or pancakes, toast and jams, breakfast meats, juice, coffee, teas and cocoa. Oatmeal with berries is always available.

Lunches range from thick sandwiches with all the fixings, fresh fruit, cookies and iced tea in warm weather to hot soup and sandwiches, fruit, cookies and hot drinks in cool weather. We'll pack your lunch to go fishing or take a tour.

"The best B & B food we have ever had."
Mary Halpin/Bonnie Doon, CA

Trinity River Adventure Inn Strata

I finally wrote down our strata recipe, which has been requested since the very first time I cooked it. That was for a very cool family that stayed at Sow's Ear a year ago on Thanksgiving, and we have become friends, which happens a lot with our guests. The latest request was by Bonnie Erhke; she's the woman who caught that enormous steelhead. This is a perfect Christmas morning recipe.

Strata consists of three layers of bread cubes, each covered with a mushroom mixture and grated cheese. The whole thing is covered with a custard mixture, then it sits in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it. It is easiest prepared the day before, then baked the next morning. It can be prepared and cooked the same day, as long as it soaks for at least an hour prior to baking. Kids can be involved placing the bread cubes and distributing the mushroom mixture and shredded cheeses. Since we don't have kids, I tried letting the dogs help. After I bought more sausage and cheese, I fired them as helpers.

This recipe is very flexible (more cheese or sausage, less cheese or sausage, substitute herbs, even drop the mushrooms if you didn't get the M gene) and has proven to be quite popular at the inn. The only way you can screw it up is to cook it in a tall baking dish at 350, because the top will brown beautifully way before the center is cooked. If you use a deep dish, reduce temp to 325 and expect to cook about an hour and 15 minutes, instead of the usual hour. To check, pull a few cubes at the top aside with one spoon while fishing out some of the center with another. When it's lightly set throughout and not soggy in the middle, it's done.

We put it on the table on a pizza stone that baked with it, so it stays warm during breakfast for second helpings. It's wonderful for Christmas morning accompanied by fresh fruit smoothies, coffee, and maybe some eggnog.

Trinity River Adventure Inn Strata

6-8 servings. Preheat oven to 350.

Mushroom Mixture:

1-1 1/2 # sausage (anything from country sausage to hot or mild Italian sausage, linguica, chorizo... mix your favorites)
2-3 c sliced mushrooms (I prefer cremini, but also add some reconstituted dried porcini that my sister gathers every fall, when I have some)
3/4 c finely diced onion
2 cloves pressed garlic

Custard:

1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1 t Italian herbs rubbed between palms
dash or two Tabasco (I like them all, but often use regular & chipotle)
4 large eggs
2 c milk (if I have half and half to use up, I might make 1/2 c of the milk 1/2 and 1/2)

The Rest:

1 1/2-2 c grated cheese (this is a key ingredient and should be a superb cheese, or mixture of cheeses. Consider a sharp cheddar, nutty Swiss, Costco's mixed Mexican cheeses, dried Parmesan. The better the flavor, the less cheese you need).

Equivalent of one large loaf day old (or very lightly toasted) bread: Bread may be buttered before cutting into 1" cubes. As with the cheese, this is a key ingredient. Basic strata recipes call for Italian bread, which is often crappy white bread with no personality. If you can find good Italian bread, use it. I like to mix breads, but the main one is Costco's rustic wheat loaves that are found in the bakery and packaged in twos. I also use good French bread, especially sour. Leftover or stale bread that's frozen for a while works fine. Traditional strata recipes call for removing the crusts, which makes no sense. The crust is the personality. It's also common to leave the bread in whole slices, but it's easier to serve the cubed version, especially if you use breads with substance.

To Prepare:
Use a large, heavy pan. Brown sausage 5-10 minutes, while breaking it into small pieces. Cook fattier sausage more, firmer sausage less. Since some sausages have things we just don't want to know about in them, I remove it from the pan, chop it after browning and discard anything that reminds me of surgical tubing or refused to be chopped smaller. Drain most of the fat for a leaner strata, or leave it all in the pan. Add onion and quickly fry until lightly browned. Add garlic (which browns much faster) and cook another minute or so. Return sausage to pan, add mushrooms and cook covered 2 minutes to release the mushroom moisture (they won't break when done this way), then uncovered another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool (you can distribute the mushroom mixture evenly with your hands if it's cool, but if you're in a hurry, use a spoon).

Prepare custard by mixing ingredients in a large bowl and beating just enough to thoroughly break up eggs.

Butter or Pam a 9" by 13" Pyrex dish or other baking dish. You'll probably want to use Pam if you left all of the fat in the mushroom mixture. This is similar to ordering a non-fat mocha with the whipped cream. Arrange 1/3 of bread cubes on bottom of dish. Cover with half the mushroom mixture, then sprinkle with 1/2 c cheese. Repeat bread, mushroom mixture and cheese. Arrange remaining third of bread over top, pressing down gently. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Slowly pour a thin trickle of custard mix over all of the bread, giving it time to soak into the exposed layer especially (gravity takes care of the rest). Cover and refrigerate up to a day or at least an hour.

Uncover to cook. Place on a baking sheet on the lowest rack in oven. Bake at 350 for about an hour. It will be gorgeously browned and bubbling. If it browns too soon (insert knife and check to see if center is set), cover lightly with foil and reduce heat to 325 and cook another 10-15 minutes. You can also make this dish in individual ramekins, but it will cook faster. Just check the center for doneness. A soon as the custard is slightly set, it's done. As the dish cools, the custard will continue to set up more.

Typical Teen Variation: Double the meat and cheese, leave out the mushrooms, onions, garlic and seasoning. And maybe the bread. Serve cooked or raw, with ketchup.

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