Mickey's Gourmet Cookbook Review - Breakfast =)

This is the Poly Breakfast Pizza Souffle served at the Papeete Bay Verandah, which is at the Disney Polynesian Resort. The size of this is HUGE! The serving amount in the Disney Gourmet cookbook says that it serves 6 and I say that you could easy serve 8 to 10 with large portions. The casserole dish is about 4 inches deep and holds 3-quarts. There was just the three of us eating this, so you guessed it, I have pizza souffle leftovers coming out of my ears =).

First, I absolutely LOVED the idea of making my own tomato sauce, which is part of putting this souffle together. If this recipe is done in steps where, while you are simmering the tomato sauce, you can also be soaking the bread for the layers in milk. The whole recipe took about 45 minutes to assemble and an 1 and 15 minutes to bake.

This tomato sauce is very flavorful but I went grocery shopping at the last minute and the only tomatoes available were not overly ripe. I was thinking I should buy more then 6 (which is what the recipe calls for) but I didn't and kicked myself later. The tomato sauce recipe is suppose to give 2 1/2 cups and mine only yielded about 1 3/4 cups. This was a very noticeable error. The sauce is needed to cover the bread for each of the layers and I had to be skimpy, as shown below. I can not believe how much flavor difference there was in making my own homemade sauce along with the aroma. Delicious!

As you can see, I am being skimpy with the sauce. I am definitely going to make this again, only next time increase the tomatoes, even if they are really ripe. Freshly chopped oregano is liberally sprinkled over the sauce. Before I forget, I did not use the full 20 thin slices of bread. I was only able to fit in 17 slices and the bread was really fragile from soaking in the milk. Next time, I will use a firmer bread, maybe a french loaf, thinly sliced.

I always am going to Costco for fresh Mozzarella cheese and my Feta cheese, okay, Chev re (goat) cheese, smoke Gouda, aged cheddar; I have a thing for cheese =). This take 1 1/2 pounds of Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced and BOY is this CHEESY when you first try to slice and serve. I had more fun trying to twirl the cheese strings from the dish to a plate without draping the cheese strings off the side of the table and have it dangling over Rocky's (Golden Retriever) nose. Long process (pun intended). Next time, I will cut the cheese down to maybe 1 pound.
I sprinkled the Parmesan cheese on top of the last layer instead of mixing with the eggs because I felt the souffle would get a more even layer of cheese this way. This is the whole souffle waiting for the beaten eggs to be slowly drizzled over the top. I would like to mention that the casserole dish is full and I had to have help lifting the sides of the bread to let the eggs soak into all layers of bread. This part does take patience since the bread has already been soaking in milk.
Wahlaa! The egg mixture is floating overall and ready to go into the oven. The pizza souffle tastes great but I think it would be even better if pepperoni or some kind of meat/veggie combo were added to give it that extra flavor. If you love oodles of mozzarella cheese, this is the breakfast souffle for you! I am going to make this again, only experiment more by adding other ingredients that I would love in a pizza. Overall, a great recipe that can be made to fit each person's taste. . .unless your allergic to cheese =).

Poly Breakfast Pizza Souffle from Mickey's Gourmet Cookbook

Ingredients:

20 thin slices bread

2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese, sliced

2 1/2 cups tomato sauce (recipe follows)

1 T. oregano, fresh, finely chopped

6 eggs

4 to 5 T. Parmesan cheese, grated

3 T. butter, cut in small pieces

Directions:

Soak bread slices in milk for 15 minutes, then drain off any excess liquid. Line bottom of a buttered 2 1/2- to 3-quart casserole dish with bread slices. Top slices with a layer of tomato sauce, sprinkle with a bit of oregano and add a layer of cheese. Continue making layers, finishing by covering last layer of bread with just tomato sauce and oregano. Casserole should be nearly full.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs with Parmesan cheese and pour over casserole. Pierce through layers in three or four places with a fork until mixture is completely absorbed by bread. Dot top of casserole with butter and bake for about 1 hour, or until top is browned and puffed.

Tomato Sauce Recipe:

Ingredients:

6 medium tomatoes, ripe, chopped (about 3 cups)

3/4 cup onion, chopped

1 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 T. parsley, chopped

1 t. dried basil

1 t. marjoram

1 t. thyme

1 T. sugar

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

In a large saute pan, saute onions in olive oil until tender but not brown. Add all other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes, or until tomatoes have been reduced to pulp. Press mixture through a sieve with a wooden spoon and reduce sauce further if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste.