For the past several years I’ve made a few dishes for our annual Holiday party with my best girlfriends and basic “hangover” brunch fare has been the traditional hit. In 2011 I saw this recipe of Art Smith’s in People Magazine and I decided to try it out. Good thing I tested it before I served to the hungry crowd- because it was extremely soggy and runny. I skipped the dish for the party and stuck with the familiar sausage/ cheese  and hask brown casseroles.

When Karen and I decided to start cooking our way together through Back to the Table, I stumbled across this recipe on p 87 and decided to give it a go. Again.

This time around I made it in a 9×13 dish instead of my smaller 8×12. I also made sure I used plenty of bread, which I think I cut back on in December.

The end result after 1 1/4 hours of prep and 45 min to cook the next day…it still looked a little runny but it didn’t taste that way. I do wish I had added a bit more chicken and will make sure I do going forward. The amount of bread in the dish was not equal to the meat and I found my self digging around for chicken chunks. This dish lasted for up to 3 days and fed me multiple meals, as well as my husband and a baby sitter.

Worth the effort? I don’t think I will be making it again until I have exhausted alternate options for brunch fare.

Asparagus, celery and onion mixture

Liquid mixture- water, broth, eggs, parsley, chives, salt and pepper

bread cubes in the dish, covered with chicken mixture and egg mixture…ready for the fridge