Recipe for sausage and mushroom strata

Serves 6

Foxborough resident Judy Copek shares a layered egg, bread, sausage, mushroom, and cheese casserole from her from cousin, Mimi Dill of Athens, Ga., where, writes Copek, “Southern ladies do things up right.” The dish is assembled and refrigerated overnight before baking into a moist custard with hints of spice from the meat.

1. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish.
2. Spread the bread cubes evenly on the bottom of the dish.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon. Cook for 5 minutes, or until it loses its pink color. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the skillet and scatter over the bread cubes. Leave the fat in the pan.
4. Add the onion to the fat and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms soften. Spread the mushroom mixture over the sausages. Sprinkle with half the cheese.
5. In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, Worcestershire, mustard, and salt. Pour the egg mixture over the sausage mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
6. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish. Let the dish sit at room temperature for 40 minutes.
7. Set the oven at 350 degrees.
8. Bake the dish for 55 minutes or until the eggs are set at the edges and the top is beginning to brown. Adapted from Judy Copek

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Makes one 9-inch square

Roberta Strack of Westwood clipped this recipe from a Confidential Chat column about 45 years ago. Confidential Chat, which appeared daily in the Boston Globe, was a way for readers to share recipes anonymously. The column ran for more than 100 years. The cake is made with both granulated and brown sugar, which gives it a dark color and slight butterscotch taste.

TOPPING

1. In a bowl, combine the nuts, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
2. Set aside.

CAKE

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.
In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to blend them.
2. In an electric mixer, beat the butter until light. Add the granulated and dark brown sugar until blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
3. With the mixer set on low speed, beat in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with flour.
4. Pour a little more than half the batter into the pan and spread it into the corners. Sprinkle with half the topping. Add the remaining batter and the remaining topping.
5. Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Set on a wire rack to cool. Adapted from Confidential Chat

Apple-oatmeal muffins

Makes 12

A favorite of his daughters, these not-too-sweet, oat-y muffins from Jim Flanagan of Waltham have been weekend staples on the family table for years. “About 25 years ago I adapted a plain oatmeal muffin recipe to add more flavor. My kids called these ‘Daddy Muffins,’ ” he writes. Pour the batter directly into the buttered muffin tins without liners.

1. Set oven at 400 degrees. Butter a12-cup muffin tray.
2. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the walnuts, shaking the pan often, for 8 minutes. Cool and coarsely chop them.
3. In a mixing bowl stir together theoatmeal, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. In another bowl whisk the egg white, oil, milk, applesauce, and sugar. Witha rubber spatula, gently stir the flourmixture into the milk mixture untilcombined. Fold in the apples, cranberries, and walnuts.
5. Divide the batter among the cups,filling each ¾ full. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges begin to form a crust and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm. Adapted from Jim Flanagan