Sausage & Parmesan Eggs over Foccacia

So....this is what I was supposed to make for Father's Day for my husband. He's a pretty spectacular Dad so I wanted to make something new and different just for him. Our plans for Father's Day changed at the last minute so instead I made him a special breakfast for Happy Wednesday. Ok, you got me, there's no such thing as Happy Wednesday, but why not? It sounds like a good idea, especially if you start it with a yummy and filling breakfast that couldn't be easier to prepare.

A friend of a friend sent me this recipe that is a proven winner. Try it out this weekend and let me know how you like it!

Sausage & Parmesan Eggs over Foccacia

adapted by Linda Campbell from Giada De Laurentiis

serves 4-6

1 large loaf foccacia bread

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil combined with 1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ lb Italian sausage (the sausage you’d put in a meat sauce-not breakfast sausage)

4 eggs

¼ cup grated Parmesan

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sauté sausage in a skillet and let cool.

Cut the top off the foccacia and hollow out the bread inside. Tear the top of the foccacia and the inside bread into 1-inch pieces and save for the egg mixture. Brush the inside of the foccacia with the lemon olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sausage, cheese, salt, pepper, and milk. Whisk lightly. Stir in up to 4 cups of the bread pieces.

Carefully pour the egg mixture into the toasted foccacia bottom. Return to the oven and bake until the eggs have cooked, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cut the baked foccacia into 6 to 8 pieces and serve immediately.

The clearly incompetent grocery store closest to my home never has what I need, so in place of foccacia bread I used some sort of flat bread from the bakery. It worked fine and still tasted yummy, so don't fret about using an alternative.