Pizza on a Plate

When I put this plate down in front of Thatboy he took a bite and instantly exclaimed "It's Pizza, on a Plate!" And I thought he was brilliant. But then I got to thinking...pizza on a plate? How else do you eat pizza? It's not really a bowl kind of food...I decided what my brilliant husband probably meant was that it was like a deconstructed pizza. It has all the great pizza attributes - crust, tomato, sausage, cheese, but in a very un-pizza like form.

The inspiration for this dish was some leftover focaccia bread. I started out with a strata idea but decided I wanted something less breakfast-y. I used the same kind of idea behind the strata - put bread and ingredients in a baking pan and pour egg over, but I used a lot less egg so it didn't become an egg dish. Since the focaccia was parmesean, it seemed natural to throw a bunch of Italian ingredients into the dish which is I guess why it became a deconstructed pizza. So pizza on a plate, deconstructed pizza, call it whatever makes you happy. And I guarantee this will make you happy!

"Pizza on a Plate"

1/2 lb Italian sausage
1/4 cup olive oil
focaccia bread, cubed
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup parmesean, shredded
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup green olives, chopped
1/2 can chopped olives
3 basil leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
3/4 cup white wine
2 Tbsp butter, cubed

1) Preheat oven to 325. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large skillet over medium heat. Remove casings from sausage and crumble ins killet. Cook until no longer pink, set aside.
2) In large bowl, combine bread cubes and the remaining oil. Sprinkle with pepper and toss to coat. Transfer to a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring once. Cool pan on wire rack.
3) In a large bowl combine bread cubes, sausage, Parmesean cheese, green pepper, sundried tomatoes, olives, basil, and garlic.
4) Combine eggs and wine and pour over bread mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a baking dish. Dot with butter and bake for 35-40 minutes.