cherry strata

I experimented yesterday with the strata form, seen in such classics as B's family's Christmas Bake and a more modern twist, New Year's bake. This one is not terribly sweet and is a terrific way to use up bread leftover from BBQs and the like. I have a new cherry pitter which is a blast to use! Probably any other kind of summer stone fruit or berries could be substituted - just vary the spices accordingly.

About 8-10 stale hot dog rolls, or whatever other miscellaneous bread is on hand, torn into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces
8 oz cream cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (yeah, THAT'S a good trick in this heat)
most of a bag of cherries (standard supermarket size), pitted and divided: 1/2 cooked gently with 1/4 C sugar and a couple spoonfuls of water; the other uncooked and sliced for garnish
4 large eggs
2 C milk
2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/2 t almond extract

Layer 1/3 of the bread in a buttered casserole dish.
Top with 1/2 the cream cheese, dotted in place.
Top with 1/2 the cooked cherries.
Layer another 1/3 of the bread.
Top with the remainder of the cream cheese and cooked cherries.
Layer on the last 1/3 of bread.
Beat the eggs, milk, cinnamon and almond extract in a large bowl. Pour over bread mixture and press bread into the egg mixture until all the bread is saturated, taking care not to disturb the "layering" too much. Refrigerate for a bit - overnight is ideal, but if you are like me, you have about 30 mins of chilling before you have to bake it to be ready for dinner guests.

Bake 350 deg for about an hour uncovered until puffy and golden. If the casserole dish is very full, slip a cookie sheet under to catch any overboil.

Spoon onto bowls/plates, and serve with the sliced uncooked cherries. Whip cream garnish if you like.