Bring Back Brunch!

Written by Miles Johnson

Brunch is one of those quirky meals that require a lot of attention right before serving, so any preparation or cooking that can be done ahead will free up more of your time for your family and friends.

Preparing the beverages, sweet breads, pecan syrup, or even white chocolate cream cheese spread in advance of your event will allow plenty of time to visit with guests. (So visit our website to get these plus additional sweet bread recipes!) Even cracking the eggs the night before can help alleviate the stress of entertaining while still maintaining the fresh objective of doing it yourself.

How to start off the morning? Caffeine! Anyone can brew a passable pot o’ Joe but I urge you to challenge the taste-buds with sugar, spice, and everything nice...including caffeine.

As of late, teas of all hues and flavors have pummeled their way into the marketplace with a fervor not seen before the advent of bottled water. Fortunately this probably means that the brewed beverage section of your favorite grocer has grown exponentially. Taking a fresh approach to the brunch beverage of choice, I’ve become quite taken with the crisp, light taste of green tea. Mixed with your favorite freshly-squeezed juice and a splash of club soda, the revival of Sunday Brunch has never tasted better!

During this relatively chilly time of year I like to make loaves of my favorite sweet breads: pumpkin, zucchini, banana, and cranberry. Due to their high sugar and moisture content, they lend themselves to freezing quite well for a couple months at a time. When thawed, they retain their moist nature and the flavors meld deliciously into each other. That is why I urge the home-cook to make these simple breads well ahead of time and remove from the freezer just before prepping for your Sunday Brunch Soirée.

Banana Pecan Bread

• 2 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 Tsp. ginger
• 1/4 Tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 Tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp. salt
• 1/2 Cup butter-flavored Crisco
• 3/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1 Tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 Cups mashed, overripe bananas
• 1/2 Cup pecan pieces

Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk thoroughly.

Place Crisco and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and blend (preferably using a cake paddle) until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, then on low speed add the eggs and mashed bananas in slowly ensuring an even mix. Spoon in the dry mixture until the flour just barely disappears—over blending will cause the bread to be heavy and dry, so watch carefully and stop the mixer just before you think it’s fully mixed.

Grease a regular bread loaf pan. Pour in the dough and gently even the top surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 55-65 minutes (as oven temperatures can vary).

Once these loaves have baked through (a cake tester or bamboo skewer should come out nearly clean) remove from the oven and allow to cool for just a few minutes. The next part may be a bit hard on the hands but well worth the risk: lay out plastic wrap on your counter in a size suitable to completely wrap each loaf individually. Loosen and turn out the loaves onto the plastic wrap and then immediately wrap to seal in the evaporating moisture. Place in freezer immediately. By wrapping the still-hot loaves you will be trapping the moisture in the bread ensuring a moist and delicious treat later on.

Chorizo and Potato Hash

• 1 Bag frozen hash browns
• 1/2 Cup ground chorizo per person
• 1 yellow onion

Now, as much as I like using the freshest ingredients, some recipes do just as well—even better—with a frozen product like potatoes. For this recipe I use the small cubed breakfast potatoes, about 1 cup per guest with a little more for seconds. Give a baking sheet the once-over with a light coating of non-stick spray and set aside. Remove the casings from a package of chorizo links and break the meat up with your fingers (unless your chorizo came ground already). Dice up your onion and place in a large mixing bowl, followed by the potatoes, sausage meat, and a touch of salt and pepper to taste. Combine by hand and layer evenly over the baking sheet. Don’t fuss over spreading the hash too evenly as it will tend to stick. A baking sheet with enough hash for four should take about 20-25 minutes to bake so this should be the first thing in the oven (at 350 degrees) the morning of your brunch.

The simplest way to prepare eggs for a group is to do ‘em up in the oven while you work on other things. I think a single 8-inch square baking dish can serve two guests but use what you have: even a shallow cookie sheet can work so long as it has raised edges to retain the eggs.

Chèvre, Basil, Tomato and Garlic Frittata

• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tsp. fresh minced garlic
• 2 basil leaves, thinly julienned
• Chèvre cheese
• 1/2 tomato, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and fork-whip until combined thoroughly. Add in the garlic, salt and pepper, and the garlic. Lightly coat your baking pan with a non-stick spray and gently pour in the egg mixture. The mixture should be no more than 1/2-inch deep so use a larger pan or more than one if you have to. Sprinkle the top of the egg mixture with the tomatoes and small chunks of chèvre. Place in an oven at 350 degrees, preferably in a rack just under the hash you already put in. Proceed to making your Sweet Bread French Toast.

The morning of your brunch, you should pull out your choice of sweet breads from the freezer. The frozen loaves will take a bit more muscle to cut through so I suggest getting a strong arm to help out in the kitchen for a few minutes. Create an egg dip of three to four large eggs, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Combine with a fork until smooth. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. While the skillet warms up, dip four slices (about one-inch thick) into your egg wash and allow to soak in a bit. If the bread is still frozen in the middle, that’s OK. If using a non-stick pan gently place your bread on the hot surface and allow to brown on one side (about three minutes) before flipping over (the other side will only take about two thirds as long). Otherwise give your skillet a light coat of non-stick spray for each round of French toast you cook. Remove toasted bread from skillet and place on a paper towel or clean, dry towel. Place another over the top to help retain some of the heat while you prepare another skillet-full. Two slices should be more than adequate per guest.

With luck (or perhaps an oven timer) you should be able to make it through two or more portions of French Toast before removing the frittata from the oven. Being oh-so very careful, tilt the baking dish away from you and begin to gently loosen the eggs from the pan with the back of a metal or silicone spatula. As the egg begins to turn downward encourage it to roll up as you move it from the top part of the pan down to the lower edge. Allow the egg frittata to roll out onto a cutting board and slice in half (or any size appropriate for your guests). You can also simply serve it up whole onto a platter and allow your guests to serve themselves either at the table or in a buffet-type arrangement.

The best way to ensure that the food is piping hot when it reaches the table is to remove items in the order in which they cool the slowest beginning with the potatoes, followed by the eggs, and finally the French toast. If much of the slicing, dicing, and egg-cracking has been done the day before then your time in the kitchen should be minimized by simply heating and plating up!

Article appeared in our 26-5 Issue - December 2009