Brunch It Up!

brunch

/brənCH/

noun

a late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast and lunch.

So what is your definition of brunch? More "breakfasty"? More "lunchy"? Combination of both? I love for my menus to include breakfast food such as a quiche, bacon, potatoes, waffles, blueberry muffins, etc. but I also love to include lunch food such as sandwiches, cold or hot soup (depending on the time of year), salad, cookies, etc. Whatever your definition of brunch, you will find some fun and delicious recipes to choose from in this post.

on the "lunchier" side are these amazing Lobster Rolls.

To make the lobster salad, I steamed 4 lobster tails, removed the meat, and combined it with 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 small minced shallot, and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon.

I toasted split top hot dog buns....

...topped each with lightly dressed lettuce leaves (olive oil and red wine vinegar)...

...lobster salad...

...spicy mayo (1 cup mayo, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon mustard powder, splash of lemon juice, big pinch of Old Bay, 1 teaspoon Sriracha, and a pinch of salt), and to finish, I added chopped fresh chives, and lemon wedges.

So much flavor!

I never met a lobster roll that did not love a pile of potato chips!

Next up is the French bistro classic, the Croque Madame, aka the best ham and cheese sandwich you will ever eat.

To start I made a Béchamel sauce by melting 2 tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. I added 2 tablespoons of flour and whisked constantly for 2-3 minutes before adding 1 cup of whole milk and 1 bay leaf. I let it cook, stirring occasionally for 11 minutes until it started to thicken and coated the back of a spoon. I removed the bay leaf and added 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese before transferring to a bowl to cool. I also grated 12 ounces gruyere.

While not a traditional ingredient, I decided to add a touch of sweetness and flavor by slathering the inside of the bread with mango chutney before topping with good sliced ham.

I combined half the gruyere with the Béchamel, tasted for seasoning, spread it on top of the ham, and topped with another slice of bread.

Time to grill! I melted some butter and grilled 2 minutes per side.

I placed them on a sheet pan, topped with the rest of the Béchamel and gruyere, and popped under the broiler for a few minutes.

If you want a Croque Monsieur, you have it, but if you want a Croque Madame, you'll need a runny egg on top. I use these ring molds for a perfectly round egg, but you can go with a rustic shape for sure.

Salt and pepper is all you need and these beauties are ready to go!

I like to include a small bite sized finger food with any spread and a big platter of Gougeres (French cheese puffs) are a fun fit for a brunch table and they are easy and delicious.

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease 2 parchment lined baking sheets

• Place 1 cup water, 6 tablespoons butter and a big pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil until the butter is full melted

• Remove from the heat, add 1 cup flour, another pinch salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix until incorporated

• Return pan to low heat and mix for 1 minute to dry out the mixture

• Remove from stove, let cool for 2 minutes

• Add 1 egg, mix vigorously until incorporated - batter may split at first, but it will come back together

• Add 3 more eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next

• Stir in 2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

• Drop 1 tablespoon mounds onto trays (small cookie scoop works well)

• Brush with an egg yolk, then top with a pinch of "Everything Bagel" seasoning

• Bake 25 minutes

• Allow to cool for 15 minutes so they become crusty and inside dries out a bit

Recently, I stumbled across a video on social media which inspired my newest brunch creation. Ever hear of a breakfast "ice cream cone"? Well then let me enlighten you. These are as much fun to make as they are to eat and the only limit to what you put into the cones is your own imagination! For this particular brunch, I chose to make Cheesy Hash Brown Cones.

To the make the cones, I took large flour burrito wrappers, cut them in half, rolled them into a cone shape, secured with a toothpick, and placed them onto a rimmed baking sheet. I brushed them with melted butter and popped them into a preheated 400 degree oven for 12 minutes, until golden and crisp. I removed the toothpicks and placed them into a cone holder.

The filling consists of store-bought refrigerated hash brown potatoes that I cooked in a skillet with extra virgin olive oil, diced onions, and diced ham. Once everything was cooked/browned, I seasoned with salt and pepper, and added shredded cheddar. I stuffed the mixture into each cone and topped with fresh scallions.

What would you put into your cones? I made a second batch with cheesy scrambled eggs with chorizo that was equally amazing. Bacon egg and cheese? Sausage? Buffalo chicken bites with blue cheese and celery? You can easily make them vegetarian or vegan too depending on your ingredients.

My grandmother made the best coffee cake. It was always moist, filled with cinnamon and raisins, and always made the house smell amazing. While no one can ever duplicate hers, I decided to attempt my own version of my grandmother's Old Fashioned Raisin Coffee Cake.

I started by mixing the dry ingredients for the batter -

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 1/4 cups sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

I then added 1 cup of softened butter and mixed until it resembled wet sand.

In a separate bowl, I combined the wet ingredients -

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1/4 cup whole milk

• 4 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

I added the wet ingredients to the dry, plus 1 cup of raisins and mixed until just combined.

For the streusel topping, I combined -

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Pinch kosher salt

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

For the cinnamon layer, I combined -

• 1/4 cup ugar

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To assemble, I poured half the batter into the bottom of a buttered 9x13 rectangular cake pan...

...followed by the cinnamon layer....

...the rest of the batter...

...and finally the streusel topping.

I baked it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick came out clean, and then let it cool to room temperature. I think my grandmother would have approved!

Last but not least, I took the classic Eggs Benedict and reimagined it into Eggs Benedict Rolls. This was such a satisfying dish and it can be fully customized to your liking, not to mention it is easy to make!

I started with a can of refrigerated pizza dough which I rolled out.

I brushed the top with Dijon mustard and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

Meanwhile I cut 1 package of Canadian bacon into bite-size pieces and scrambled 5 beaten eggs plus 2 tablespoons water. I finished the eggs with salt and pepper.

To assemble, I evenly distributed the Canadian bacon and scrambled eggs over the pizza dough.

Starting with the long side closest to me, I tightly rolled it up into a log, pinched the seams closed, and laid it seam side down, being careful not to rip the dough.

I cut the log into 12 equal pieces, approximately 1/2 inch thick, and laid them in a 9' square ceramic baking dish that I sprayed and dusted with cornmeal.

I baked the rolls in the center of a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. (If your dough starts to brown too soon, cover the dish with aluminum foil.)

While the rolls baked, I made a quick hollandaise in my blender by combining -

• 2 large egg yolks

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• Pinch of cayenne pepper

Once everything was combined, I slowly drizzled in one stick of melted butter with the blender on high until the sauce came together and thickened.

To assemble, I drizzled the hollandaise all over the warm rolls and finished with fresh chopped green onions. I reserved the extra sauce in case anyone was feeling adventurous!

I hope you found something interesting for your own brunch table. I can tell you that every recipe in this post is worth the time and I will be making all of them again!

Lots more content coming this summer!