Ask Whatever: The Effortless Art of Brunching

"Help, Cooking Whatever! I need ideas for a brunch this weekend that starts at 10! What should I make?"



Ah, Brunch. My all time favorite style of dining.

While brunch is by far the most fun to attend, it can often be a pain in the derrière if you're hosting.

Whether you're a morning person or not, waking up early to concentrate on cooking is challenging. Unless of course you're cooking whatever, then it's a easy as pie, or say quiche.

Here is my top advice for an easy yet elegant spread: start with a fresh fruit salad as a side dish. Really jazz up the display of the fruit and make it work! Then mix and match 2 or 3 items from my Ultimate Entree list below to suit your own preferences. Just keep in mind to pick dishes with variety to ensure you have something wonderful for everyone.

And my most important brunch tip: Always offer a signature brunch cocktail or mocktail, like a bellini or mango juice, fresh squeezed orange juice or anything else fancy. It's a nice bonus that shows off your expert hosting skills.

Brunch Entrees:

1.) Quiche or Frittata

Follow any easy quiche or frittata recipe (eggs, cheese, add-ins, done) and bake it the night before. Re-heat in the oven right before guests arrive. Never ever share your secret and complain/brag about slaving over a hot stove while they were still asleep.


2.) Strata

This gooey yet light and savory casserole-ish dish has to be assembled the night before and only takes about 45-minutes in the over the next day.



3.) Mini Eggs Benedict (see recipe below)

If you really want to impress and don't mind a teeny bit of stress, go for this cute version of the brunch classic. The secret is to use quail eggs, which are small and can be cooked in batches.



4.) Waffles 3 Ways

Make regular plain waffles and layout 3 (or more) varieties of toppings: think bananas foster sauce, shaved chocolate and whipped cream, cinnamon and sugar, coconut, maple syrup and walnuts. Display the toppings like you would see pairings on a cheese plate, maybe even with little index cards describing each one. It's easy but super fancy.





5.) Sausage-chip Pancakes

Yeah, you read that right. Just like you would add blueberries to your pancakes, simply fold in some cooked sausage (I think spicy Italian works best) into the batter. Definitely still serve with maple syrup. Yum.

6.) Savory muffins with scrambled eggs

Take a recipe for corn muffins and fold in bacon, mushrooms, cheddar cheese or anything else you think would taste good. I definitely recommend making the muffins the day before and re-heat in the oven before guests arrive. When you're ready to serve, slice them in half and scoop in some scrambled eggs for a cute little sandwich.

7.) Fruit Bread Pudding

Just like regular bread pudding but with a delicious addition of either fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries) or dried fruit (cherries, rasins, cranberries). Just make sure to use fruit that is different than what is in the fruit salad side.

8.) Breakfast Pizza

Exactly as it sounds, take pre-made pizza dough and cover it with cheese, veggies and breakfast meats - skip the tomato sauce. I like to top mine with fresh greens just before it's pulled out of the oven so they don't get too wilted. The presentation is great and it's a winner among kids and adults alike.

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Mini Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:
White Bread
Spinach
Quail Eggs
Hollandaise Sauce (try not to take the short cut with the packet, you really only need to add a few extra ingredients to make the real thing and its so much better.)


Prep:
Cook spinach in boiling water until slightly limp and let sit in water, do not drain until you're about to use. This will keep it warm.

Layout the bread and use a cookie cutter to cut out the centers (think stars, hearts, or plain circles, the design should be big enough to hold an mini-egg in the middle). Toast them in the oven, keeping a close eye to make sure they don't burn.

Pre-crack the quail eggs. They can be very difficult so have a few extra on hand just in case. I usually use a sharp knife (be careful!) to crack open the top the shells and then pour the yokes gently into the pan. The closer the eggs are the pan the less of chance they have of breaking.

You can cook a bunch of these little guys at a time, so go for it.

Take the toast out of the oven just before the eggs are done.

Plate the bread, the spinach, then the eggs and add the Hollandaise on top or on the side if you have picky guests. Serve on a platter with a spatula and get ready to smile and say "oh, it was no big deal" over and over.

Ask Whatever: Fresh Herb Preserve

"Dear Jen, I always have trouble keeping my herbs fresh (especially Cilantro)! Would you happen to know any 'tricks' or secrets that might help me keep them fresh a few days longer?"

This is a very common problem and one that can often deter you from buying fresh herbs (or worse, buying them and tossing in the trash/compost, what a waste!)

Here is my solution: Get a large glass jar, either something like a Ball Jar usually used for canning, or a re-purposed one from the recycling bin possibly from tomato sauce or pickles. Stay away from plastics if you can as they tend to get moldy quick.

Take three paper towels, stack them on top of each other and and fold them into a square (usually 2 times).

Run a thin stream of warm water in the sink and carefully dampen the towels so they're moist but not 'wet'. Ring if necessary, keeping the square shape intact.



Gently slide the towels into the jar, lining the sides.




Then stuff the herbs in, stems first. It's OK if you need to get a little rough with them and really push them in.

Then keep it in the fridge and your herbs should be super fresh for a week, a little dark but still usable after 11 days and just use your judgment after that.

To use the herbs, just pop the lid and cut a little off. No need to take the whole bunch out again until you get closer to being finished.

Jen's Quick Tips: Baking Bacon

Here is a really simple, fantastic trick on cooking bacon in the oven.

Take a shallow baking pan, like one you would use for cookies and take an over-sized sheet of tin foil(long enough to hang over both ends of the pan by at least 2 inches.

Start from one side and begin to pinch the foil into high, peaks rows.

Continue until the entire piece of foil is pinched and peaked.

Lay bacon over the peaked rows and voila! The fat will drip in between the cracks but still steam upwards to flavor the meat, persevering that natural gooey fatty taste of bacon without all of the actual fat.

I like to add fresh or dried rosemary leaves over the bacon before placing in the oven.

Jen's Quick Tips: Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

I was recently asked if I had any mashed potato recipes, and my response was: "Yes, mash potatoes and add whatever you want."

Really. Cheeses (thanks, Jaci), other veg, ground turkey, bacon obviously. Anything savory can be paired with mashed potatoes.That is the beauty of the mash.

But, if you want to make yours just little bit special, here is a helpful trick to take mashed potatoes to the next level.

When boiling the potatoes, add a generous amount of rosemary sprigs (the more the better in my opinion).

After the potatoes are softened (usually about 25 minutes) carefully remove the rosemary leaving behind just a few clues that it was there.

This will give your potatoes an extra winter-y taste without being overbearing.

Jen's Quick Tips: Tossing and Turning

Just a real super quick tip that I realized tonight while reheating some pasta in a pan: don't 'over turn'.

I can be pretty dramatic and flamboyant in the kitchen and have noticed recently that I over turn or over toss things when cooking on the stove top. Too much turning actually reverses the process, putting the cooked side back on the heat.

Seems obvious but just something to be cautious of.

Jen's Quick Tips: Zucchini bread

Next time you make zucchini bread, add some shredded carrots to it.

It not only adds an additional, unique sweetness, but the color combination is bold and impressive.

If you think it sounds weird, just think about how good carrot cake is!

Here is zucchini bread (with shredded carrots) paired with homemade creamed corn ice-cream .

Jen's Quick tips: Basil

When using basil in recipes, always break the leaves before adding to whatever you're making. This will release the sweet aroma inside the leaf making the flavor stronger and more fragrant.

Jen's Quick Tips: Onions

Quick cooking tip that I've learned: Anytime you're cooking onions you want to make sure they are cooked long enough to be translucent. That's when they are tender and have soaked up the flavor of whatever they're cooking in.