Sunday Brunch
Kind of working backwards here.. I meant to post this on Sunday when we actually had Sunday Brunch but I forgot! :) Anyway, it was morning and I was STARVING and thought we could use some food. Believe it or not I was kind of on a rampage to clear out some "leftover" food items.. a tiny bit of apricot jam that was left in the fridge.. 1 sheet of puff pastry left from another dessert.. the remainder of the frozen blueberries.. the last of the mushrooms & spinach. The last bit of the italian bread. Basically, I was trying to clean out the kitchen before grocery shopping!
What I came up with was a recipe for an egg/spinach/mushroom dish, baked french toast with blueberries in syrup, and apricot pastry twists.
I had a couple recipes for this brunch..
First the egg dish.. (I didn't try this because I just don't like mushrooms.. but everything in this recipe my boyfriend loves, so I thought he would appreciate it! he did!) I pretty much did 1/4 of this recipe since it was only for him. I also don't have an ovenproof skillet so I just cooked it on the stove for the egg as well, and flipped it halfway through.
baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms
Gourmet | June 2004
Servings: Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
10 oz baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced (2 cups)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
Preparation
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. (IF you are using this method! If you are like me and don't have the ovenproof skillet than just ignore this)
Bring 1/2 inch water to a boil in a 10- to 12-inch ovenproof heavy skillet (not cast-iron), then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop.
Wipe skillet dry, then cook onion and garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to moderate, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms are softened and have exuded liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chopped spinach and bring to a simmer. Remove skillet from heat and make 4 large indentations in spinach mixture. Break an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 7 to 10 minutes. Lightly season eggs with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with cheese.
MY NOTE: you can cook the eggs as long as you'd like. If you like them runny cook them runny, if you don't, then dont!
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I skipped the glaze on this.. didn't want the added sugar. They were still AWESOME!
glazed apricot twists
Gourmet | March 2004
Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 40 min
Servings: Makes 8 pastries.
Ingredients
1 frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-oz package), thawed according to package instructions
1/2 cup apricot jam (6 oz), melted
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Special equipment: parchment paper
Preparation
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 12- by 10-inch rectangle, then cut in half lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 4 (5- by 3-inch) strips (for a total of 8 strips).
Spread each strip with 1/2 tablespoon jam, then fold strips in half lengthwise to form 1 1/2-inch-wide strips. Twist each strip 3 times and place on baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer twists to a rack set over a sheet of parchment. Stir together confectioners sugar, cream, and lemon juice until smooth, then brush over warm twists. Serve warm.
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oven baked french toast..
Umm I didn't have a recipe for this. I sliced a loaf of italian bread into 4 thick (1") slices. In a bowl I mixed about 1 C milk, 1/4 C heavy cream, 3 eggs, a few dashes of cinnamon, a few dashes of nutmeg, and about 1 tsp vanilla extract. I wisked this together, and then soaked the bread in it for a few minutes.
Turned the oven on to about 375F, lightly greased a baking sheet, and placed the bread on the sheet. I baked them for about 15-20 minutes on each side (flipping halfway through).
For the topping, I simmered blueberries in some maple syrup until they were squishy and some of them broke. Yumm! If I'd felt like making whipped cream I would have put that on there too.. but.. after everything else I decided not to haha. Oh well!
What I came up with was a recipe for an egg/spinach/mushroom dish, baked french toast with blueberries in syrup, and apricot pastry twists.
I had a couple recipes for this brunch..
First the egg dish.. (I didn't try this because I just don't like mushrooms.. but everything in this recipe my boyfriend loves, so I thought he would appreciate it! he did!) I pretty much did 1/4 of this recipe since it was only for him. I also don't have an ovenproof skillet so I just cooked it on the stove for the egg as well, and flipped it halfway through.
baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms
Gourmet | June 2004
Servings: Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
10 oz baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced (2 cups)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
Preparation
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. (IF you are using this method! If you are like me and don't have the ovenproof skillet than just ignore this)
Bring 1/2 inch water to a boil in a 10- to 12-inch ovenproof heavy skillet (not cast-iron), then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop.
Wipe skillet dry, then cook onion and garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to moderate, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms are softened and have exuded liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chopped spinach and bring to a simmer. Remove skillet from heat and make 4 large indentations in spinach mixture. Break an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 7 to 10 minutes. Lightly season eggs with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with cheese.
MY NOTE: you can cook the eggs as long as you'd like. If you like them runny cook them runny, if you don't, then dont!
-------------
I skipped the glaze on this.. didn't want the added sugar. They were still AWESOME!
glazed apricot twists
Gourmet | March 2004
Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 40 min
Servings: Makes 8 pastries.
Ingredients
1 frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-oz package), thawed according to package instructions
1/2 cup apricot jam (6 oz), melted
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Special equipment: parchment paper
Preparation
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 12- by 10-inch rectangle, then cut in half lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 4 (5- by 3-inch) strips (for a total of 8 strips).
Spread each strip with 1/2 tablespoon jam, then fold strips in half lengthwise to form 1 1/2-inch-wide strips. Twist each strip 3 times and place on baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer twists to a rack set over a sheet of parchment. Stir together confectioners sugar, cream, and lemon juice until smooth, then brush over warm twists. Serve warm.
----------
oven baked french toast..
Umm I didn't have a recipe for this. I sliced a loaf of italian bread into 4 thick (1") slices. In a bowl I mixed about 1 C milk, 1/4 C heavy cream, 3 eggs, a few dashes of cinnamon, a few dashes of nutmeg, and about 1 tsp vanilla extract. I wisked this together, and then soaked the bread in it for a few minutes.
Turned the oven on to about 375F, lightly greased a baking sheet, and placed the bread on the sheet. I baked them for about 15-20 minutes on each side (flipping halfway through).
For the topping, I simmered blueberries in some maple syrup until they were squishy and some of them broke. Yumm! If I'd felt like making whipped cream I would have put that on there too.. but.. after everything else I decided not to haha. Oh well!