Have Yourself a Merry Christmas Brunch

It's that time of year, Christmas when you will most likely be having family and friends to entertain.  If so, I have some delicious brunch/breakfast items for you to share and they are easy so as not to stress you out.  I hope you have a lovely and very Merry Christmas!

Enjoy the recipes listed below - and Bon Appetit, Julia

Petits Pain au Chocolate (a little French pastry is a good way to start your day)

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed, each sheet cut into 12 squares
1 large egg, beaten and blended with 1 Tbl. cold water
4 (3.5 oz.) bars chocolate, each cut into six 2 x 3/4 inch pieces (use good quality)
Sanding sugar (garnish)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Brush top of each puff pastry square with egg glaze.  Place 1 chocolate piece on edge of 1 pastry square.  Roll up dough tightly enclosing chocolate.  Repeat with remaining pastry and chocolate.  Place pastry rolls on baking sheet seam side down.  Brush tops of pastry rolls with remaining egg glaze.  Sprinkle lightly with sugar.  Bake about 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove to cooling racks and serve warm with a nice cup of coffee, hot tea or creamy hot chocolate topped with a melting marshmallow.

Zucchini and Tomato Strata

2 Tb. butter
Drizzle of olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cherry tomatoes
2 cups small zucchini, sliced
8 cups French or Italian bread, cubed
3 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
8 eggs
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 Tbl. fresh chives, snipped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.  In a large saute pan, melt butter, drizzle in some olive oil.  Add onions cooking until softened, add garlic and cook about 4 minutes.  Add tomatoes and zucchini and cook about 10 minutes.  Place half of the bread into baking dish.  Top with half of the vegetable mixture and half of the cheese.  Repeat layers.  In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, parsley, basil, chives, salt, pepper and pepper flakes.  Pour over egg mixture evenly and using the back of a spoon gently press down on layers.  Cover and chill at least 2 hours.  Bake uncovered in oven for 50 to 65 minutes or until puffed and golden.  Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with breakfast potatoes, crisp thick cooked bacon or slices of baked ham.  Fresh orange juice or fruit would be a nice addition too.

Spicy Curried Breakfast Potatoes

2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
5 Tbl. water
4 to 5 tsp. curry powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbl. butter
Drizzle of olive oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
5 scallions, sliced on diagonal, including green part

In a large pot of boiling salted water add whole potatoes and cook until just tender about 35 minutes.  Cool slightly and peel and cut into 2-inch cubes.  Place into a big bowl.  Add water and curry powder tossing to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a large saute pan heat butter over medium heat and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Add shallots and potatoes, cooking until crusty and golden brown on all sides.  Just before removing from pan add half of the scallions and continue cooking 2 minutes.  Place cooked potato mixture onto serving platter and sprinkle with remaining scallions.  You can also add chopped red peppers or some spicy jalapenos to the saute mixture. 

My favorite Soft Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Asparagus and Goat Cheese

8 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
12 asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces (discard woody stems)
1/2 red onion, julienned
2 cups smoked salmon, large flakes
1/2 cup goat cheese or feta cheese crumbled
1 Tbl. olive oil
2 Tbl. butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tabasco, I like a lot
5 scallions, sliced thinly on diagonal including green part (save some for garnish)
1 Tbl. fresh dill, chopped
Capers, rinsed and patted dry (garnish)

In a large saute pan, add butter and olive oil.  Add asparagus and red onions, cooking for about 4 minutes.  In a bowl, whisk eggs with salt, pepper, Tabasco and whipping cream.  Pour into pan with vegetables and turn burner to medium.  Slowly stir eggs until they are just almost done, you want them softened and fluffy.  Add flaked salmon, goat cheese, scallions and dill, stir and keep your salmon in big chunks.  Place cooked eggs onto a platter and garnish with extra scallions and capers.  Serve with hot biscuits, potatoes and maybe a glass of champagne. 

Grand Marnier French Toast with Berries (ok, what is not to love about this?)

8 thick slices French or Italian bread, thick sliced on diagonal
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup Grand Marnier
8 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar (add more if you like it sweeter, or add honey)
pinch of salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
butter
powdered sugar
pure maple syrup
Fresh blackberries or raspberries (or be wild and add both)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a deep baking dish whisk cream, orange juice and Grand Marnier.  Add eggs and whisk to combine.  Add the sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt and whisk until sugar is dissolved.  Dip each piece of bread into cream mixture and let soak well.  Place the wet pieces onto a platter.  Heat butter in a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Place a couple of the pieces of soaked bread into pan, do not overcrowd.  Fry for about 4 minutes on each side or until lightly golden brown and crisp.  Remove from pan and place on prepared baking sheet in the oven to keep warm while frying remaining pieces.  Serve with fresh berries on top, dusted with powdered sugar and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

Why Darlin These Are Just My Delicious Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbl. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chilled butter, cubed
3/4 to 1 cup cold buttermilk (don't use the light stuff)
melted butter or heavy cream to brush tops

Preheat the oven to 45o degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Sift together the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender until it becomes crumbly.  Stir in the cold buttermilk just until the dough is thoroughly moistened.  Sometimes I use 3/4 cup and sometimes as much as 1 cup of the buttermilk.  The dough shouldn't be overly wet, but slightly sticky.  Gather up dough and roll out on a lightly floured work surface about 3/4 inches thick and cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter.  Brush off excess flour.  If you overwork your dough it can make the biscuits dry.  Place biscuits onto baking sheet and brush the tops with melted butter or heavy cream and bake for 13-15 minutes until lightly golden brown and puffy.  Place biscuits into a cloth lined basked and serve hot, cold or anyway you like them.  I think they are delicious with butter, honey or wonderful blackberry jam (my favorite).  Well then again, they taste pretty darn good with a big slice of roasted ham too.  Note:  you can also add chopped scallions, shredded cheddar cheese and bits of baked ham to the mix if desired.  

Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce

6 firm, but ripe pears
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar (start with 1/2 cup and add more if you desire more sweetness)

Peel and core the pears, leaving stems intact.  Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each pear and stand them upright in a large saucepan.  Add lemon juice and then add cold water to cover pears.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered until pears are tender (about 25 minutes).  Carefully remove pears, drain and chill at least 3 hours.

For sauce; put raspberries, orange juice, lime juice and powdered sugar into a blender.  Blend on high for 1 minute or until pureed.  Place each pear into a pretty individual serving dish and pour about 1/3 cup of sauce over each.

Bon Appetit

"Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.  Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." - Ephesians 3:17-19