You probably didn’t know that our talented, prolific and witty art director, Jean Sanders, was also a famous cook. Well, maybe not as famous as Julia and Jacques and some of their other confreres, but Jean’s been lauded by no less than Amanda Hesser of the New York Times for her fabulous Weekend French Toast. With rum – like you could make it any other way now!
Brunch is such a great idea — the meal halfway between hangover and recovery. It can make delicious use of anything from what are traditionally breakfast foods to supper and beyond. Omelets, waffles, specialties like James McNair’s lemon soufflé pancakes, baked eggs that you do in muffin or custard cups into which you can put almost anything – gorgonzola and pine nuts, ham and gruyere, spinach, hot peppers and feta cheese.
Much of brunch is bread-egg-and-sausage-or-bacon-based – heart attack on a plate territory according to current wisdom. But in truth, it’s not that hard to make a terrific bunch of brunch dishes that are lower in saturated fat without being lower in flavor and nutrition. The tougher piece of the equation is portion control. Which always feels like self-denial when it comes to a fabulous spread of food. Can’t help ya. I usually dig in. I start out with the French rule of thumb: three bites of everything and be sure to take your time and savor as you go. But once I get into a really good brunch, I find myself scarfing like a half-starved Labrador until my stomach says whoa. Which is never soon enough. But hey. It ain’t often you get or give a brunch, so have at it.
One of the great things about brunch is that most of what’s on the table can be made ahead of time. Quiches, fruit compote, crepes, whose batter is better when it’s left to sit overnight and then cooked quickly while people sip bloody marys or mimosas or cappuccinos, mini-muffins. You can make a basic muffin batter and drop a teaspoon of whatever leftover jam you happen to have into the middle of each muffin then top with more batter. For the truly ambitious, there is eggs benedict, which is something of a drama since like omelets, they need to be made a la moment, though you can make the hollandaise ahead.
One of my favorite easy brunch dishes is savory bread pudding – a casserole comprised of whole grain bread, cooked sausage, roasted peppers, sautéed onions soaked with savory custard and topped with plenty of cheese. Make it in an ovenproof casserole and let it sit overnight in the frig, then pop it into the oven the morning of.
Sausage Breakfast Casserole
1 lb mild Italian sausage or spicy chicken sausage ( or any sausage with real flavor)
6 slices of whole grain bread, leftover’s fine
1 cup chopped onions, lightly sautéed in olive oil
1 cup chopped roasted peppers or sautéed sweet peppers
1 cup sliced sautéed mushrooms
1 lb grated cheddar
5 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp (or more) chopped parsley or other fresh herbs
salt and pepper
Brown sausage, drain grease. Lightly butter each slice of bread then cut into cubes. Put in bottom of a 9X13 inch baking pan. Evenly distribute sausage, sautéed vegetables. Top with cheese. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, milk and seasonings together. Pour evenly over casserole. Let sit several hours or overnight in the frig. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.
Below is the link to Jean’s Weekend French Toast along with a few other brunch recipes.
https://www.food52.com/blog/796_weekend_french_toast
https://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/strata-recipes
https://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_brunch_recipes
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