A Breakfast Spread

A BREAKFAST SPREAD

I decided that I liked to know who gave me the recipes that I have so I put my name at the bottom of each one. If you like that too, then lets start the trend.

Banana Slush

2 cups sugar
3 cups water
2 cups pineapple juice
1 cup orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
3 mashed bananas

¾-1 bottle of Fresca or Diet Grapefruit Shasta

Boil sugar and water until dissolved. Stir in the pineapple juice, orange juice, lemon juice and bananas. Freeze overnight. Break slush into chunks and serve with diet soda.

-Andrea Summerhays brunch


Elegant Brunch Strata
Ivory Favorites

1 cup milk
¼ cup white wine
¾ loaf day-old French bread, sliced thick or French toast bread
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 T. olive oil
½ lb. Gouda cheese, thinly sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
½ cup purchased pesto sauce
4 eggs
Salt and fresh ground pepper
½ cup whipping cream

Grease baking dish (9x13) or 10 inch round. Combine milk and wine in bowl and dip bread slices in mixture. Gently squeeze liquid from bread and place wet slices in prepared dish. Cover bread with chopped cilantro and drizzle with olive oil. Layer half the cheese and tomato slices over the bread. Daub half the pesto on top and repeat layers of cheese, tomato and pesto. Beat eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour evenly over layered mixture. Pour whipping cream over top and cover with plastic wrap. Chill overnight.

Take strata out of fridge about 3 hours before serving, to bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, uncovered, until puffy and browned, 50-60 minutes.

-Andrea Summerhays brunch



Mustard-Roasted Potatoes
Barefoot Contessa at Home

Serves 8

2 ½ pounds small red potatoes
2 yellow onions
3 T. good olive oil
2 T. whole-grain mustard
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (can use 1 T. dried)


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the potatoes in halves or quarters depending on their size and place them on a sheet pan. Remove the ends of the onions and the peel. Cut them in half and then slice crosswise in ¼ inch thick slices to make half-rounds. Toss the onions and potatoes together on the sheet pan. Mix the olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper together in separate bowl. Pour over potatoes and onions; toss them together with hands to get mustard mixture evenly spread. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until potatoes are lightly browned on the outside and tender on the inside. Toss the potatoes from time to time with a metal spatula so they brown evenly.
Serve hot sprinkled with chopped parsley and extra salt if needed.

* If you want to prep the potatoes early, cut them up and store them covered in water to keep them from turning brown.

-Andrea Summerhays brunch



Easy Cheese Danish
Barefoot Contessa Home

Makes 8 large Danish or 12-14 small Danish

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 T. ricotta cheese
1 t. pure vanilla extract
¼ t. kosher salt
1 T. grated lemon zest (1 ½ -2 lemons)
2 sheets (1 box) Pepperidge Farms puff pastry, defrosted (follow directions on box)
1 egg beaten with 1 T. water, for egg wash


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don’t whip!
Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it’s a 10x10 inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with sharp knife or pizza cutter. Place a heaping spoonful of cheese filling into the middle of each of the four squares. Brush the boarder of each pastry with egg wash and fold two opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry to the firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.
Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

*You can assemble these the night before and bake them before breakfast. Or, if you bake them in advance, reheat them in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.

-Andrea Summerhays brunch


Cranberry Orange Muffins

2 large navel oranges
½ cup pecans, chopped (optional)
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg
2 cups flour
½ t. salt
1 T. baking powder
1 cup sugar plus 2 t. for topping

Grate zest from oranges and measure 4 teaspoons in medium-size bowl. Add pecans and cranberries; stir to combine. Squeeze juice from oranges and measure to 2/3 cup. Combine juice, cooled butter, and egg; whisking to blend. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup sugar. Add liquid, blend and then fold in cranberry mixture. Spoon into 12-15 paper-lined tins, and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 4oo degrees for 18-20 minutes.

-Andrea Summerhays brunch


Orange Honey Butter

1 part butter or margarine
1 part honey
Zest from orange to taste


Raspberry Butter

1 lb. butter softened
8 oz. creamed honey
8 oz. raspberry jam (I prefer seedless)

Microwave butter till very soft and mix with other ingredients. Can divide up and freeze for later. This is to die for.

-Andrea Summerhays brunch


Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate
Barefoot Contessa at Home

Serves 8

2 half pints fresh raspberries
2 half-pints fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled sliced thick
1 cup heavy cream
10 oz. good white chocolate (not chips), chopped (Callebaut or Lindt chocolate)
½ t. pure vanilla extract

Early in the day, spread the berries on a sheet pan in a single layer and place them in the freezer. (This prevents them from sticking together.) Once they are frozen, store them in a freezer bag.
In a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water, (or double boiler) heat the cream, white chocolate and vanilla just until the chocolate melts. Don’t let the bowl touch the water. Heat the mixture until it’s warm to the touch, about 110 degrees.
Place the frozen berries in one layer on 8 dessert plates and allow them to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to defrost slightly. Pour the hot white chocolate evenly over the frozen berries and serve immediately.

*The chocolate can be made earlier and kept in the fridge. Reheat over simmering water to 110 degrees or really melted again. Don’t overheat or chocolate will separate and burn.

**Hot white chocolate poured over frozen berries is served at two of London’s most popular restaurants, The Ivy and J. Sheekey’s. You can also used frozen berries instead of fresh.

-Andrea Summerhays brunch