Brunch
939 recipes found
Migas Breakfast Tacos
Tortilla chips in tacos may seem like overkill, but they’re not. Set into scrambled eggs that are loaded with onions and poblanos, they soften and enrich the mix while keeping some crispiness. A slice of avocado on top — along with melted cheese — adds a nice creaminess to the mix. These tacos work well with red or green salsa, so use your favorite. While these would impress at a weekend brunch, they also come together quickly on weekday mornings, and can be wrapped in foil to be eaten out of hand.
Frozen Vodka Lemonade with Berries
Nothing is quite as refreshing or easy to make as a frosty lemonade: just homemade lemonade and ice, whizzed in the blender until slushy. But it’s also a template for any kind of fruit or herbal flavors you’d want to dress it up with—or any booze you’d like to spike it with. In this recipe, vodka and summery berries combine with the tartness of the lemonade to make the ultimate warm-weather "adult" beverage.
Lemony Mashed Potatoes With Asparagus, Almonds and Mint
Sautéing asparagus in butter and oil, rather than boiling it in water, locks much of the flavor inside. The asparagus could be served without the lemony mashed potatoes, or the other way around, but together they make a glorious side dish to roasted chicken, fish or spring lamb. Alternatively, adding a poached egg or two to each plate will turn this into a substantial vegetarian meal.
A Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg
Master this simple technique and every hard-boiled egg you make from here on out will have a perfectly-cooked, creamy sunshine center. Here are loads of recipes to make with them.
Overnight French Toast
If you have a crowd for breakfast, overnight French toast is a winning idea. Instead of standing over the stove, cooking slice after slice, it bakes in the oven and emerges puffed and golden and ready for a big glug of maple syrup. Try making it with a stale loaf that you forgot to eat amid all the other holiday goodies. A fat brioche, fruit-filled panettone or a braided challah all work well. Stay away from croissants, though: Their chewy interiors are best enjoyed fresh.
Eggs Benedict
Decadence is what makes eggs Benedict a star of the brunch table. To get there, order and timing are key. First, you'll want to make your hollandaise. While intimidating in theory, the process is a lot like making mayonnaise. If the emulsion is stable, it won't break, even when held at room temperature. Next, poach your eggs, and toast the English muffins while you crisp up the Canadian bacon. From there, it's as simple as stacking your ingredients and sprinkling them with herbs, salt and pepper. Once you’ve mastered this basic version, you can explore its variations: Add sliced avocado, or even swap in some smoked salmon (eggs Hemingway) or wilted greens for the Canadian bacon (eggs Florentine).
Buckwheat Popovers
These airy, crisp popovers have a rich, nutty flavor, thanks to the combination of buckwheat flour and a little whole-wheat flour stirred into the batter. If you’ve never made popovers, they’re extremely easy to mix up with just a bowl and a whisk, no electric beaters required. Or you can use a blender if you like. The only thing to keep in mind is that you should not open the oven door during baking until the very end, or they might not puff. Use your oven light and window to check on their progress. You can make the batter a few hours or even the night before (store it in the refrigerator). Just give it a quick whisk before pouring it into the pans for baking. Then serve your popovers hot from the oven, with plenty of butter and jam. The recipe makes six popovers, using a popover pan, but you can stretch that to 12 popovers if you use a muffin tin instead.
Cinnamon Rolls
What these cinnamon rolls lack in bells and whistles, they make up for in butter and brown sugar. As classic as can be, they are also the ultimate make-ahead breakfast treat, because they can be assembled the night before baking. The success of these rolls depends on the yeast to provide proper lift and rise, so make sure yours is still fresh and alive before diving in. Also be sure to budget a few hours for letting the dough rest and rise. This recipe calls for a 9-by-13 baking pan, but if you have a 9-inch round pan, feel free to use that instead; the rolls will be more tightly huddled together, beckoning to be pulled apart.
Spinach Salad With Pancetta and Fried Eggs
Laced with nuggets of pancetta and crisp-edged fried eggs, there’s a lot going on in this hearty salad, and you need a green that can stand up to it all. With its thick, ruffled leaves and almost mineral flavor, mature spinach (as opposed to those ubiquitous baby leaves) does the job well. If you can’t find it, you can substitute baby spinach, though it will wilt when it makes contact with the hot eggs. Or try kale, which also holds up nicely. Serve this for a light dinner or a hearty brunch with some good bread and olive oil for dipping on the side.
Coconut Almond Cluster Granola
As terrific as homemade granola tastes, its texture often lacks the thick, crunchy clusters found in store-bought versions. This recipe is an exception, filled with crisp, sweet clumps of oats, coconut flakes and seeds. The secret is grinding a portion of the oats and coconut into flour, which helps bind the ingredients together. Feel free to mix up the spices, nuts and seeds to taste, and to add dried fruit or chocolate chips after it cools if you like. Granola is adaptable, so make it the way you like it. You can also cut the brown sugar in half. The granola will be less sweet and less cluster-packed but still quite satisfying.
Smoked Salmon, Avocado, and Cream Cheese Sandwich
This sandwich recipe keeps extremely well because it doesn't get soggy. The cream cheese and salmon keep the avocado from getting exposed to air and browning.
Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins With Orange Streusel
This master recipe for juicy, whole grain berry muffins is both extremely flexible and extremely rewarding. It is sweet but not sugary, packed with whole grains but not dense, and reasonably rich in fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. The fresh berries and nuts are interchangeable with dried fruit, coconut or sunflower seeds. And the muffins freeze beautifully; they can go from a 300-degree oven to the breakfast table (or the car) in about 20 minutes.
Avocado-Cucumber Soup
This simple but elegant soup graced the table at one of the monthly luncheons held by the Thursday Afternoon Cooking Club, an organization of Wichita, Kan., women that has been meeting since 1894. Each month, the 24 women of the club gather over their best tableware to share recipes and cooking tips. English cucumbers work well for this recipe, but cucumbers fresh from the garden are a great choice if you have them. The soup could also be blended and served chilled in small cups and passed around on a tray for a cocktail party.
Summer Tacos with Corn, Green Beans and Tomatillo Salsa
Another way to use the versatile green bean in summer cooking. Cut into one-inch lengths and add to a mix of corn, chiles and green tomatillo salsa. Green beans are such a reliable and versatile summer vegetable. I serve them on their own, of course, but I also throw them into various pasta dishes and salads, and here I’ve used them in a taco filling. Cook the beans first, just until tender, then cut them into one-inch lengths and add to this sweet and spicy mix of corn, chiles and green tomatillo salsa.
Yogurt With Mixed Seeds, Toasted Oatmeal and Ginger Syrup
The inspiration for this breakfast yogurt comes mainly from an amazing breakfast yogurt and fruit bowl I had at the Elizabeth Street Café, a Vietnamese-French bakery and restaurant in Austin, Tex. Its baker, Jennifer Tucker, is exceptionally talented: Anyone who can pull off croissants that incorporate whole-wheat flour and seeds while remaining flaky, light, and small has my immediate attention. The cafe’s morning yogurt bowl includes an unusual granola made with steel-cut oats, macadamia nuts, and ginger; fresh fruit; and a delicious ginger-palm sugar syrup. Jennifer was kind enough to share her recipes for the granola and the ginger palm sugar syrup (I’m using only the syrup recipe here, but I’m sure you’ll see the granola in a future Recipes for Health). The seed mix you should make in quantity and keep on hand for adding not just to your morning yogurt, but to salads, baked goods, just about anything. I soak the seeds, then dry them for a day in a very low oven. The ginger syrup keeps well and it too is great to have on hand.
Chia Seed Pudding
Chia seeds are nutritionally dense seeds that will thicken any liquid you add them to. Mix them up with coconut and almond milks and you’ve got an almost instant pudding with a tapioca-like texture and gently sweet flavor. This recipe is meant for breakfast, but if you add a little honey to the seeds as they swell, it will be sweet enough for dessert. You can use either black or white chia seeds here, or a mix. The pudding will continue to thicken as it sits, so feel free to thin it out to taste with a little more almond or coconut milk before serving.
Grilled Sardines and Asparagus With Citrus, Chiles and Sesame
Roast Turkey
After a successful Thanksgiving meal, guests invariably wonder why we don’t roast turkeys more often. The following months give ample opportunity to do just that. Here is a herb-roasted holiday bird stuffed with citrus and onion to provide a little zing against the fat.
Braised Lamb With Red Wine and Prunes
Though far less glorified than rib chops or legs, lamb shoulder is explosively delicious and juicy – also, cheap. Like the shoulders of pigs and cows, it is a hardworking muscle rippled with intramuscular fat, which makes it ideal for stewing or braising. But the shoulder’s not that hardworking, which keeps it tender enough to be subjected to the shorter blasts of heat typically reserved for more elegant cuts. Here, it's braised in a flavorful mixture of prunes, red wine and spices until tender.
Lamb With Mint Chimichurri
Though far less glorified than rib chops or legs, lamb shoulder is explosively delicious and juicy. Like the shoulders of pigs and cows, it is a hardworking muscle rippled with intramuscular fat, which makes it ideal for the stewing or braising that’s requisite this times of year. But the shoulder’s not that hardworking, which keeps it tender enough to be subjected to the shorter blasts of heat typically reserved for more elegant cuts.
Lamb With Lemon Grass and Ginger
Braised Lamb With Anchovies, Garlic and White Wine
Vietnamese Lamb
Though far less glorified than rib chops or legs, lamb shoulder is explosively delicious and juicy – also, cheap. Like the shoulders of pigs and cows, it is a hardworking muscle rippled with intramuscular fat, which makes it ideal for stewing or braising. But the shoulder’s not that hardworking, which keeps it tender enough to be subjected to the shorter blasts of heat typically reserved for more elegant cuts. Here it's marinated in a Vietnamese marinade overnight, then broiled or grilled into fantastic submission.
