Brunch
940 recipes found
The Spiced Pear Fizz
The biggest mistake people tend to make when setting up for parties is to try to duplicate an actual bar, with a bottle of scotch, some tequila, a bourbon, some gin, a fancy vodka, etc., alongside some bottled mixers. You can’t turn your living room into a bar, nor can you please everybody, but you can gain massive points by making the bold move: choose one great cocktail and declare: “This is what we’re drinking tonight.” This Spiced Pear Fizz is a great choice for the holidays. Mull some wintry spices overnight in the simple syrup, and from there fashion this delicious concoction. Top it with a good-quality prosecco or a nonvintage brut Champagne for a spot-on seasonal drink.
Feta-and-Herb Phyllo Tart
Kathy Tsaples, the author of the cookbook “Sweet Greek Life: My Shared Table,” inspired this savory tart. The quality of phyllo dough varies hugely from one brand to another. It’s particularly important here to get a good-quality phyllo as there is so much of it. This is a sort of quiche with a twist, with the phyllo both acting as a casing and adding the extra crispness you get from blind baking. It’s a meal in itself, served with a simple salad. If you don’t have a tart pan handy, use a 9-inch cake pan.
Spanish Tortilla With Tomato-Pepper Salad
A Spanish potato tortilla is an egg dish unlike any other. It doesn't resemble the French omelet, which is loose and wobbly. Nor is quite like an Italian frittata, which is puffy and custardy. Instead, a tortilla is a solid cake with just enough egg to bind the soft, sliced potatoes. The first step to making it is to gently cook sliced potatoes and onions in plenty of olive oil. And plenty means at least a cup, or maybe two. It sounds like a lot but most of it stays in the pan (and you can reuse it). Other than adding great flavor, the oil turns the potatoes velvety and luscious. Just make sure the heat is low enough so the potatoes and onions cook but don’t brown very much, though a few darkened spots are okay. In Spain, a tortilla is a tapas staple nibbled with drinks. But it’s also delightful for brunch, dinner or lunch, served either warm or at room temperature.
Savory Bread Pudding With Artichokes, Cheddar and Scallions
Tangy marinated artichokes star in this cheesy, golden-topped casserole, which is layered with scallions, Cheddar and baguette cubes that get crisp at the edges. Look for the best-quality marinated artichoke hearts, then taste them before using. If they seem very acidic, give them a rinse and pat them dry before proceeding.
Skillet Spanakopita
Buttery, bright and herbaceous, this recipe is a faster take on the Greek spinach and feta pie and far less effort than forming individual triangular spanakopita pastries. A combination of stovetop cooking and oven baking ensures that the filling stays moist while the crust gets crisp. First, the spinach is cooked down in a mixture of butter, garlic and leeks until it wilts enough to release any moisture. Then, the filling is prepared, and the spanakopita assembled in the skillet. Give the phyllo a head start on the stovetop, then transfer to the oven so the spinach filling cooks through at the same time the phyllo becomes flaky. The timing may be precise for the cooking, but you can eat it whenever you want: This spanakopita is just as good at room temperature as it is warm.
Swiss Chard Slab Pie
This crowd-pleasing recipe by Justin Chapple comes from Kristin Donnelly's book "Modern Potluck" and makes the most of Swiss chard, using both leaves and stems to fill a vegetarian slab pie with a buttery, peppery crust. That filling, tangy with reduced white wine and bound with sour cream, tastes just as good warm as it does cold, and can feed a crowd any time of day. Note: Wash leaves and stems thoroughly to avoid any traces of grit in the finished pie.
French Potato Pancakes
When the chef Daniel Rose was growing up, his mother would make potato pancakes the first and the last three nights of Hanukkah. These latkes are inspired by the French classic pommes Darphin, but the addition of onions puts them in a category all their own.
Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelet)
Tamagoyaki, a Japanese staple, is made by carefully rolling several thin layers of cooked egg into a rectangular omelet, which creates a soft and delicate texture. Traditionally, it’s made in a special tamagoyaki pan, but this version also works with an 8-inch nonstick skillet. There are sweet and savory variations, and this recipe falls somewhere in between the two: The soy sauce, mirin and dashi pack it with umami, while the sugar adds a subtle sweetness. The technique can be challenging at first, but do your best to keep each layer consistent in color and each fold parallel to the last. Don’t worry about little tears; they’ll be covered up with the next layer.
Quick-Pickled Vegetable Salad
The best salads don’t have to be laborious. This one benefits from pickled red onions, which take only minutes to make and can perk up salads, seared meats and vegetables, pasta and even grilled cheese. Make a double batch, and you’ll brighten future meals in a flash. And, for excellent flavor in every bite, season the ingredients before combining, bearing in mind that celery, carrots and firmer vegetables need far more salt and pepper than delicate salad greens.
Sablé Breton Galette With Berries
The sablé is a sweet shortbread that’s buttery and noticeably salty. In this version, the dough is purposely very soft (it’s too soft to roll and cut for cookies) so that it can be patted and pressed into a tart pan, baked, and used as the base of a beautiful berry dessert. You can spread the galette with lemon curd and top it with sliced strawberries or whole raspberries, but it is equally good with whipped cream or ice cream in place of the curd. In fact, it’s good on its own — just cut it into wedges. If you’re not serving a group, leave the galette plain, and when you need a slice or three of tart, cut the galette and top it on the spot.
Orange and Radish Salad
The marriage of radish and orange punches way above its weight as a salad. This version is based on one James Beard collected. Alice Waters, the founder of Chez Panisse, has a recipe, too. So does Paula Wolfert, who dedicated her nine cookbooks to Mediterranean cuisine. Their inspiration came from countless Moroccans who have this salad in regular rotation, often with orange flower water. This recipe leaves it out, opting for a simpler but still refreshing salad that requires careful, precise preparation of the oranges and the radishes to make it shine. If you like, add a pinch of cinnamon to the dressing or sprinkle a bit on top.
Ham-Cured, Smoked Pork With Cognac-Orange Glaze
Think of this cured, smoked pork loin as ham you can make in a hurry, with 2 days’ curing time and an hour or so of smoking, as opposed to the weeks or even months that a traditional ham takes. Plus, the loin has no bones, so it’s a snap to carve. For the best results, use a heritage pork loin, like Berkshire or Duroc. Depending on your grill, the pork and the weather, smoking time may be as short as 1 hour or as long as 1 1/2 hours. The orange juice in this Cognac-citrus glaze cuts the saltiness of the cure, while the Cognac makes a nice counterpoint to the wood smoke. Besides, brown sugar and orange marmalade go great with salty ham.
Challah Bread Pudding
This bread pudding is a dream of a dish to use up leftover challah, babka, brioche or a mix of day-old breads. (You can even add dry cake!) Bake this as soon as it’s assembled — useful for last-minute brunch — or dip each piece of the bread in the vanilla cream sauce ahead of time, then prop the pieces vertically in an attractive baking dish and refrigerate, so all you have to do the next day is pop the pudding in the oven before bringing it to the table. Not too sweet, the bittersweet chocolate and poppy seeds add a nice touch and taste without overwhelming the vanilla and cinnamon. Your guests will gobble this dish up.
Danish Rice Pudding With Fresh Cherries
Champs Élysées
Bread and Raisin Pudding
Iroquois White-Corn Cakes With Maple Syrup and Bacon
Baked Eggs With Beans and Greens
Consider this a heartier version of the classic Italian dish “eggs in purgatory,” which works well for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s also very forgiving. If you’d rather keep this a vegetarian meal, skip the sausage. No chickpeas? No problem. Any white bean will work well in its place. Same with the greens. Use what you have (anything that wilts works). Sprinkling the dish with grated cheese before serving is not required, but it sure does taste good. Serve with thick slices of toasted sesame bread slathered with plenty of softened butter.
Tomato Frittata With Fresh Marjoram or Thyme
One of my summer favorites, this frittata makes a perfect and substantial meal served cold or at room temperature.
Risi e Bisi
The classic Venetian dish of rice and peas known as risi e bisi makes for a perfect springtime Sunday lunch. This version includes the addition of baby zucchini, which is an acknowledged departure from tradition but a mighty delicious one. The desired final consistency is loose, almost brothy, not tight and creamy like risotto nor drippy like a zuppa. The Venetians use the term “all’onda,” a reference to the swell of waves in the sea. Short-grain rice helps get that distinct starchy quality, but the rice can’t do the job by itself; there has to be stirring throughout. Pour yourself a glass of a good Soave while you stir. You can have a nap after lunch, which is totally traditional.
Crab Toast
Like the very best crab cakes on earth, which have as little dulling, distracting or deadening filler as possible, these crab toasts take that ethos to the extreme. There is no call for bell pepper or bread crumbs or diced celery; just the best fresh, sweet, saline crab meat you can buy, gently seasoned with a little lemon juice, bound with a tiny amount of tangy crème fraîche, then piled onto a slab of good toast, still warm. The toast is made ever so luxurious with a slathering of nutty brown butter mayonnaise. These two simple components — crab and brown butter toast — act in concert, and a glass of cold rosé to wash them down makes for the most exhilarating, satisfying spring supper imaginable.
Tomates Farcies (Stuffed Tomatoes)
A simple mixture of bread crumbs and herbs is all you need to make these Provençal baked stuffed tomatoes. Serve them with nearly any summer meal, even for breakfast alongside fried eggs.
Scones
Traditional English scones are barely sweet — they are usually eaten with sweet jam and clotted cream — and they are lighter, flakier and tastier than their American counterparts. You can make the dough in the food processor (do not overprocess), but if you’re willing to incorporate the butter by hand it is of course fine to do it in a bowl. You’re looking for a slightly sticky but not messy dough; start with a half cup of cream and increase it as needed. Serve the baked scones warm, with the best jam you can lay your hands on, and a dollop of crème fraîche, mascarpone or, if you can find it, clotted cream.
Fresh Tomato Sauce
This is a quick, simple marinara sauce that will only be good if your tomatoes are ripe. If you have a food mill, you don’t have to peel and seed the tomatoes; you can just quarter them and put the sauce through the mill.