Recipes for when you're on breakfast duty
Beige spreads and cold misshapen pancakes can go kick rocks.
Hello, chefs.
Summertime! Kids are home, days are long, people are visiting, we are taking trips and spending weekends at lakes and bays and beaches, which also means that it is brunch season, babes.
One thing about me: I am a breakfast girlie through and through. I’ve never skipped it. It’s both that I love eating in the morning and I just generally favor the officially sanctioned breakfast foods. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and savory and usually involves one, sometimes all, of my favorite food groups: eggs, bacon, bread, cheese, chocolate, maple, cinnamon.
Cooking breakfast, though, is fairly labor intensive. Whether you’re making eggs or toasting bagels or flipping pancakes, breakfast food tends to be individually-portioned and cooked in rounds. You either end up with a bunch of cold food on the table or staggered meal times—not ideal.
My other beef with breakfast: it is so damn beige.
So here’s my recipe for breakfast for a crowd that doesn’t look like a Skims landing page and allows you, the chef, to sleep in a bit and even enjoy a mimosa or seven:
Bagel platter but without the bagels (you’ll see)
Frittata
Something sweet, but here’s the thing: don’t make this from scratch. Save yourself the time and headache and bake something out of a box or tin, or even better, just go pick up some pastries.
Have a cute little weekend y’all!
-Faith
Everything bagel focaccia with the works
This one is a Bon Appetit recipe (the only focaccia recipe I’ve ever made that doesn’t turn out like a brick) that is made even more delicious with a bit of everything bagel seasoning. Serve it with a platter of colorful toppings:
Sliced red onions
Capers
Smoked salmon
Sliced cucumbers
Sliced tomatoes
Here’s how to make it:
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 tsp honey
5 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp kosher salt
6 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
Salt
Everything bagel seasoning (like, a lot)
The night before (or you can prep this several days before, slice, freeze, and reheat at 300 before you serve), add your yeast, honey, and 2.5 cups lukewarm water in a medium bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes to be sure your yeast is alive - it should foam a bit.
Add the flour, kosher salt, and at least 1/4 cup everything bagel seasoning, more if you want, to your yeast mixture and stir with a rubber spatula just until combined.
Add 4 tbsp olive oil to a large, clean bowl, and add your dough on top. Turn the dough to coat in oil. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
In the morning, butter a 13x9 baking pan and drizzle a bit of olive oil in it. With two forks, carefully gather up the edges of your dough and fold it over itself. Do this about three times until you form a ball with the dough. Turn the dough out into the baking pan and turn the dough again to cover it in oil. Let it rise, uncovered, for 1.5-4 more hours.
Preheat your oven to 450. Oil your hands and aggressively dimple the dough, stretching it out to meet the edges of the pan. Drizzle again with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then bake for 20-30 minutes.
Melt your butter and brush the focaccia with it when it’s done baking. Sprinkle generously with more everything bagel seasoning.
Asparagus frittata with burrata
Eggs are an absolute must for breakfast, but my problem with serving them at a brunch is that they usually look kinda gross, just sitting there in their bowl all jiggly-like and beige. I love this recipe from David Tanis because it’s bright and green and looks freakin’ amazing on your table.
1 bunch of asparagus, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup each of fresh basil and parsley
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp butter
8 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup parm
1 ball of burrata
Make your pesto: In a small blender, combine your oil, herbs, salt and pepper until you have a smooth pesto.
Heat a cast iron over med-high. Add butter, then asparagus, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about a minute. Add your eggs and stir. Cook until mostly set and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Turn your broiler on high. Broil the frittata for about a minute, just until set.
Put your burrata in the center and drizzle with your pesto.