For a nonalcoholic variation, use club soda or sparkling water in place of the Champagne.
Photo by: Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Combine cran-raspberry juice and lime juice in a pitcher; stir well. Pour 1/2 cup juice mixture into each of 6 champagne glasses; top with chilled champagne. Garnish with lime slices. Serve immediately.
Cooking Light APRIL 2003
Make the dressing up to 2 days ahead. Toss the salad the day of the brunch.
Photo by: Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss well.
Cooking Light APRIL 2003
Make the leek mixture and cook the potatoes a day ahead. Or use store-bought diced cooked potatoes (such as Simply Potatoes), whisk the eggs, combine everything, and bake the morning of the brunch.
Photo by: Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Preheat oven to 350°.
Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek; sauté 4 minutes. Add spinach; sauté 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Place mixture in a colander, pressing until barely moist.
Combine milk, basil, salt, pepper, eggs, and egg whites; stir well with a whisk. Add leek mixture and potato. Pour into a 10-inch round ceramic baking dish or pie plate coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and top with cheese. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until center is set.
Preheat broiler.
Broil frittata 4 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into wedges.
Cooking Light APRIL 2003
Lemon-blueberry muffins, with a sour-sweet glaze and hint of nutmeg, are perfect any time of day.
Photo by: Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Preheat oven to 400°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through nutmeg) in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Combine buttermilk, egg, and rind; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Gently fold in blueberries.
Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until the muffins spring back when lightly touched. Remove muffins from pans immediately, and place on a wire rack to cool.
Combine lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze evenly over cooled muffins.
Note: You can make these muffins up to 2 days ahead and glaze them the morning of the brunch.
Cooking Light APRIL 2003
Prepare the crust and filling up to 2 days ahead for this strawberry-almond cream tart; then assemble the dessert recipe the morning of your brunch. You'll have extra glaze--try it on ice cream or pound cake.
Photo by: Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare crust, place crackers in a food processor; process until crumbly. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, butter, and water; pulse just until moist. Place mixture in a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray, pressing into bottom and up sides of pan to 3/4 inch. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.
To prepare filling, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and extracts in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of tart shell.
To prepare topping, place 2 cups strawberries in food processor; process until pureed. Combine strawberry puree, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; cook 1 minute. Remove glaze from heat, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Combine 4 cups strawberries and juice; toss to coat. Arrange berries, bottoms up, in a circular pattern over filling. Spoon half of glaze evenly over berries (reserve remaining glaze for another use). Sprinkle nuts around edge. Cover and chill 3 hours.
Note: You can use either an 8 x 12-inch rectangular pan or a 9-inch round tart pan. The recipe also works with a 9-inch springform pan and a 10-inch pie plate.
Cooking Light APRIL 2003
Brunch for Six
Raspberry Sparkler
Field Salad with Snow Peas, Grapes, and Feta
Frittata with Spinach, Potatoes, and Leeks
or
Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart
Cooking Light
Here's a menu that's as easily applied to Easter as to Mother's Day. And it can gracefully accommodate all the graduation, wedding, and birthday fetes in between. (Serves 6)
Field Salad with Snow Peas, Grapes, and Feta
Frittata with Spinach, Potatoes, and Leeks
or
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Brunch for Six