Brunch! The word evokes thoughts of a lazy week-end morning, sleeping late, eating ‘brunch’ while sipping a glass of sangria in the late morning or early afternoon.
In the food industry, brunch was a fun meal to prepare. Being a combination of both breakfast & lunch means the options are endless. If you are serving a large amount of people, generally eight food groups make up the menu along with beverages. I always enjoyed the visual beauty of a large brunch presentation all carefully prepared and set out.
At our house, Brion and I have always been early risers so brunch isn’t a meal that really works for us. That being said, I do have some special memories of a time when we enjoyed brunch.
It was in the south of France. In 2001, after we had left Paris, we drove 613 km (380 miles) south to the sleepy village of St. Thibery. This little medieval village, population of 2481, can be traced back more than 4000 years of known history.
As I had mentioned in an earlier blog, my sister Loretta had joined Brion and I on this French vacation. For this segment of the trip we had rented an apartment in St Thibery to use as ‘home base’ during our time there. Many of these houses are from the 14th, 15th and 17th century. The apartment was quaint but adequate even having a roof top patio. What’s not to love, amidst the beautiful French vineyards, close to that blue Mediterranean.
We spent about a week in St Thibery and it was there that the three of us made some special memories enjoying our leisure French brunches. In view of all the world crisis we are experiencing today, I cherish the many memories we have from our world travels in more peaceful times.
A few brunch options that I think are noteworthy and would like to share with you today are Bacon & Egg Croissants with Lime-Ginger Fresh Fruit, Peaches & Cream French Toast as well as Asparagus Cordon Bleu Crepes.
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- 3 Tbsp butter or margarine
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1 cup milk
- 100 grams sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 croissants, split
- 3 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
- 8 slices bacon
- 4 eggs, poached
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tsp lime zest (optional)
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp gingerroot, grated
- 284 ml mandarin orange segments, whole, drained
- 3 medium bananas, sliced
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
- 1 cup green grapes, seedless, halved
- 3 eggs
- 3 Tbsp peach preserves
- 3/4 cup half & half cream
- 6 slices French bread,cut 1/2" thick
- 1/3 cup peach preserves
- 6 Tbsp margarine
- 2 fresh peaches, peeled & sliced
- powdered sugar
- toasted almonds
- 8 crepes, plain
- 680 grams fresh asparagus spears
- 8 thin slices ham
- Dijon mustard, old fashioned, grainy
- 8 slices Swiss cheese
- 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
- fresh parsley, snipped
- dried tarragon, crushed (optional)
- 3 Tbsp margarine
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp dried tarragon, crushed
- 1/2 tsp salt (dash of pepper, if preferred)
- 1 1/2 cups half & half cream
- 85 ml mushrooms, sliced, drained
- In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, dry mustard salt & pepper. Add milk. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens & bubbles. Reduce heat to low & stir in cheese. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted. Keep warm.
- In a saucepan, mix sugar & cornstarch. Stir in water. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook & stir until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in lime peel, lime juice & gingerroot. In a large bowl, gently toss prepared fruit. Pour lime mixture over fruit; gently toss. Cover & refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Split croissants, lay on a barely warm griddle to warm. In a saucepan, pour water to a 3" depth & bring to boiling. Reduce to simmering. Break an egg into a shallow dish; gently slip into water. Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs. Cook 2 -3 minutes. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon.
- Place 2 bacon slices on bottom half of each croissant then top with a poached egg. Ladle some cheese sauce over egg, placing croissant top on the side. Serve with side dishes of Lime-Ginger Fresh Fruit.
- In a small bowl, whisk eggs & 3 Tbsp peach preserves. Beat in half & half. Place a single layer of bread slices in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover & refrigerate a few hours or overnight until most of the liquid is absorbed. In a small bowl, beat 1/3 cup peach preserves & 4 Tbsp softened margarine with an electric mixer on high until fluffy; set aside until ready to serve.
- At serving time, Heat griddle to medium-high heat; melt 2 Tbsp margarine. Add bread slices & cook until lightly browned, turning once. Serve French Toast topped with peach butter & fresh peach slices. Sprinkle with toasted almonds & powdered sugar.
- Prepare crepes (see recipe on 'French Crepe' blog from July 25/16). Trim asparagus spears. In a large saucepan, cook asparagus spears in boiling salted water just until tender-crisp; drain. Place a slice of ham on each crepe. Spread ham slice with mustard. Top with a slice of cheese, asparagus spears & tomatoes. Sprinkle with parsley & tarragon, as desired.
- Roll up crepes. In a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, place crepes seam-side down. Preheat oven to 375 F. In a medium saucepan, melt margarine; blend in flour, 1/2 tsp tarragon, salt & pepper. Whisk in half & half, stirring constantly over medium-high heat until mixture thickens & bubbles. Stir in sliced mushrooms. Pour sauce over crepes in baking dish. Bake 25 minutes or until heated through.
- Lime-Ginger Fresh Fruit adapted from from pillsbury. com
- Brunch ideas adapted from Pat Jester's Brunch Cookery (1979)