As with all Holidays or Days of Celebration, I ask Robin about 10 days in advance what she would like me to make. The only exception is usually Memorial Day and maybe July 4th – I fire up the grills and smoker for these two days! So, as expected, she submitted her suggested menu for Brunch:
Mimosas
Popovers with Gruyere Cheese
Baked Eggs with Spinach
The Mimosa went extremely well with the Brunch
Sometimes it is difficult to photograph through the oven door, but here is an attempt. The Popovers are getting Happy!
And here are the Popovers with Gruyere Cheese in happy land! Happy Popovers – Happy Robin! These would really be great at a wine tasting filled with Tuna Salad, Ham Salad, Shrimp Salad … Use you imagination!
Popovers with Gruyere Cheese
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Makes 16
2 c unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 t Sea Salt
2 c Whole Milk, use the good stuff with cream on the top
4 lg Eggs
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 c Gruyere cheese grated and (about 6 ounces)
Place muffin pans in the oven and preheat oven to 350ºF
Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl to blend.
Heat milk in small, heavy saucepan over medium heat until very warm, about 125 degrees.
Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk warm milk into eggs. Gradually stir flour mixture into milk mixture just to blend (batter may still be slightly lumpy).
Remove hot muffin pans from oven. Spray pans with nonstick spray. Spoon 1/2 cup batter into each of 16 muffin cups. Top each with 1 tablespoon cheese. Bake until puffed and deep brown, about 40 minutes.
Remove popovers from pan and immediately cut a slit in the top of each to release the steam. Serve immediately.
Note: The key to making popovers that won’t deflate as soon as they come out of the oven is to cut a slit in the top while they are still hot. That releases the steam and allows the popovers to dry slightly inside. Popovers are not easy to reheat because they will flatten, so plan to take them out of the oven just before serving.
And here are the Baked Eggs with Spinach. Quite good, but keep an eye on them, they can over cook very quickly!@
Baked Eggs with Spinach
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes Serves 4
2 T Butter, room temperature
1 (10-ounce) package frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and drained
2 slices Sourdough or French bread
4 lg Eggs
4 t Heavy Cream
Salt, Pepper and Smoked Paprika
Preheat the oven to 375ºF
Rub the inside of four ramekins with a tablespoon of butter.
Squeeze liquid from the thawed spinach. Place about 1/4 cup of spinach in each prepared ramekin, making a bed in the bottom. Dot each bed with a teaspoon of butter, cut into bits.
Butter both sides of the bread slices, then cut each slice into four triangles. Stand two triangles in each ramekin so that they are leaning against the sides of the dishes with a point up.
Break an egg into each ramekin. Sprinkle the eggs with salt, plus pepper and paprika. Drizzle each egg with 1 teaspoon of cream. Arrange the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake the eggs until the whites are set and the yolks are firm around the edges and soft in the center, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve while still hot.
So there you have it – Photos of Brunch and the recipes. What did you make for your Mother today? Cheers!
