marathon brunch 2: butternut squash baked eggs/french toast with roasted banana ice cream and toasted pumpkin seeds/bagel and lox

If you've been reading along, you'll recall that least year, Laura and hosted a brunch to celebrate the New York City marathon, which conveniently passes right by our apartment. If you've never experienced the marathon, it is hard to imagine how much fun it is to stand out there on the street, cheering and high fiving the runners as they run a seemingly super-human distance. It is also particularly great to be able to pause and reflect on their amazing accomplishments by eating ridiculous amounts of french toast and eggs.

In other words, let me tell you what I made for our second annual marathon brunch.




That's boozy french toast (as discussed in my second blog post ever), with amaretto, eggs, milk (or cream? doesn't matter really), a little sugar and some cinnamon. I let it soak in the egg mixture and then baked it in the oven. I served it with fresh whipped cream, candied pumpkin seeds and roasted banana ice cream. Oh, and a little maple syrup. Just in case there wasn't enough deliciousness piled up on there. The roasted bananas get really lovely and caramelized, and because the fruit is so naturally sweet, you barely need to add any sugar. (My only thought is that this might be even better if there was an egg custard base, because it wasn't quite as creamy as it could have been. But I am afraid of egg custards because the only time I tried to make one it broke so I'll take a slightly crystallized ice cream over prolonged stove-top trauma.)

hurricane bbq

Hey everyone. While I was holed up surviving Hurricane Irene, I was thinking about this blog and all the delicious yummy things that I've cooked this year that have yet to make an appearance here. This blog is supposed to function as a way for me to remember all my culinary experiences, so that I might look back for ideas, inspiration and to learn from less successful endeavors. And if other people like what I'm writing and cooking, all the better! Obviously, at my current blogging pace, I am not doing a very good job of any of that, but I still hope that can change.

The other thing I've been thinking about this weekend, is how much I am going to miss the summer, and how much I wish that we hadn't wasted the last weekend in August on a big fat hurricane. So unfortunate.

But that doesn't mean Nathan and I didn't try to make the best of it. This afternoon, as the rain came to an end and the sun even made a fleeting but welcome appearance, we cooked up a little barbeque:




Of course, when I say BBQ, I fully realize that any Southerner worth his salt would shoot us on sight for daring to call a hot dog cooked on the stove barbeque, but let's be real, I grew up on Long Island. A barbeque means hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on the grill, maybe some baked beans, coleslaw, corn on the cob, pasta and/or potato salad. So for me, a little tomato salad, deviled eggs, corn and a hot dog on a toasted bun is just what I think of when someone invites me over to a barbeque, and was the perfect way to fight cabin fever and the end of summer/hurricane blues.

Hope everyone has survived the rough weather, and that there are only sunny blue skies in store for our Labor Day Weekend!

Love,

Sarah

salmon fritatta

So awhile back my parents had a big box of smoked salmon, and we wanted something quick for dinner. I made up a great smoked salmon frittata based off this Ina Garten recipe.

I changed things up a little by leaving out the goat cheese and adding some grape tomatoes and chives, but the basic idea is pretty simple. Saute onions in butter. Scramble eggs. Add cream, salmon, scallions and tomatoes. Bake for 50 minutes at 350˚.



It was a nice hearty omelet, and with a nice green salad it was perfect for a light dinner. I think this would be good with lox, but the smoked salmon that we had was packed in oil, so it wasn't the bright pink kind that you would expect. Either way, it was definitely good.

marathon brunch

Well it's been over a month since my last entry! And in that time we've celebrated the start to a new year, and this blog's first anniversary! Boy does time fly. I have some hopes for the blog in the New Year, mostly regarding improved photography and a real design and logo, but for now I have a lot of cooking to catch up on.

The first order of business is an epic brunch meal. My friends don't generally congregate before noon, but back in November Laura and I hosted our first brunch. It started at 10 am, and surprisingly enough people were pretty much on time. This wasn't just any old brunch– this brunch was kind of a big deal. You see, even though 5th Avenue is basically a dead end street when you live as far north as I do, there is one day a year where my quiet block becomes part of something big. The first Sunday of November, my block happens to be on the route of the New York City Marathon. The last 5 miles of the race run down 5th Avenue and through Central Park. I live just across the Madison Avenue Bridge at 138th St, which marks the runners' triumphant re-entrance to Manhattan after a brief Bronx interlude.

I had never really given the marathon a second thought until last year, when I went and cheered along 1st ave with my good friend Mary, who was making a rare visit to the city from Long Island. We had tons of fun watching the race, so when I realized that I now lived on the route, Laura and I decided to celebrate the athleticism and dedications of all those runners by inviting my friends over for a super gluttonous and boozy brunch. Awesome!

Laura and I woke up bright and early to shop and cook. Even Nathan rolled out of bed in time to help out– without any poking or prodding on my part, which was pretty amazing. As a result, I was actually mostly done with the preparations by the time everyone else arrived, which was quite a relief. We put together quite a spread with a minimal amount of work!

The Menu:
Baked Eggs with Butternut Squash, Bacon and Collard Greens
Baked French Toast, (discussed in my second blog post ever!)
Deviled Eggs (by Nathan)
Apple Tart Tatin (by Laura)
Sweet Potato Pumpkin Ice Cream
Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls (by the Pillsbury Dough Boy)
With:
Spinach Quiche (by Grace)
Cream Cheese Cinnamon Pumpkin Dip with Gingersnaps (by Jess)
Irish Soda Bread (by Hannah)
Bagels and Cream Cheese (from Paul and his roommate)
Mimosas (from Marc)

If I've forgotten anything, I apologize. I really should blog these things sooner. But anyway, it was a lot of fun. The marathon is awesome. You really wouldn't think that it'd be particularly cool, watching people run, but the runners really seem to appreciate the cheers, and as the race goes on there are people of all shapes and sizes. It's really an exciting atmosphere!

Of course, we had to eat all that food, so we ended up watching most of the race on tv, and running down to the street briefly to watch the leaders come by. After gorging ourselves for several hours, we went back downstairs to cheer on a steady stream of runners. At this point, there were all sorts of national flags and costumes, so it was easy to call out to specific runners, hopefully giving them a little extra boost of confidence.

And as for the food, it was all pretty fabulous. We started off with some quick cinnamon rolls courtesy of Pillsbury, and Nathan's deviled eggs. He blended the yolks with mayo, mustard, a little vinegar and paprika. I think he would have eaten all of them himself, but he managed to exercise some manly restraint. I had a couple and they were just delicious.


deviled eggs

Meanwhile, I woke up really early to start on a baked eggs dish. It's not really brunch if there's no eggs, but I didn't feel like I could handle omelets or fried eggs for a large group. Baked eggs are great because you don't have to flip them individually or stir them around or anything. You can just bake a whole mess of them until the whites set, which takes about 15 minutes. I'd wanted to use my little ramekins, but I more guests than dishes, so I decided to use my pyrex baking dish. Not as cute, but more practical.

I've seen a ton of different recipes for baked eggs, incorporating all sorts of different ingredients, all of which sounded delicious, but I didn't make any of them. My food co-op had saddled me with butternut squash and collard greens, so I came up with my own variation that combined those ingredients with bacon, onions and mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Nathan doesn't like butternut squash, so I made a separate portion for him which substituted chopped tomatoes. Both versions were delicious.


baked eggs with butternut squash, bacon, collard greens and two types of cheese

The night before I cut my squash in half and roasted it in the oven until it was cooked through. The next morning, I peeled and cubed the squash. Then I chopped up some bacon and crisped it up on the griddle. Once that was nice and brown, I set it aside and threw some diced onion onto the pan. I let that soften for a couple of minutes, and then added a huge bunch of finely chopped collard greens. Spinach, chard or kale would work well also. Once that was all wilted, I mixed the bacon, collards, onions and squash together in my large Pyrex dish. I also added some small cubes of mozzarella and cheddar cheese and went to town with the pepper mill.

At this point, you are ready to add your eggs. Everything should be spread evenly in your pan, so you can use a spoon to create small divots to crack the eggs into. I think I may have poured a little milk or cream into the pan to make sure the greens wouldn't dry out in the oven, but that's optional. Bake at 350˚ for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the whites have set. I erred on the side of caution, and wound up with yolks that were beginning to solidify, so if you like yours runny, 15 minutes is probably better.

The great thing about this dish is that it can be prepared ahead of time. Your guests get all the eggy goodness they associate with brunch, but you're not slaving over the stove, flipping omelets. The oven does all the work for you!

The meal's real showstopper was an awesome tart tatin, made mostly by Laura. I oversaw the end of the process, which involves caramelizing the apples with deeply browned butter and sugar in a cast iron skillet, and then baking it with a pie crust on top. It takes a while to peel the apples and to make it all caramelly enough, but other than that it's pretty easy. It's gooey and sweet, and a great dessert that was gobbled up even after we'd consumed piles of eggs and bread and quiche. Yum.


apple tart tatin

I served the tart with some sweet potato pumpkin gingersnap ice cream. I adapted the recipe from The Perfect Scoop, and it was quite good. I've talked quite enough in this entry, so I'll just leave you with the recipe. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Ice Cream with Gingersnaps
adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 large sweet potato
1¼ cup pureed pumpkin
1 cup plus 2 tbsp whole milk
⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp vanilla bean rum
pinch of salt
1 cup of crumbled gingersnaps

Use a fork to poke holes around the sweet potato, then wrap in aluminum foil and baked in the oven at 400˚ for 45 minutes or until soft. Let cool to room temperature.

Pour the milk into a blender and add the brown sugar, sweet potato, cinnamon, rum and salt. Puree until very smooth, at least 30 seconds. If desired, press the mixture through a mesh strainer, using a flexible rubber spatula.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add the crushed gingersnaps.