brunch is best

i like to get a bit more creative than breakfast traditionally allows, and with brunch, anything is possible. it's alright for brunch to be especially savory; i feel like most people are anticipating eating a lot of food, and drink.

IF NOT, a warning: you might not want to eat all this if you have to go to work afterward.

1) frittata

a traditional frittata is a baked egg dish, usually with leftover pasta, and various vegetables/meats. i'm not too big of a fan of adding pasta-its texture is quite similar to the eggs after baked, and it doesn't seem to add any flavor. so, i leave it out. this particular frittata has arugula and mushrooms, two of my favorites.


ingredients:

5-6 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper
arugula
mushrooms
onions
garlic
EVOO
butter
parsley

first, combine your eggs and cream and add salt, pepper, parsley. heat some butter and olive oil and saute all the veggies (adding the arugula just for the last 1-2 minutes to wilt it), then add those to your egg/cream mixture, once they've cooled slightly. baking time on frittatas can be really variable (like most things). i start it out at 300 and cook for about 15, then keep an eye on it. sometimes it appears to need more time when it's already fully cooked. BE CAREFUL; they can dry out and it's not pretty.

2) biscuits

as you can see from the photo above, danielle's grandmother hooked me up with some homemade blackberry preserves. i used those pillsbury frozen biscuits and served those with high quality butter (please, do not use margarine. it's nasty, doesn't bake well, and isn't good for you), and the preserves. use toast if you don't have time to bake your own biscuits and don't want to cheat like me.

3) grits

i looooove grits. that being said, i've had some terrible renditions. grits need to be jazzed up a bit, in my opinion, so i usually always add cheese and herbs. for this batch i used quick grits and replaced half the amount of water typically called for with milk. after cooking, i mixed in:

fresh basil
goat cheese
white cheddar
coarsely ground black pepper (and lots of it)


at this point i imagine you may be thinking, "what about this brunch isn't a traditional breakfast?" well, nothing really. i still maintain that my introduction to this post remains true, however; i defend myself with the addendum that i usually serve roasted potatoes, or something traditionally prepared later in the day, with my brunches.