Adventures In Cooking: Brunch

SUNDAY, MAY 3RD, 2009

3.5 stars (out of 5 - pretty good)

We wanted to try something different for breakfast today, so we decided on an omelette with lots of stuffing (I don't like things that are too "eggy"). This recipe was from a book I just recently discovered on my bookshelf.

Ingredients:

Omelette:

4 eggs

1/3 cup of milk

Salsa:

3 fairly ripe tomatoes
1 avacodo
1/4 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro (reduce if you don't want it too strong)
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp lime juice

1. First, I coursely chopped the tomatoes and cilantro added them to a medium sized bowl. As I was making it, SB informed me that he doesn't care too much for cilantro (great!), so I really reduced the amount. It still had a lot of flavour, so unless you absolutely love love love cilantro, I would reduce it to a little less than the said amount.

2. I then added the garlic, red onion, and lime juice, and mixed it all up. You can prepare this part all ahead of time, but make sure that you only do Step 3 right before serving.

3. I then added the chopped avacodo to finish the salsa.

4. While the salsa was being mixed, SB mixed up the eggs and milk into a bowl.

5. He then separated the mixture in order to make two omelettes, and fried them, very thin in a frying pan.

6. After they were cooked, we added the salsa to the omelette.

7. We then very carefully rolled them up.

Overall, it was a refreshing change. I don't like really eggy omelettes, so it was ideal for me. However, I think the salsa, served at a party with some chips might be a better way to enjoy it. It was almost more of a dinner omelette (if such a thing exists). You also have to be careful, because so many people don't like cilantro, and it's really what gives the salsa its flavour in this recipe.

SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2009

5 stars (out of 5 - Delicious Brunch!)

Today we waited until quite late to eat brunch, so we went for something substantial: asparagus crepes. This is my favourite brunch meal to indulge in. They are a bit of work, but SB and I work as a team (I do most of the prep/clean-up; he does the frying/stirring), which makes it easy.

The following is for eight crepes (we only made four and just halved all the recipes).

Here is what you need:

Approximately 32 stalks of asparagus (approx. 4 per crepe)

Crepes: (we just find recipes off of the Internet, but you can always use diluted pancake mix. Just make sure that they are THIN: they will puff up in the oven as well, and then I find it can be too "dough-y")

1 cup flour
2 eggs
350 mL milk
1 pinch salt
Oil to cook

Cheese Sauce: (note: we divide this recipe in half (except the cheese!) in order to make 4 crepes)

4 tbsp butter or margarine
4 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (maybe more!)

1. First, we broke the ends off of the asparagus, broke them in half, and stuck them in the steamer. We cooked these until they were tender crisp.

2. After they were cooked, I rinsed the asparagus under cold water, and divided and laid them on the (clean) counter (they need to be dry, and it makes it easier for later).

3. As the asparagus was steaming, we mixed up all the ingredients for the crepe batter, and heated a pan over medium heat to cook them.

4. We then spread the crepe batter VERY thin in the pan to cook: you DO NOT want it thick, as it will puff up further in the oven.

5. As the crepes were cooking, we started the cheese sauce. First, we melted the butter and flour together, stirring constantly.

6. When it thickened, we added the seasonings, and then slowly added the milk, and stirred until it was smooth. We then added the cheese, and stirred again until smooth.

7. As the cheese sauce was being prepared, I took the cooked crepes and spread the asparagus on them (in the centre). I like to cut off any excess crepe, so it's not too "dough-y". I then placed them into a greased pan.

8. Once the crepes and cheese sauce were all prepared, we poured the cheese sauce over the crepes and placed them in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F (enough time to clean the kitchen!)

Delicious!