Caroline + Arie's Perfect Brunch

 

C + A hosted the BEST Brunch ever yesterday! I wanted to add her recipes here so I can find them easily!  

Menu:

• Best Bloody Mary Bar // Mimosas
• Overnight French Toast w/Coconut Syrup
• BLT's
• Homemade Hash Browns
• Fruit
• Arie's Famous Dutch Apple Pancakes
• Coffee w/ Bailey's

The Groeneveld's

The Guests

Tomato Jam

• 1 1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped
• 3/4 to 1 cup sugar (she used 3/4 c)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 jalapeno or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use; this will keep at least a week. 

Perfect Scrambled Eggs

• 12 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche
• kosher salt  + freshly ground black pepper
• a little shredded cheese

1. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk until light, frothy, and uniform in color. Strain the eggs through a fine mesh stainer into a separate bowl.
2. Combine the butter and creme fraiche in a large nonstick sauce pan. (Caroline cooked hers in the oven so they wouldn't fall apart and stay on the BLT. Pour the eggs into the pan and turn the heat to low and cook slowly; mix gently using a heat-resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon until soft curds form, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat (the eggs will still be somewhat wet). Season with salt and pepper, and add any flavoring additions (cheese). Let stand for 1 minute more to allow the heat of the pan to finish cooking the eggs. 

BLT:

Toasted Brioche bread without the crust, mayonnaise,  glazed bacon (thick cut with pomegranate molasses, dijon mustard, pepper baked), arugula, scrambled eggs, tomato jam, avocado. 

Served with Potatoes & Fruit.

Amazing! 

BLT & Hash Browns

Overnight Berry French Toast w/Coconut Syrup

• 6 large eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• Zest and juice of 1 small orange
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch diagonal slices.
• 2 cups berries (any combination of raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup chopped walnuts *optional
• 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• grand mariner

Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, syrup, orange zest and juice, and vanilla together. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture and arrange in two rows in the baking dish. Tuck berries between slices and along the edges. Pour remaining egg mixture over top of the bread and berries. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the French toast from refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, walnuts, and brown sugar. Sprinkle over the bread and berries. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes and cover with foil if the top is getting too brown. Serve with maple syrup. (Or coconut syrup!)

Arie's famous dutch apple pancakes with cinnamon & sugar. *Secret recipe (3rd generation!) Delicious!

Cheers!