Make it a brunch date

What’s not to love about brunch? If you’re actually having brunch – that meal that was made up to accommodate the time between what is deemed “normal” breakfast time and “normal” lunch time – means that...

(A) you probably got to sleep in a bit, 

(B) it’s most likely your first meal of the day, 

(C) it’s a weekend morning and you are undoubtedly still in your jammies and hangin’ out with your cuddle bunnies, or... 

(D) you’ve invited the entire family of 25 over for Easter morning and well…

Again, I repeat… what’s not to love about brunch?

It’s all good. 

Here are a couple of egg-cellent brunch ideas to feed a few cuddle bunnies or a whole herd of them.

Hash Brown Egg Nests

Servings: 8
15 ounces frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Chives or parsley for garnish

Heat oven to 425 F. In a bowl, mix hash browns, salt, pepper, olive oil and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Grease muffin pan and spoon ½ cup of mixture into each section. Using your fingers, pack them tightly and shape into nests. Bake approximately 15 minutes until edges have browned and the cheese has melted.

Reduce oven to 350 F. Crack an egg into each nest and season with salt and pepper. Top with crumbled bacon, remaining cheddar and chives or parsley. Bake until egg whites set, about 13-16 minutes.

Tomato and Basil Scramble with Fresh Mozzarella

Servings: 4-6
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
12 eggs
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ pound fresh mozzarella, cubed
Toasted French bread slices for serving

In a large frying pan, warm oil over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until soft. Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl and cover to keep warm. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, 1 tablespoon of basil, ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
 
Melt butter in same pan over med-low heat. Add eggs and cook until they are barely cooked into moist curds. Add tomato mixture and mozzarella and stir to distribute throughout the eggs. Remove from heat and allow eggs to stand about 1 minute. Sprinkle with remaining basil. Serve over French bread slices.
(Recipe adapted from williams-sonoma.com)

Happy Brunch!