Linkipe: Girls brunch + Bread + Spreads

Until this month, I had never made bread before. Most recipes I read had so much kneading and resting involved, and mostly I was deterred because I thought, what if I took all this time to prepare this bread and I wake up and just want to go out for breakfast? What happens to that loaf? My laziness gave way when I prepared a holiday brunch for my close girlfriends recently. Around the holidays I am so family focused that I wanted to bring my girl friends together so we could celebrate each other. The idea was a light holiday brunch, casual, colorful, a secret santa component, lots of champagne. I took on a few things that I never tried before and hoped would work out (otherwise, the Frisch's buffet was only a short ride away...). Bread was one of those things and I was so pleasantly surprised at how easy it was!

The Menu

Rosemary + asiago bread

Cranberry "jam", bacon jam

Honeyed goat cheese + olive tapenade

Spaghetti squash salad

Fried eggs 

Orange + pomegranate fruit salad 

Grapefruit champagne cocktail 

Candied citrus peels (to bring home)

This was not a brunch based on my ability to come up with things, but rather an opportunity to make things I've never made before. Below is a list of the links I used in this pursuit!

1) Bread: http://simplysogood.blogspot.com/2010/03/crusty-bread.html

This bread is pretty dense -- I recommend adding things like rosemary and cheese or cranberries to it. When I made a plain version of the loaf, it was a little too dense for me but it was perfect with bacon jam!

2) Candied citrus peels, champagne cocktail, bacon jam: Martha Stewart kills it. The most time consuming thing for this whole brunch was the citrus peels. I was already using grapefruit, oranges and lemon elsewhere in our menu so it made sense not to waste the peels and I am glad for that, but the pith... Oh my goodness the pith. So incredibly annoying to scrape off. However, the end result is very pretty so kind of worth it. For the champagne cocktail, I used grapefruits instead of oranges.

http://www.marthastewart.com/355599/candied-citrus-peel?center=0&gallery=275603&slide=260580

http://www.marthastewart.com/910525/champagne-and-orange-granita-cocktail?center=0&gallery=275544&slide=910525

http://www.marthastewart.com/326881/slow-cooker-bacon-jam

3) Cranberry jam: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Jam-231007

This recipe doesn't use pectin, so it is runnier than what you imagine a typical jam to be like. However, it was really easy to execute, the color is gorgeous, and I liked that you could really taste cranberry rather than a bunch of sugar. The next time I make this, I will probably use less water. 

4) Honeyed goat cheese and olive tapenade: http://sweetpaul.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/10/re.html

I thought the combination of honey, goat cheese, and the tapenade was really great. However, my goat cheese did not brown up the way the picture looks! It just melted into a sad pool. So, I would probably just set the cheese out so it reaches a creamy room temp, drizzle honey over it, and set it out with the tapenade on the side. 

5) Spaghetti squash salad: This is an intentionally light salad since I knew we'd be eating dense bread and there was already cheese somewhere else on the table so I didn't want to overdo it and put it in here. It is not saucy either. This would be good with crumbled goat cheese or shredded parmesan or asiago cheese if you're eating it as a side to a protein.

(serves 6)

2 small spaghetti squash

1/4 cup pecans

1 tbspn. butter

1 bunch of kale, off the rib and cut into 1 inch pieces 

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tbspn. olive oil 

1/2 lemon

1 tspn. dijon mustard

1/4 cup olive oil 

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Prick holes in the spaghetti squash and microwave for 4 minutes. Cut each squash lengthwise, then place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for half an hour. Scoop out the seeds, go at the squash with a fork and put the flesh into a big bowl. 

Melt the butter in a pan and toss in the pecans. Let them toast until brown and fragrant, then take it off the heat and let the nuts cool. 

Mix together the juice from the lemon, mustard, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Heat the olive oil in a pan and sautee the garlic until translucent. Add the kale, some salt and pepper, and sautee until the kale is brown in some spots (kind of like you roasted it).

Toss the pecans, lemon vinaigrette, and kale with the spaghetti squash and season to taste.