Gale Gand's Brunch! 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend's Best Meal: A Cookbook

by Gand, Gale; Matheson, Christie

• ISBN13: 9780307406989
• ISBN10: 0307406989
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-07
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter

Summary

Gand, pastry chef and host of Food Network's "Sweet Dreams," offers 100 scrumptious recipes that take a refined approach to brunch. 45 full-color photos.

Author Biography

GALE GAND is a James Beard Award—winning pastry chef and executive pastry chef and co-owner of the world-renowned Chicago restaurant Tru. She also is consulting pastry chef and partner of Cenitare Restaurants, LLC, which encompasses Osteria di Tramonto, Tramonto’s Steak and Seafood, and RT Lounge, all in the Chicago area. The host of Sweet Dreams, Food Network’s first daily show devoted to baking, she is the author of six previous cookbooks, including Gale Gand’s Just a Bite and Chocolate and Vanilla.

CHRISTIE MATHESON is a food and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Glamour, Cooking Light, and the Boston Globe Magazine. She is the coauthor of Confetti Cakes and Tea Party.

Excerpts

Baked Eggs in Ham Cups
Serves 4


This dish is simple to make but very attractive—the pastry chef in me loves that. Lining muffin tins with ham serves two purposes: It creates an edible container for the eggs, and it adds flavor. You can replace the mozzarella with another kind of cheese if you want a stronger cheese flavor; using fresh mozzarella makes this an authentic Italian dish, but its flavor is quite mild. When you’re eating with guests, these are probably going to be knife-and-fork food—but when I was testing the recipe, I ate them with my hands, and that works too.

• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter for the tins
• Four 1/16-inch think round ham slices (the largest you can find at the deli)
• 1 teaspoon pesto, homemade or store-bought
• 8 large eggs
• Eight 1/4-inch cubes fresh mozzarella
• 4 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter 4 compartments of a metal muffin tin. Fold each ham slice into quarters, insert the point end in a buttered muffin cup, and let it open—it will have a ruffled look. Place ¼ teaspoon pesto in the bottom of each ham cup, then carefully crack 2 eggs into each cup. (Sometimes I crack my eggs into a pitcher with a pour spout or into a small paper cup and pour them into the ham cup from there.) Tuck 2 mozzarella cubes and two cherry tomato halves into each cup on top of the eggs, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. (Remember that the ham and pesto both lend saltiness to the dish.)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the egg white looks set but the yolk is still a bit runny. Remove the ham cups from the muffin tin and serve them in small bowls or lined up on a platter.