holiday brunch – In Good Taste

Veggie Breakfast Bake with Chicken Sausage

Maris Callahan — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 22:02:07 +0000

Whenever I’m hosting a brunch, my menu generally looks something like this: a sweet pastry (chocolate chip sconesare one of my favorites); smoked salmon, a dozen bagels and at least three different types of cream cheese from the bagel shop in our neighborhood; a bottle (or three) of champagne and a carafe of orange juice; a seasonal fresh fruit and yogurt parfait bar and of course, a baked egg dish that I can make the night before and bake off in the morning. In the egg category, one of my favorite go-to recipes is this spinach and cheese strata that is rich, savory and perfect. With the holiday season in full-swing, egg casseroles always make me think of the movie, “The Family Stone.” Sarah Jessica Parker’s character meets her boyfriend’s parents for the first time and though everything is going terribly, she insists on making her family strata recipe for brunch, only to drop it all on the floor. I had a nice internal chuckle when Brad told me, shortly after we began dating, that his family always had a breakfast casserole on Christmas Day – I won’t be making the Messerveys a breakfast casserole anytime soon out of sheer […]

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How To Host a Holiday Biscuit Bar Brunch

Maris Callahan — Sun, 05 Nov 2017 18:00:32 +0000

When I have guests visiting for the holidays, I think about making dinner reservations or trying out new recipes. I rarely think about brunch, which around the holidays usually means offering guests cold cereal or leftover Christmas cookies if they happen to wake up before noon. That will all change with this holiday biscuit bar brunch idea from Chicago’s own Home Chef. When I heard that Home Chef, a weekly meal delivery company based in Chicago, is making it easier to entertain during the holiday season, I was on board. Home Chef offers weekly deliveries of fresh, perfectly portioned ingredients and chef-designed recipes for people who want to eat better at home, but want to save a little time in the kitchen. I thought their main and side dishes sounded nice, but it was the Holiday Morning Biscuit Bar that really sounded like the most awesome thing on the planet, and I can now confirm that it very much is. For $13.90, you receive the ingredients and recipe to make a dozen+ biscuits plus three unique toppings to mix and match. The Asiago biscuits in less than 20 minutes, and you serve them alongside warm apple-cinnamon butter, rich cherry butter, and a sweet onion jam. (You could even get […]

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How-To: Host a Winter Brunch (and still manage to sleep in)

Maris Callahan — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 22:26:24 +0000

It’s arguably old news that the holiday entertaining season is about over, but for some people, it never really ends. Earlier in the year, I hosted what turned out to be a wonderful pre-holiday brunch for some of my extended family. Even though the intent was to celebrate the holidays, you could easily replicate this winter brunch menu anytime throughout the season. A fun, mid-winter brunch party will give your guests ones something fun to look forward to during the inevitable gray, gloomy days of January and February. A lot of my relatives live in New York, which like Chicago, is fun and festive prior to the holidays but after January 1, there isn’t much to look forward to, weather-wise, until Memorial Day. You might be in New Year’s resolutions mode, so this simple brunch can be catered to just about any diet — such as low carb or even gluten-free — and is pretty easy to execute. Even decorating for your party can be stress-free and inexpensive. The Decor Thanks to Pinterest, rustic chic is now a thing and what that means is that if you don’t have 6 or 8 or 12 plates that happen to match, you don’t need to. Set […]

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10 Recipes for New Year’s Day Brunch

Maris Callahan — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:15:00 +0000

You’ve been indulging for weeks. You might have eaten a few salads here and there as post party penance but let’s be honest: most of us wait until January to kick our resolutions into high gear. With New Years Day falling on a Saturday this year, you have a double-whammy of an excuse to hit the party scene: it’s Friday and it’s the celebration of one year’s passing and another’s beginning. One door closing, another opening…or something like that. Instead of starting the new year off with egg whites, kick it off with a serious brunch spread. Here are some of the top recipes from In Good Taste, and some other great food blogs, to make your brunch a better one this year. Peanut Butter Banana Bread is the perfect way to fill your bread basket for guests. Cranberry Mimosa (as seen on WGN-TV) are the best alternative to OJ if you want to switch things up. I also like a little pomegranate juice but that tends to be pricier. Hoppin’ John is said to bring good luck when eaten on New Year’s Day! I like this version but you can also add extra veggies and of course, double the bacon. […]

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