Mother’s Day Brunch!

Quiche Lorraine

Creamy Potatoes Au Gratin

Caprese Salad with Strawberries and Avocado

Strawberry Shortcake

STRAWBERRY AVOCADO CAPRESE SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients  

• 1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup mozzarella pearls, extra mini
• 1/2 cup sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup ripe strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1/2 large semi-ripe avocado, diced and sprinkled with lime juice
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, torn to small pieces
• ¼ cup olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Optional: honey roasted almonds, chopped or slivered

Instructions

1. Balsamic Reduction: In a small saucepan, add the balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil. Boil and stir 3-4 minutes or just until liquid is reduced by about half; should be thick and syrup-like. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool to room temp.
2. Toss:When ready to serve, add all remaining ingredients to a large platter or bowl, folding very gently with rubber spatula. Add kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and then with balsamic glaze, sprinkle with almonds if desired, and serve immediately.

CREAMY POTATOES AU GRATIN

INGREDIENTS

1 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 medium onion, diced finely

1 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cups whole milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded

2 Tablespoons shredded parmesan

fresh green onions, chopped (optional, for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 inch baking dish. Layer potatoes in the baking dish.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Whisk in flour and continue to whisk until browned, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and add salt and pepper. Continuously whisk until mixture has thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Turn heat down to low and add cheeses and stir continuously until melted, about 30 seconds.

Pour cheese sauce on top of the potatoes, and cover with aluminum foil. Place into oven and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and continue to bake for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned and the potatoes are tender and mixture has thickened.

Garnish with fresh ground black pepper and green onions (optional) and serve immediately.

Quiche Lorraine

INGREDIENTS

One 9-inch deep-dish frozen pie crust

8 oz thick-cut bacon (about 6 slices), diced

½ cup chopped shallots, from 2 medium shallots

4 large eggs

1¼ cups heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pinch ground nutmeg

4 oz Gruyère, finely shredded (about 1¼ cups)

INSTRUCTIONS

Blind bake the crust: Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack in the middle position. Remove the pie crust from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork, about 10 minutes. (If there are any cracks in the crust, see note below on how to patch them up.) Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork. Place the crust on a baking sheet to make it easy to move in and out of the oven. Bake on until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it; if it puffs up while cooking, gently prick it with a fork so it will deflate. (If it cracks while baking, see note below for instructions on how to patch it up.) Set aside and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

In a medium nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the shallots and cook over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg; whisk until evenly combined.

Spread the shallots evenly over the bottom of the cooked crust. Top with half of the bacon, all of the Gruyère, and then the remaining bacon. Pour the egg/cream mixture over top.

Slide the quiche (still on the baking sheet) into the oven and bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custard is set and lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.

Strawberry Shortcake/Touch of Grace Biscuits

Butter for greasing, or nonstick cooking spray
2 cups (9 oz/255 g) spooned and leveled self-rising flour

1/4 cup sugar (or less, if you prefer your biscuits less sweet)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk, or enough for dough to resemble cottage cheese (if you are not using low-protein flour, it will take more than 1 cup)
1 cup plain all-purpose flour, for shaping
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, for brushing

1 quart fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced

⅓ cup white sugar

1 Tablespoon lemon zest and juice

2 cups cream, whipped with a little sugar and vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and arrange a shelf slightly below the center of the oven. Spray an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the self-rising flour, sugar, and salt. Work the shortening in with your fingers until there are no large lumps. Gently stir in the cream, then some of the buttermilk. Continue stirring in buttermilk until the dough resembles cottage cheese. It should be a wet mess—not soup, but cottage-cheese texture. If you are not using a low-protein flour, this may require considerably more than 1 cup of buttermilk.

3. Spread the plain (not self-rising) flour out on a plate or pie pan. With a medium (about 2-inch) ice cream scoop or spoon, place 3 or 4 scoops of dough well apart in the flour. Sprinkle flour over each. Flour your hands. Turn a dough ball in the flour to coat, pick it up, and gently shape it into a round, shaking off the excess flour as you work. Place this biscuit in the prepared pan. Coat each dough ball in the same way and place each shaped biscuit scrunched up against its neighbor so that the biscuits rise up and don’t spread out. Continue scooping and shaping until all of the dough is used.

4. Place the pan on the arranged shelf in the oven. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Brush with the melted butter. Invert onto one plate, then back onto another. With a knife or spatula, cut quickly between biscuits to make them easy to remove. Serve immediately. Butter ’em while they’re hot.

5. Meanwhile, place strawberries in a separate bowl. Toss gently with 1/3 cup sugar and lemon zest and juice, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

6. To assemble take a biscuit and top with sliced strawberries and then whipped cream.