Simple entertaining concepts from meals bloggers and mixologists across the state.
Winter and brunch go collectively like scorching chocolate and marshmallows. And there’s nothing like good meals and drinks to convey household and buddies collectively on a cold morning. We discovered meals bloggers throughout the state—from the Jap Shore to NOVA and all factors in between—providing artistic recipes excellent for a winter weekend brunch. So we rustled up spectacular brunch-worthy cocktails and put collectively a simple weekend entertaining recreation plan.
Which weekend day is good for serving brunch? Brittany Mullins unequivocally prefers Saturdays, and her common weblog, Consuming Chook Meals, provides a wealth of menu concepts. “There’s no incorrect day to host brunch, however Saturdays are typically extra open and permit for a leisurely brunch,” she says and factors out that most individuals prefer to spend Sunday making ready for the week forward. A mother, holistic nutritionist, and recipe developer, Mullins shares wholesome, healthful concepts that attraction to any visitor record.
Brunch doesn’t need to be 20 individuals crowded into your home,” notes Laura Davis, who cooks and blogs from her Chincoteague Island kitchen. “Begin small, invite six or eight individuals,” she advises. “I personally choose smaller gatherings,” she admits. “They are often simply as particular.” Davis’s Tide & Thyme highlights recent and domestically accessible components from the Jap Shore.
Heart the meal round a hearty breakfast casserole like this Polenta Breakfast Bake from Brittany Graham, a Navy spouse who began her weblog, The Anchored Kitchen, from her household’s dwelling in Virginia Seashore. With grits, bacon, and poached eggs, it can serve a small crowd.
For magnificence in a bowl, add a Fig, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Salad to your menu from Consuming Chook Meals. Toss in candied or spiced nuts and dried cranberries and blend with a do-it-yourself balsamic French dressing for a assured hit. Pair it with Beer Candied Bacon from Tide & Thyme. Laura Davis bastes strips of fine high quality, thick-cut bacon in a sweet-savory mixture of stout beer (1/2 cup) and brown sugar (1/4 cup) because it cooks in a 400-degree oven; then serves the strips upright in small glasses—like breadsticks.
Roasted asparagus is elevated to new heights by dredging the spears in flour spiked with garlic powder, salt, and pepper; then eggs earlier than coating them in a panko crust. A Panko-Crusted Asparagus recipe, from Liz Thomson’s I Coronary heart Greens, requires roasting the dredged spears in a 400-degree oven for 15-20 minutes and turning them midway by. Serve them plated or parceled out in mugs together with dipping sauces like marinara or an aioli.
For less difficult pick-up concepts, think about including Cucumber Cups from ButterYum to your menu. Northern Virginia blogger Patricia Reitz combines cottage cheese, dill, scallions, salt, and pepper and stuffs the combination into nearly hollowed-out cucumber wheels. The end result is a perfect pick-up meals, simple to pop in your mouth, however exhausting to cease at only one.
A Waffle Biscuit Monte Cristo from Christie Smith’s Manassas Park-based weblog, A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures, requires stuffing raw jumbo buttermilk biscuits (yep, from a twistable can) with ham and cheese. Christie separates every biscuit into halves, provides cheese and ham, slightly mustard, and slides the stack right into a waffle maker for a number of minutes. The result’s a prettified and gooey biscuit, imprinted with a waffle sample.
Sweets might be simply the best bookend to a weekend brunch. The Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins on ButterYum convey seasonal deliciousness whereas Carol Lou’s Mini Cinnamon Toast Scones—topped with cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter—from her A Ardour for Entertaining weblog are downright irresistible.
Polenta Breakfast Bake
Grits and eggs star on this scrumptious breakfast bake from Brittany Graham’s, The Anchored Kitchen. With a supporting solid of cheese and bacon, it will get a light kick from a splash of scorching sauce.
- 3 cup rooster inventory
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp crushed pink pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1 cup polenta (aka grits, not immediate)
- 6-8 massive eggs
- 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheese corresponding to cheddar or Gruyere
- 2 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
- 1 inexperienced onion, chopped
- Sprint scorching sauce (non-compulsory)
Preheat the oven to 400 levels. In an 8×11 casserole dish add the rooster inventory, melted butter, salt, crushed pink pepper, half and half, and polenta. Whisk, incorporating components, then fastidiously place on the center rack of a preheated oven. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, stirring each 10 minutes, then take away from the oven. Utilizing the again of a spoon, make 6-8 indentations within the polenta and crack an egg into each. Return to the oven and cook dinner 10 extra minutes for a runny yolk—15 should you choose the eggs a bit extra set. Prime with the shredded cheese then place again within the oven for two extra minutes. Take away from the oven and high with the bacon bits and inexperienced onion. Prime with a splash of scorching sauce should you like. Serves 6-8
Past Bloodies
A recent tackle brunch cocktails.
Who doesn’t love the spicy zing of a Bloody Mary or the glowing tingle of a mimosa? However there are extra methods to fill the glasses accompanying the brunch menus right here. This winter, style the revolutionary brunch cocktails— from boozy to honey-sweet, traditional to caffeinated—turning up at eating places across the Commonwealth.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
ButterYum’s delectable brunch muffins have a decidedly winter dessert vibe because of chocolate, pumpkin, and spices. Make them the day earlier than, and heat up earlier than serving.
- Baker’s Pleasure baking spray or muffin cups
- 28 ounces canned pumpkin puree
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 massive eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 cups all objective flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fantastic desk salt
- 1 teaspoon floor cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon floor nutmeg
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 levels, place rack in middle place and put together muffin pan with liners or Baker’s Pleasure spray. In a big mixing bowl, whisk collectively pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and oil; put aside. In a medium bowl, whisk collectively flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; pour flour combination into pumpkin combination and mix properly. Stir in chocolate chips and fill muffin cups about 4/5 full. Bake 30-35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted within the middle comes out clear. Permit muffins to relaxation for 10 minutes earlier than transferring to a rack to chill fully. Makes 1 dozen
The Lita Gray
CAN CAN BRASSERIE, Richmond
- 3/4 ounce gin
- 3/4 ounce sloe gin (we choose Plymouth)
- 3/4 ounce Giffard Apricot Liqueur
- 3/4 ounce lemon juice
Construct in a shaker with ice. Shake and pressure right into a martini or coupe glass. Prime with glowing wine, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Honey Breeze
THE BEE & THE BISCUIT, Virginia Seashore
- 2 ounces Jim Beam Honey
- 3/4 ounce raspberry syrup
- pineapple juice
- cranberry juice
Pour Jim Beam Honey and raspberry syrup right into a shaker. Add a 4-count splash every of the juices. Vigorously shake, after which pour into an ice-filled glass (we choose nugget ice). Prime it off with a honey drizzle on high.
All The Method Up
FOUNDING FARMERS, Reston and Tysons
- 1 egg white
- 1./2 ounce espresso syrup
- 1/2 ounce cognac
- 3/4 ounce coconut milk
- 1 ounce chilly brew espresso
- 1 ounce Founding Spirits Vodka
Add all components right into a cocktail shaker. Add ice, and shake vigorously. Tremendous pressure all contents right into a cocktail glass, and garnish with crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Brandy Milk Punch
BAYOU BAKERY, COFFEE BAR & EATERY, Arlington
- 2 ounces E&J Brandy
- 3 ounces half & half
- 2 teaspoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon floor nutmeg
Mix all components with ice and shake. Pour right into a highball glass, and high off with a mud of nutmeg.
Small Bites, Completely happy Company
Your friends will really feel further welcome should you set out bowls of nibbles—like cocktail nuts or crunchy air-fryer chickpeas—round your house. For a scrumptious tackle cocktail nuts, Carol Lou combines curry, brown sugar, and butter with dry roasted peanuts, which she shares on her A Ardour for Entertaining weblog. The lowly however nutrient-packed chickpea is reworked—with assist from an air fryer and creative spice mixes—in an I Coronary heart Greens recipe. Blogger Liz Thomson suggests a trifecta of garlic powder, salt, and pepper; or taco-seasoning; or a mixture of chili powder, cumin, and black pepper combo, which imparts a decisive kick.
This text initially appeared within the February 2022 concern.
