Mama's Brunch

I love watching Food Network, I gain a lot of my inspiration for cooking from here. Bobby Flay is a pretty incredible cook, I love his show Brunch at Bobby's. Brunch is my all-time favorite meal. I absolutely love it. When I became a mom I knew I would want to host a brunch with all the mamas and babies. After a few months to get my bearings, I was able to do so. I utilized one of Bobby Flay's brunches as my foundation and tweaked the recipes just a bit to fit in my cooking style.

Orange-Ricotta Pancakes with Fig Compote

3/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp  baking powder
salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
orange zest
butter

Fig Compote
12 oz figs
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup trail mix (or any nuts you have around)
salt
pepper

Mix dry ingredients together. Then combine ricotta, milk, egg yolks, vanilla and zest in a separate bowl until smooth. Beat the egg whites in a standing mixer until stiff. Add dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk, fold to combine. Whisk in small amount of egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining egg whites. I heated up my griddle and brushed the surface with butter. Use 1/3 cup to scoop batter onto the griddle. When bubbles start to appear, flip.

Add all ingredients for compote together in a small sauce pan, cook over high heat and stir frequently. Should take about two minutes for the figs to soften and break down. Pour into bowl for serving.




Italian Home Fries

3 Tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow pepper, diced
1 1/2 lbs small new potatoes, diced
8 oz Italian hot sausage, remove from casing
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
drizzle olive oil
salt & pepper

The night before (to save time) I chopped everything up and put it into a ziploc bag. I stuck it into the fridge and the next morning, heated up the butter on the griddle and poured the ingredients onto the griddle pan. I added the fresh herbs once the onions, peppers and potatoes started to cook. The smell is incredible! Once the sausage is browned, cooked through and potatoes are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, your home fries are done!

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Italian Cheese and Tomato Bruschetta
1 loaf of Italian bread
olive oil
salt & pepper
3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
handful of basil, julienne
10 large eggs
4 oz Italian cheeses

Preheat grill pan over medium heat, slice bread, drizzle with olive oil and place down on pan. While bread toasts, toss tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and julienne basil in a bowl. Once bread is toasted, mound the tomato mixture on top.

Melt butter into a large saute pan over low heat. Crack eggs into a separate bowl and whisk until fluffy. Add in coarse black pepper. Add eggs into the pan, mix gently with rubber spatula. Fold in cheese and after a few minutes remove from heat. Serve eggs with bruschetta.

Orange-Pineapple Mimosas
champagne or prosecco
orange juice
pineapple juice

I love changing up mimosa flavors, find any yummy juice or nectar and top that off in your champagne glass.

Blueberry-Fennel Ice
ice cube tray
water
blueberries
fennel sprigs

I decided to jazz up my ice for serving water, so I put a few blueberries and fennel sprigs in the cube tray. Freeze and it looks pretty with the color. You can use any fruit, herbs, etc.


It was so wonderful to get together with my great mama

friends and to see their babies. Our little ones played and we took some adorable pictures. This brunch is great for any gathering.

Enjoy! xo Lo

Chicken Milanese

Chicken Milanese is one of those iconic dishes that seems to be forgotten or skipped over. I wanted to rejuvenate this recipe a bit.

Chicken Milanese

chicken breasts (2-4)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup flour
2 eggs
fennel bulb
cherry tomatoes, halved
garlic
1/2 cup cream cheese
penne pasta
 salt
pepper

Preheat oven on the lowest setting, 150-170.

Boil water for the pasta, put plenty of salt in the water, once bubbling add in whichever pasta you prefer, I used penne.

Take your chicken breasts and pound them until they are about a 1/2 inch thick. Sometimes the breasts are so large I cut them in half. In three bowls add flour, salt and pepper in one, eggs in the second and panko in the third. Dip the breasts into the flour, then coat with the eggs and dredge in the panko bread crumbs. Once pasta is al dente, drain.

Brown each side of the chicken using olive oil in a hot pan, about three minutes per side. Then place the coated chicken breasts on a baking sheet with a wire rack on it, put in the oven to cook through and keep warm.

In the same pan you browned the chicken in, add in the fennel, let it cook until soft. Then add in the garlic and lastly the tomatoes. Once the vegetables are soft, add in the cream cheese to create a creamy sauce. Retrieve the chicken from the oven. Spoon pasta in bowl, top with crispy chicken and finally the creamy sauce. I garnished with a little of the fennel sprigs. The panko makes this chicken even more crispy and slow cooking makes the chicken extra moist. The bite from the fennel and creaminess from the sauce makes this dish irresistible. Any guest will love this meal.

Enjoy! xo Lo

Winter Dinner Party

During the winter people tend to "hibernate" and long to be comforted by warm, toasty friends and food. What better way to achieve this than planning a dinner party?

This is my mom, her best friend and I with a holiday cocktail before everyone else arrived! The menu my mom and I chose was: 


- Pomegranate Lemon Drop with a Candy Cane garnish
- Dried Cherry-Pistachio Brie en Croute
- Bacon Wrapped Stilton-Stuffed Dates
- Roasted Potato-Leek Soup 
- Winter Salad with Fennel and Apples
- Holiday Pasta with Crusty Bread 
- Pistachio-Cherry Chocolate Ganache Tart


Starting off with the holiday cocktail we combined 1 part vodka to two parts lemon drop mix and a slight pour of pomegranate with a mini candy cane as a garnish. We added the pomegranate to add red color for the holidays but you could keep the cocktail as a lemon drop or add any of your favorite Italian soda. 


Brie en Croute Appetizer
- 1 medium wheel of brie
- 1/4 cup of chopped pistachios
- 1/4 cup dried cherries roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp agave nectar
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 sheet of puff pastry


Let puff pastry thaw and mix the pistachios, cherries, sugar and nectar together in a small bowl. Slice brie in half so you have two flat, thick pieces of brie that can be placed on top of each other. Add 3/4 of the nut mixture into the middle place the other half of the brie on top. Cover with the puff pastry dough and place the folded part down. On the flat side place the rest of the nut mixture and back at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve with crackers or crusty bread and prepare to be amazed! 

Stilton-Stuffed Dates
- 16 dried dates (you want about 2-3 per person)
- 8 slices of bacon (cut in half)
- 1/2 cup stilton cheese


Slice a line lengthwise through half of your date and stuff with cheese, wrap with bacon and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes or until bacon is crispy. This appetizer will blow you away, after one bite my taste-buds were doing the happy dance. Not a fan of blue cheese? I promise you with the bacon you cannot even tell it is blue cheese. 

Roasted Potato-Leek Soup
- 1 pound of diced Yukon gold potatoes
- 2 sliced leeks
- 2 diced shallots
- 1 bunch of arugula
- 3 cloves of chopped garlic
- 4 leaves of fresh sage chopped
- 1/2 heavy cream
- 1 carton of chicken stock
- 1/2 white wine
- a few pieces of crumbled bacon
- shredded Parmesan cheese 

Roast your potatoes, leeks and shallots on a baking pan for 30 minutes, in the last 10 minutes add arugula...roast until wilted.

Start your Dutch oven with olive oil, add garlic and sage on low heat. Once the potatoes are roasted add to the Dutch oven and add half of the chicken stock and white wine. Let simmer at medium heat for 15 minutes. 

Use your emulsion blender to blend the mixture until smooth. Add heavy cream and cook on low for another 15 minutes. You may need to add more chicken stock if the soup is too thick. Once the soup has finished, pour into small bowls (this soup is very filling!) and top with crumbled bacon and parmesan cheese. 

Winter Salad
Sadly we got so excited about this one that I forgot to take a picture but hopefully my description can help create one in your imagination :)

- 1 bulb of fennel
- 1 Gala apple
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 2 beets
- stilton cheese

After cleaning all your salad ingredients, roughly chop your beets. Mix the beets and pecans with maple syrup and roast for 20 minutes. Slice the bulb of fennel into thin slices, as well as the apple. Keep the top part of the fennel as a garnish. Crumble your Stilton cheese and once the beets are done assemble your salad with the sprigs of fennel on top. The licorice flavor of the fennel, crispness of the apple, creaminess of the cheese and crunch of the pecans will be a lovely palate cleanser before your pasta dish.

Holiday Pasta
Even though it's not Holiday season anymore...doesn't mean the wintery days doesn't call for a velvety, luscious pasta dish to warm your soul. This dish is named the way it is because it's like a Holiday party in your mouth!

- 1 pound of whole wheat penne pasta
- 4 cloves of crushed garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 3 13-oz cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 celery stick
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 pound of Italian sausage
- 1/4 pound pancetta
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- grated romano cheese for topping
- 1 loaf of ciabatta

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and add bay leaf, diced pancetta and garlic for 7 minutes. Add half of the Italian sausage (out of the casing) and brown and crumble up. Chop up veggies,  add to pot after about five minutes add the wine, let wine cook off for one minute and add beef stock and tomatoes.

Stir in allspice and chopped parsley along with salt and pepper to taste. Bring sauce to boil then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes to let the flavors merry. Meanwhile cook the other half of the Italian sausage (with casing on, sliced) in a separate pan.

Bring your water to boil, add pasta and cook to al dente (aka slightly underdone). Plate the pasta on a large platter and spoon the sauce over. Serve with sprigs of rosemary as a lovely garnish. Cut up your crusty bread and sprinkle the grated romano on top. Your dinner guests will be pouncing to dig in!

Pistachio-Cherry Chocolate Ganache Tart
- 8 biscotti cookies
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup cherry preserves
-12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
Himalayan sea salt flakes

Chop up your biscotti cookies in a food processor, add in diced pieces of cold butter and brown sugar. Push into the bottom of a well greased spring-form pan and back at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Once cooled (15-20 minutes) evenly spread the cheery preserves on top. Then make the filling- heat the heavy cream to just below a boil and add to chocolate chips, mix until the chocolate melts into a smooth ganache. Add pistachios and dried cherries, pour over the crust and top with pistachios. Refrigerate overnight and when serving top with Himalayan sea salt flakes.

Enjoy this delectable, healthy, comforting winter dinner party menu...this will surely impress any company you have over during this chilly season. 


xoxo Lo