Love You a Brunch

A welcome break from your weekday routine.

What’s Cooking

by Robrt L. Pela

Nutritionists say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And these days, anything uttered by nutritionists is likely to make the evening news. But those men and women who make their living changing their minds about our diets rarely mention brunch.

That’s probably because brunching does not encourage the sort of careful eating that we’ve all embraced in the health-conscious 21st century. Perhaps that’s why this gratifying meal is typically enjoyed on Sunday morning. We’ve exercised, said “no” to innumerable desserts, and consumed mostly healthy nutrients. On the seventh day, brunch beckons, and we, having sacrificed all week, respond.

Brunching may well be the only remaining decadence that’s sanctioned by polite society. Consider this: While it might be uncouth to imbibe before lunch on a weekday, champagne has become a staple at most elegant Sunday morning meals. And, while a typical Tuesday breakfast is barely more than a snack, brunch promises to last until well past lunch, yielding only to a nap and a light dinner.

It doesn’t help that brunch has a lazy, fat-laden history. The word was first used in the seventeenth century. It probably originated in the country house breakfasts served for the English aristocracy, who enjoyed their morning meals until well past lunchtime. In the American South of the late eighteenth century, a second Sunday breakfast was offered in some homes to tide guests over until the main meal, served mid-day. Brunching was already a pleasant social tradition when Mme. Begue’s Restaurant in New Orleans enticed its clientele with a special “second breakfast,” early evidence of the popularity of brunch as a customary time for dining out.

But what about our health? In his helpful handbook The Book of Great Breakfasts and Brunches, food scribe Terence Janericco suggests that hosts “not offer too many food choices at one meal or too many rich and filling dishes, just to display your skills.” The secret to a successful and healthy brunch at home, it seems, is a lot of simple, elegant dishes. And courses you can make ahead of time are a good idea, because crawling out of bed at 4 a.m. to bake crumpets disrupts one’s rest, which isn’t good for anyone.

With the recipes printed here, one can prepare a simple Sunday morning meal that, with a pot of strong coffee and a basket of fresh muffins, will create a well-deserved break from a week’s worth of restraint. Just keep telling yourself: “It’s only once a week.”

RECIPES

Light Polenta and Egg Casserole

• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1⁄3 cup finely chopped onion
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
• ½ cup shredded fontina or mozzarella
• ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
• 6 large eggs

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, about three minutes. Add four cups water and bring to a boil. Gradually whisk cornmeal into the boiling water. Add salt and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the polenta bubbles, about two minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking frequently, until very thick, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining two teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add sausage. Cook, stirring and breaking the sausage into small pieces with a spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about five minutes. Drain if necessary and transfer to a cutting board; let cool. Finely chop.
3. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
4. When the polenta is done, stir in fontina and ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. If the polenta seems too stiff, add small amounts of water to thin it to a thick consistency. Spread the polenta in the prepared pan.
5. Make six two-inch-wide indentations in the polenta with the back of a tablespoon. Break eggs, one at a time, into a custard cup and slip one into each indentation. Scatter the sausage on the polenta and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano evenly on top of the eggs.
6. Bake the casserole for 15 minutes. Then broil until the egg whites are set, about four minutes. Let stand for five minutes before serving.

Berry Brunch Muesli

• ½ cup low-fat plain yogurt
• ½ cup unsweetened or fruit-juice-sweetened cranberry juice
• 6 tablespoons rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ
• 2 teaspoons honey
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt

Combine yogurt, juice, oats, cranberries, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, honey, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl; cover and refrigerate for at least eight hours and up to one full day.

Multi-Grain Waffles

• 2 cups buttermilk
• ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2⁄3 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup toasted wheat germ, or cornmeal
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Mix buttermilk and oats in a medium bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Stir eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla into the oat mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix with a rubber spatula just until moistened.
4. Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Spoon in enough batter to cover three-fourths of the surface (about 2/3 cup for an 8-by-8-inch waffle iron). Cook until waffles are crisp and golden brown, about five minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Healthy Cheddar and Chive Grits

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup hominy
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives

Bring the water and milk to a boil in the top of a double boiler, then stir in the hominy and add a dash of salt. Cook on top of the double boiler, stirring constantly, until the grits thicken, about four minutes. Cover and cook until the grits are tender, about an hour. Stir in the cheese and chives and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.