Move Over Betty, You've Got Company

Today may have seemed like a preview of fall in New York, but at Casa Chris, it was high summer. I hosted brunch for some of my favorite girls. Ten years ago, we might have spent Sunday brunch recovering from Saturday night bar-hopping on the Lower East Side until 4:00 a.m. This afternoon, we sipped Bloody Mary's and talked about how close we are to 40. But, we still have our Sex-and-the-City moments... and that will probably never change.

We hadn't all been together in half an age, so I wanted to make us a brunch that was nothing short of fab. Which is to say, I went a little crazy. I wanted to make it all--cocktails through dessert--while highlighting summer produce in all its glory.

Here is the menu. I've included the recipes and/or links below.

Farmer's Market Summer Brunch Menu
*Bloody Mary's
*Croissants (from the bakery)
*Broccoli Kukus (little egg-muffin omelettes)
*Turkey Sausage from DiPaola Farms
*Zucchini and Heirloom Tomato Salad
*Summer Peach Pie with Vanilla and Cardamom served with vanilla ice cream



Bloody Mary's with Cucumber and Cilantro vodka: I started with Emeril's Cajun Bloody Mary recipe, but made several adjustments. Here is the adjusted recipe (which is also doubled):

• 3 cups tomato juice
• 3 tbsp of lemon juice and 3 tbsp of lime juice
• 2 tbsp of prepared horseradish
• 3 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp of Emeril's Essence (I mix this myself and always keep some on hand for everything from stir-fry's to popcorn)
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• Freshly ground lemon pepper
• Mix all ingredients and chill
• Add 2 oz vodka to a glass with 3-4 ice cubes. (I used a mix of cucumber and cilantro vodkas, but the flavor was a little lost in the spice.) 
• Pour tomato mix into glass. 
• Stir and garnish with just about anything--cucumber spear, pickled green been, okra, olives, slice of lime, etc.

Broccoli Kukus: What's a kuku? It's a persian-style baked omelette. Mollie Katzen took this concept and created a recipe for kukus that are baked in muffin pans. This has become one of my favorite brunch items. The recipe is in her cookbook Vegetable Heaven as Cauliflower Kukus.  

My adaptation: You can see it's kind of easy-breezy. Use what's handy and have fun. 

• Saute 2 cups of onions (or one cup of onions and one cup of bell or poblano peppers) with a bay leaf, add 1.5 tsp of salt a few minutes in.
• Add 6 cups of broccoli (or mix it up and use whatever you like) and a clove of garlic, minced.
• Season with whatever you have on hand/enjoy or think will go with the flavors you have chosen (I usually throw in some essence). 
• Remove from heat when tender. 
• Add 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and 1 medium size tomato chopped. 
• Fill a 12-muffin pan with the mixture, crumble feta cheese on top, add a twist of fresh lemon pepper.
• Whisk six whole eggs and six whites together, add a handful of chopped parsley or other fresh herb. 
• Pour over the veggies and cheese. 
• Bake at 350 about 40 minutes.

The muffin cups will look full before you pour in the egg mixture, but never fear, the egg will seep through. (Make sure you grease the pan even if it's nonstick.)

Zucchini and Heirloom Tomato Salad:

1 small zucchini, chopped small
1 med red heirloom tomato, chopped

1 lrg gold heirloom tomato, chopped
1/2 kirby cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2-3 tablespoons of shallot minced
1 ear corn, de-cobbed and steamed

Chopped cilantro to taste

1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 1 tbsp lime, whisked with a pinch of sumac, a dash of salt, and a few twists of lemon pepper.

Toss it all together and voila!

Summer Peach Pie with Vanilla and Cardamom: This recipe is from Bon Appetit and I found it on epicurious. Following the advice in one of the comments, I halved both the sugar and the cardamom.

This recipe called for a "Best-Ever Pie Crust." I chose to use the Basic Flaky Pie Crust from the Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I liked that it uses only butter vs. butter plus lard or shortening. I replaced half of the flour with whole wheat pastry flour. Boy howdy was this crust a lot of work! There is freezing, chilling, butter separating and plastic bag manipulation involved to avoid tough dough, which is apparently related to how much you annoy the little gluten molecules while making it. (Let's just say I was up until 2:00 a.m., and there was flour everywhere. I might also still have butter in my hair.)

Another challenge was that not all the peaches were ripe, which gave me great anxiety.

The result, though, was really delicious. The recipe calls for grinding the sugar with half a vanilla bean in a food processor. The vanilla really infuses the pie. The crust was wonderful and not tough at all. And the not-so-ripe peaches added a delightful bite.

I am actually really proud of pulling this off. And since pie is one of the least photogenic foods ever, I don't have a final pic. But, I do have one of the pre-oven pie, lattice work and all. Move over Betty, you've got company.

P.S. Esther came through with a finished pie photo after publishing!