We headed to Jordan's family for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but in honor of the most eating-focused and calorically decadent of all the holidays, I decided to whip something up brunch-wise for just the two of us.
The Menu:
- Country french toast with lemon curd and fresh blackberries
- Berry and pomegranate salad
- Potato apple pancakes
(Aw yeah, here comes the feast, y'all)
Neither of us are egg people so the combination of fruit and carbs seemed just perfect to gird our stomachs for the coming debauchery and keep us from starving all day and gorging all night. Please re-create this luscious, sweet brunch whenever you need a special morning (bonus: the curd can be kept for dessert and the whole meal, all prep and active time included, probably took about 50 minutes to make)
Lemon curd:
Ever the academic, i must cite my sources and say 100% jacked the skeleton recipe for this curd from Inn at the Crossroads (originally sourced from Offbeat Home).
Of course though, i made some changes: I used 5 lemons instead of 4 and somehow wound up with about a full cup's worth of zest and juice (not sure what kind of tiny lemons were producing not even a 1/3 of a cup in the recipe). I added about 1/4 cup more sugar to account for the difference, but kept the yolks at 5 (be sure to save the whites for the french toast). I also found my curd needed more like 12-13 minutes in the impromptu double boiler before achieving that nice, thick consistency and I skipped most of the butter. I tasted it right off the double boiler and thought it was phenomenal; only after adding about 2-3 TBS of butter did i think to myself 'wait, what am i doing? Tastes good? It's done.' I LOVE butter, but there's no sense adding a whole stick of the stuff if you can help it, no?
(keep a close eye on your curd: while you don't have to whisk it constantly, it needs pretty steady attention to keep from sticking to the sides)
Mixed berry and pomegranate salad
Listen, this is so easy but it's SO yummy. It's good by itself, it's good on the french toast, it's good later in the night with a little curd for dessert! Combine the seeds of one whole pomegranate, two pints of blackberries, one pint of blackberries, and one pint of strawberries (tops removed and sliced in half) in a medium sized serving bowl. DONE.
Apple and potato pancakes
I love potato pancakes with applesauce so i thought why not combine the apples with the pancake?
Preheat oven to 225. Grate one full granny smith apple and one russet potato (scrubbed). Once grated, take the shredded apple in your hand (should be about a fistful) and squeeze out any excess moisture over the sink; do the same with the potato and repeat for each.
(VERY IMPORTANT to get as much moisture as you can out of your grated material - mine was too wet and i had to add a lot of flour which affected the taste.)
Combine grated apple, potato, one egg, and about 1 TBS of flour in a mixing bowl. I couldn't really decide whether i wanted to go sweet or savory on these so i only lightly salt and peppered which was a mistake. Next time i would generously salt and pepper, and add a little cayenne pepper and 1 TBS of honey.
Heat about 1 TBS of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Take pancake mixture by the handful and flatten into 1/2 inch thick patties (should be about 4 pancakes worth). Fry pancakes over medium heat until golden brown, adding oil if the pan looks dry, about 5 minutes. Flip once and fry for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer entire pan to the oven while you make the french toast.
(yum, already getting crispy)
These came out so-so for me - couldn't taste much of the apple but the flour was also overwhelming so i don't know if it just overpowered. Since i couldn't decide sweet or savory i also wasn't sure what to serve them with (sour cream? pumpkin butter?) and potato pancakes always need a little sauce in my opinion. If you're making these be sure to squeeze out the extra moisture, add the cayenne and honey, serve them with applesauce and let me know how it goes!
French toast
Take the reserved egg whites from making the curd and pour them into a shallow dish; combine with a couple dashes of vanilla extract and couple dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk with fork until smooth. Slice a crusty loaf of bread into 1 and 1/2 inch thick slices.
(You two: get ready to get all delicious and sexy with each other)
Heat several tablespoons of butter in a large pan, dredge bread slices generously in egg mix and lay flat in the pan. Fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes each side.
And of course, what holiday breakfast would be complete without a little after meal digestif? Sorry, i got lazy and full and failed to snap pictures but try this lovely cuppa for a cloudy morning. Boil a cup of water and steep three good sized pieces of shaved lemon zest in it for several minutes to produce a lovely lemony tea. Add a TSP of honey and an ounce of Buffalo Trace bourbon for a perfect end to a delicious brunch.
(Happy Thanksgiving everyone!)
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