Panic Attack In Progress! (NEED BRUNCH IDEAS!)

[kmp1191]

Ok....here's the delimma:
For some stupid reason, I volunteered to host a Surprise Brunch for a friend that is moving (to Orlando!). We are doing it this Sunday.
I need BRUNCH RECIPIES. I am NOT a good cook, so they need to be quick and easy!!

SAVE ME DIS'ERS, SAVE ME!!

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

Ok....here's the delimma:
I need BRUNCH RECIPIES.

Ok, you will need a chain saw and a tree. The good news is that at this time of year many of the trees have lost their leaves so finding a branch is pretty easy. Once you have a branch picked out, fire up the chain saw and start cutting. Here's an important tip, do not stand on the branch you are cutting and don't stand under it either or you'll end up meeting Mr. Gravity and they don't call him that just because he is always serious. Once you have the branch removed from the tree you should cut it into bite size pieces. I suggest bark removal (from the branch not your dog) since cooking with bark is best left to French chefs and those in the Sierra Club. You can eat the bark but I have found that it is worse than the bite. I typically bake my branches but be careful. If you cook them too long they end up catching fire. And don't try to beat out the fire with your hand because all you'll get is a pain in the ash. You can boil branches but that just makes them rubbery and stringy. I've also tried putting hot dogs at the end of the branches and they are quite good. Sometimes I won't even eat the branch and just eat the hot dog. You can do marshmellows that way too but they tend to catch on fire more easily. And for heavens sake, if your marshmellow ignites don't wave it around trying to put the flames out. I did that once and caught grandma right between the eyes with molten marshmellow. I'm still not back on her Christmas list after that mishap. Well there you have it, a great branch recipe and it's so easy that Campfire girls can do it.

Jeff

 

[kmp1191]

LOL

thanks, I needed that today!!

 

[Nank]

Here is a GREAT and EASY quiche. I make it like this so you don't have to make the crust. You just pour all the ingredients in, fold over the crescent rolls and bake.

Good luck.

http://www.recipesecrets.com/recipeDisplayMRS.asp?RecipeID=5058&Version=1

P.S. I just use milk not half and half.

 

[piratesmate]

This is what I usually have for Christmas Brunch here:
Christmas Stollen
WL Strawberry Banana Bread
Cindy's potatoes
Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Casserole
AKL Frunch
Fresh Pineapple
Clementines
Crab Rangoon
Shrimp
Ring Bologna (DS doesn't like shrimp)
Cheese & crackers
Veggies & dip
Chex Mix
Cookies (if I've gotten around to making any)

Breakfast Casserole

1 Can crescent rolls or shredded potatoes, frozen
1 Roll sausage (use any flavor sausage, maple is very good)
2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 Eggs
¼ C milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Spread crescent rolls in 9x12 pan
Fry sausage and drain, crumble and put on top of rolls
Sprinkle cheese over sausage
Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper
Pour egg mixture over cheese
Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes or until firm

Make the night before & just bake in the morning.
- - - - -
CRAB RANGOON
Source: Gourmet magazine

Filling
½ lb crabmeat, drained and chopped
½ lb cream cheese, room temperature
½ tsp A-1® Steak Sauce
¼ tsp garlic powder

Wrappers
30 won-ton wrappers
1 egg yolk, well beaten
Oil for deep frying
Chinese mustard and/or red sauce

Combine crabmeat with cream cheese and seasonings in a medium bowl and
blend to a paste. Place heaping teaspoonful on each wonton. Moisten edges of wontons with egg yolk. Gather the four corners of the wontons together at the top and pinch the edges together to seal. Heat oil to 375ºF. Add wontons in batches and fry until golden brown; about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with Chinese mustard and red sauce for dipping. Yields 30.

- - - - - -
Strawberry Banana Bread
from the Whispering Canyon Cafe, Wilderness Lodge
2 tsp baking soda
1 c butter
2 c sugar
1½ lb strawberries
2 c bananas (~6 medium)
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
3 c flour
Grease two loaf pans & preheat oven to 325. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter & sugar. Incorporate bananas scraping sides of bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together salt, baking soda & flour. Add flour mixture to butter mixture & stir until blended. Add strawberries (thawed). Bake 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack before inverting onto a plate.

- - - - - - - - -
Impossible Breakfast Pie

6 Eggs
2 cup Milk
1 ts Dry mustard
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 ts Oregano leaves
1 lb Sausage
1 cup Cheese, cheddar, shredded

Brown and drain sausage. Mix all ingredients together and cover.
Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350. Pour into greased 2-qt. casserole; bake until knife
inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

 

[cryssi]

are you near a Costco? If so, you could go and get the bite sized stuff they have in the freezer section, and then just heat and go! I think they have mini quiche and stuff.

You can get the dips, bread, crackers...

Also, (not for heating), the mini cream puffs are good too!

you want homemade? let me think about that...

good luck!
c

 

[kmp1191]

What is Christmas Stollen?
Also....AKL FRUNCH?
....and CINDY'S POTATOES?

everything on your list sounds WONDERFUL!

Keep them coming....now I'm not regretting my Hostess offer!
thanks!

 

[cryssi]

I just had a thought, if you have a waffle maker, how about a build-your-own waffle bar? You could have fruit, whipped cream, warm syrup, hot fudge (!), marshmallows, etc... if you had a mickey waffle maker, that would be even better! LOL

I have the cuisinart waffle sticks maker, and it's so convenient...

I'll keep thinking of more...

c

 

[piratesmate]

What is Christmas Stollen?
Also....AKL FRUNCH?
....and CINDY'S POTATOES?

everything on your list sounds WONDERFUL!

Keep them coming....now I'm not regretting my Hostess offer!
thanks!

Oops! My DH called for me to come get him at work while I was responding & I forgot to finish it!

Christmas Stollen is a sweet bread that usually has raisins & some candied fruit in it & topped with confectioner's sugar. It's just something my Dad had to have every year so I've continued it. I have recipes for it, but I've never made it myself...Entenmann's makes one & sometimes you can get one imported from Germany with Marzipan in it at the store.

FRUNCH
from Boma, AKL
Yield: 12 servings (1 gallon)

8 oz can Lemon Juice, frozen and canned
8 oz can Pineapple Juice, frozen and canned
8 oz can Orange Juice, frozen concentrate and canned
12 oz Mango Juice
6 ounces Grenadine

This recipe is easier for home use when frozen juice is used.

Follow the package instructions on the frozen juice containers. Mix in a large bowl. Add the mango juice and grenadine. Mix well and server over ice in a tall glass. That's Disney's recipe as they sent it to me. I never use the frozen, concentrated stuff and it's great! Also for lemon juice I have a feeling they meant Lemonade, but I just use the Minute Maid frozen lemon juice.

= = = = = = = =
Sorry - Cindy's Potatoes was my slang/shorthand for:
Au Gratin Potatoes
from Cinderella’s Royal Table breakfast in the Magic Kingdom
serves 6

¼ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp salt (optional)
3 c milk
1 c shredded mild cheddar cheese
4 c diced & cooked potatoes
½ c flour
½ c fresh & cooked bacon bits
½ c diced onions
¼ c melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dice & cook the potatoes. Dice onions. Gather remaining ingredients. Melt butter. Add onion & sauté. Add bacon & cook for 2 minutes. Add flour & stir to make a paste. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add 3 cups milk. Stir until lumps are gone. Cook mixture 10 minutes & continue stirring. Add potatoes, cheese & seasonings. Mix until cheese is melted.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

My mil is the Brunch Queen. Her fall-back menu is very simple, and you can find numerous recipes for these dishes on-line. If the little ones go to bed at a reasonable hour (Haa!), I will post some of her actual recipes. Anyway, the main dishes include...
mimosa-type punch (alcoholic or non)
plenty of good coffee
breakfast casserole (Personally, I prefer the hashbrown, cheese, and sausage type.)
cinnamon-pecan coffee cake
frozen fruit slush (more of a frozen fruit salad)
If you don't want to cook or just don't have the time, buy lots of fresh fruit and a yogurt-type sweet dressing for it. Purchaes a coffee cake from a bakery or some interesting breads from someplace like Great Harvest. Breakfast casserole is so fast and easy to prepare, I'd go ahead and make that.

 

[Twigs]

This is good I got it from these boards last year.


Overnight French Toast

12 slices day old bread - cubed
16 oz. cream cheese - diced
1 c. blueberries, rinsed and drained
12 eggs
1/3 c. maple syrup
2 c. milk

1. Place 1/2 of the bread cubes in a lightly greased 9 x 13" baking pan. Scatter cream cheese over bread, sprinkle with blueberries. Place remaining bread cubes on top.

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, syrup and milk. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. In the morning preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake covered 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 - 20 minutes longer or until puffed and golden brown.

 

[party of 3]

FRUNCH
from Boma, AKL
Yield: 12 servings (1 gallon)

8 oz can Lemon Juice, frozen and canned
8 oz can Pineapple Juice, frozen and canned
8 oz can Orange Juice, frozen concentrate and canned
12 oz Mango Juice
6 ounces Grenadine

This recipe is easier for home use when frozen juice is used.

Follow the package instructions on the frozen juice containers. Mix in a large bowl. Add the mango juice and grenadine. Mix well and server over ice in a tall glass. That's Disney's recipe as they sent it to me. I never use the frozen, concentrated stuff and it's great! Also for lemon juice I have a feeling they meant Lemonade, but I just use the Minute Maid frozen lemon juice.

ok i have a couple of dumb questions.......
you never use the frozen concentrated stuff? can i use regular pineapple juice. not frozen pineapple juice? and what kind of mango juice? is it in the juice isle? or is that frozen too? i'm sorry i'm having a dumb day!!! it's just that is sounds so good i thought i would like to try it!
thanks!

 

[Nank]

OOh, I like that overnight one. Have to try that.

 

[piratesmate]

party of 3 - Not dumb at all! I had the same questions actually.

If you don't use frozen juice, though, you have to do the math on how much the concentrate turns into when you add water, you know?

I'd never seen frozen pineapple juice, so I just use canned. I just started with half the can & then added until it tasted right - the pineapple can overwhelm the rest otherwise.

The mango juice I get in a bottle. If your store doesn't have it in with the canned/bottled juices, check in the ethnic foods section.

The granadine in my store is in the soda aisle with the mixers.

And Frunch is totally awesome! We got to the AKL at 9:30am and our rooms weren't ready so we went to Boma for breakfast hoping the rooms would be ready so we could get stuff out of our luggage before going to the parks. No one had been terrible excited about eating at Boma (we're not adventurous eaters) but we all figured breakfast couldn't be too "weird". LOL

They brought us the frunch & everyone was so psyched about the restaurant that they wanted to start changing our PS so we could eat there at night! We only ever planned one or two meals there in 10 days, but we ended up eating 4 breakfasts & 4 dinners there! DH says it's his favorite restaurant on the planet!

 

[Topper]

http://brunch.allrecipes.com/

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

First, take a deep breath and remember that the people coming are coming to see your friend off - not judge your cooking! This isn't an Iron Chef competition.

While I've done plenty of entertaining over the years (and still do) that I cook from scratch, I've also learned the value of cryssi's suggestion to use my local food wholesaler. If you don't have a Costco - what about Sam's Club, GFS Marketplace, etc? Some of the larger grocery chains also can help with pre-prepared frozen stuff and/or party platters of various types.

A couple of other hints/ideas...if this is a group where "disposable" plates, flatware, etc work go with the hard plastic plates. They just hold up better and you have less worry of plates collapsing and dumping that food on your floor! If you feel the need to use "real" plates, flatware, etc but hesitate to pull your china out for whatever reason check your local rental store. Our's is called Redi-Rental. Several years ago my SIL (who was an event planner for Universal and now has her own company!) pointed me in this direction when we were hosting a huge anniversary party for my folks. It isn't that expensive and all you do is rinse, repack and return everything!

Throw a pretty cloth on the table - don't have a Christmasy one? Head over to Joannes, their Christmas fabric is all on sale this week. Just get a length long enough for your table and an overhang. Look for one that works with your color scheme and if possible the color goes all the way out to the edges. No sewing needed! Just toss it on the table. Add some tall taper candles clustered at the middle of the back of the table or scatter tea light candles throughout the set up (I tend to avoid this with a buffet as people are reaching all around!) along with some flowers. My favorite is to pick up a bunch of carnations at the grocery store - they are sturdy and their spicy scent adds a lot! Believe it or not people will look at that and assume you've been slaving over the food. Crazy isn't it?

Good luck and have fun!
Deb

 

[MazdaUK]

I did a breakfast pizza from Pampered Chef - you can probably find the recipe on their website, but from what I recall you break up has browns and pat them out to form the base then top with stuff (sorry, can't remember exactly what :-( ) If you can't find it post on here and I'll type it in when I get home from work

 

[kmp1191]

Oh my gosh!! You are wonderful!! I love ALL the recipies and ideas!! I'm actually looking forward to it now!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL IDEAS!!

I'm going to make the overnight french toast for the family for Christmas morning! Also, can't wait to try the FRUNCH!! YUMMMM!

I think I'm going to do more entertaining...you Dis'ers are wonderful!!


(love this guy!)

 

[goofymom/pop]

overnight casserole they are always a hit. There are a million recipes. Just google breakfast strada recipes. You will get a bunch. Yummy and easy because its done the night before.

Serve mini muffins or coffee cakes (from the local costco or Sams)
Orange Juice in a pitcher....borrow some if you don't have any.
Coffee with flavored creamers
Grapes and cheese on a nice platter
and Sams has croissants also...yummy


Love the idea of the candles and tablecoth....

What I use sometime is, several boxes (sturdy) with table cloth over top, this gives your buffet a layered look, then I sprinkle some of the confetti you buy in little packages all around, set several votive candles in votive cups all around. (if you don't have votive cups, use small juice glasses instead) You could set your different dessert items on the different tiers, and put the main dish on the table height or counter....looks lovely!

my neighbor did this too...she made jello in little glasses...like wine glasses....in red and green...then set them around the buffet like decorations, she then add a string of xmas lites in and out of the platters with some beautiful flowers here and there (single ones, not bouquets) it was stunning! the jello glowed like little lights...very simple to do and very elegant looking.

 

[piratesmate]

Here's a recipe for a really good coffee cake that I like to make as cupcakes. For us at home I usually make extra crumbs, but for a buffet I probably wouldn't do that - too messy. But I've done them in mini muffin tins as well.

Clyde’s Coffee Cake
2 c flour
1½ c sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ lb butter, melted
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
½ c warm water
1 tsp vanilla
Combine flour, sugar, salt & butter. Reserve 1 cup for crumbs. Add baking powder, egg, water & vanilla. Mix only until moist. Pour in greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Double to make 3 dozen cupcakes.
= = = = = =
Or these are great & you can double the topping without having people drop it all over.

Cinnamon-Topped Oatmeal Muffins
1 c flour
¼ c sugar
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c oats
½ c raisins
3 Tbl oil
1 egg
1 c milk
2 Tbl sugar

Topping:
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp melted butter

Combine ingredients; stir until moist. Sprinkle with topping. (Double topping is better!) Makes a dozen. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes in greased or papered cups.