Crinella Family Cookbook
Our Grandparents' Favorites
Anti Pasti
Soups
Salads
Pasta
Vegetables
Fish
Poultry
Meat
Wild Game
Sweets
Brunch or Luncheon Dishes
Odds & Ends
Sour Dough
Other Breads ETC
Entertaining Ideas
Table of Contents
People
Family Photos
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Winter Brunch
A pleasant way to entertain in the winter is to have people over for brunch, a charming American idea which means you can pick the items
you like best from either breakfast or lunch dishes. Maybe you are meeting friends for an early morning winter walk or a tennis game and you invite
them back to your place to eat. Maybe you are having people over to watch a sporting event, or you are simply having a few close friends to catch up on the news. You can set a table in front of a cheery fire, or in the kitchen or in front of a sunny window, wherever it is cosy and comfortable. You can also use those napkins and place mats everyone has tucked away that are a little more informal and colorful than you would use for a dinner party.
The beauty of brunch as an entertaining method is that the menus are simple and so much less work for the host.
Brunch menus can contain only 4 or 5 items and are easily prepared ahead of time. So what could be better? I am particularly fond of serving simple
rustic dishes originating from the Mediterranean countries as they very flavorful and peasants do not make things more complicated than they
need to be.
One simple main dish, a vegetable dish, a fruit dish, such as our
Sonoma Roasted Fruit, some freshly baked
bread or muffins and you are done. As far as I am concerned the best wine to serve at brunch is
Sauvignon Blanc. It sets just the right note and does not overpower the foods.
If you serve a fruit salad, or our
Sonoma Roasted Fruit, you do not need to have dessert. What could be easier? Here is another trick
you can use to keep your last minute preparations to a minimum. If you plan to make a bread that requires 2 risings, do this if you have
someplace cool, such as a garage or laundry room. Make your regular bread recipe the night before. Knead and place into your bowl
for the first rising. Put the covered bowl in a cool place and leave to rise slowly overnight. I have even done this in the refrigerator and
removed the bowl first thing in the morning to rise more in a warm place if the dough had not risen enough. Punch down the dough and
form your loaves first thing in the morning. Let rise this time in a warm place. When risen, bake as usual. Bread actually seems to have
more flavor with a cold, long first rising.
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