Weekend Brunch 10.15.2010

I thought I’d start a new series inspired by weekend brunches I’ve been hosting lately. Every Friday, I’ll post a brunch menu along with ideas for gathering your friends and family and having a good time.

This week’s brunch came straight from one of my favorite shows on Food Network- Down Home With The Neelys, and features some great fall foods: apples and sweet potatoes. As usual, I modify recipes quite a bit to make them a bit more healthy. I’ll list the modified ingredients, then link to the recipe so you can follow the original directions.

Memphis Morning Brunch

Baked Eggs and Tomatoes

I doubled this in a large casserole dish, spreading the tomato mixture on the bottom and cracking 8 eggs on top, evenly spaced. I used cooking spray instead of butter to coat my glass dish.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 5 plum tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chiffonade basil leaves, plus more for garnish
• 4 eggs

Sweet Potato Pancakes with Ginger Applesauce

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cups egg beaters
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup peanut oil, for frying

Ginger Applesauce

• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, smashed

Grilled Melon and Ham

• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 honeydew melon, sliced into 12 pieces
• 12 (6-inch) wooden bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 20 to 30 minutes
• 12 slices ham, cut in 1/2

We finished off with Ina Garten’s French Apple Tart, no modifications here!

This brunch got rave reviews, so I hope you will try this at home!