Brunch: Mother's Day Heaven

We celebrated Mother's Day a day early this year with a brunch on our patio.  The sun graced us with its presence even though I was a bit worried about that at first.  I haven't done a brunch in months, and really enjoyed it because after everything had been eaten and everyone was fat and sassy, they rolled merrily home, and I got to crash on the couch for the evening.  The left overs were put away, the dishes were done, and everything was wiped down before bed.  Nice.  I never seem to manage this when we have dinner parties.  So what a treat for me to wake up to a clean kitchen today!  Woo Hoo!

The guests of honor, my mom and mother-in-law were right on time and were able to belly up to the bar for Bellinis and Prosciutto & Cream Cheese Tomato bites, which were a big hit.  We also stuffed ourselves on Coast Toast with Balsamic Glazed Fruit and Whipped Mascarpone, Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Fresh Herbs, Sauteed Potatoes & Asparagus, and Chicken Apple Sausage and Bacon.  Dessert?  Orange Cake with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream -- but I'll put that one up later.  I'm not planning on eating for a week.  But it was so worth it.  Hopefully you'll think so, too.
Happy Mother's Day!

Aperitif
The Bellini Bar idea was Giada's, of course.  I believe it appeared in last year's Bon Appetit for Easter.  I added a pitcher of orange juice, and some purchased mango-pomegranate juice for variation and individual taste.

Bellinis

2 10-oz. pkg. frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed 
1 12- 0z. can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
key lime slices
fresh raspberries
3 750-ml. bottles Prosecco or inexpensive bubbly

1. Puree raspberries in blender or processor until smooth. 
2. Strain into a 2-cup pitcher, discarding seeds. 
3. Pour thawed lemonade concentrate into another 2-cup pitcher. 
4. Set out lemonade concentrate, raspberry puree, fresh raspberries, and lemon slices with glasses and Prosecco. 
5. Pour 2-4 T. raspberry puree or lemonade concentrate into each glass. 
6. Slowly fill with Prosecco. 
7. Garnish with fresh raspberries or lime slices.

Notes:  I used frozen raspberries without syrup and mixed them with the lemonade concentrate.  This was very tart, so it took us a while to pry the insides of our cheeks apart, but it was tasty.  I'd definitely recommend sticking with Giada's gameplan.  It's probably why she's famous, and I'm not.  Oh, wait.  Her father or grandfather is Dino -- never mind.

Starter
I love Susan Branch cookbooks.  My mother-in-law has given me many of them over the years.  Their homespun charm and reliable recipes are wonderful.  And her website is just as cute.   I used Branch's Vineyard Seasons cookbook for my "Proscuitto & Cream-Cheese Tomatoes" which went down very easily with smacks and ummmms of, "Oh...these are really good...mmm...what's in them?"

About 3 pints cherry tomatoes, top 1/3 sliced off 
2 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temp
1 pkg. proscuitto, sliced (about 6 slices)
1/4 c. green onions, minced
1/4 c. parsley, minced'
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1. Cook slices of proscuitto until slightly crip and chop.
2. Hollow out cherry tomatoes with melon baller.
3. Beat together cream cheese, chopped proscuitto, onions, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce.
4. Stuff mixture into tomatoes.
5. Serve

Notes:  The original recipe calls for  12 slices of bacon and that sounded decadent, but I had the proscuitto, so used that instead.  I used small vine tomatoes -- bigger than cherry tomatoes, with more solid walls.  They were a a pain to stuff and I found myself wanting to wipe off the sides, because the cheese was on my fingers and things were getting messy.  I know.  Pipe the filling.  The problem is that it's kind of thick and I don't have a tip that fat.  Also, they sort of roll around on the plate because they're top-heavy.  A small dish did the trick, although I considered slicing a bit of the bottom off, too. 

Main Course Dish
In La Jolla, there is a great restaurant called Brockton Villa, an old California Bungalow that sits very close to the ocean and was once the summer home of a physician.  This recipe is a very popular item on their breakfast menu.  I've added an option that's beautiful, and very delicious: Balsamic Strawberries from the July 2001 issue of Bon Appetit and accessible at epicurious dot com.  This recipe is quite wonderful just the way it is, but I always need to change things a bit, and the color of the mixed berries, apricots and basil were striking.  Just because the toast and the fruit appear together on the brunch buffet doesn't mean they have to be served together -- but if you do top the toast with the fruit, you're in for an amazing treat.  You'll have to starve yourself for either a week before or a week after eating this version of French Toast.

Coast Toast with Balsamic Fruit and Whipped Mascarpone Cheese

Prepare the bread for the toast (below) and the fruit first.
Serves 10-12

1/3 c. good balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. plus 4 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. chilled mascarpone
1/2 c. chilled whipped heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla

24 oz. strawberries
8 oz. blueberries
8 oz. blackberries
16 oz. raspberries
8-10 fresh apricots, seeded and sliced into quarters
5-6 large fresh basil leaves for chiffonade

Fruit

1. Hull strawberries and cut into halves.  Place on the bottom of a trifle bowl.
2. Place prepared apricots on the next layer in the bowl.
3. Add blackberries, then raspberries, and blueberries.
4. Sprinkle with 2 T. sugar and let stand for 30 minutes.
5. To display on buffet, spoon balsamic sauce over fruit and top with basic chiffonade.

Syrup

1. Combine vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan.
2. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
3. Boil until syrup is reduced to scant 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes.  Watch it carefully.
4. Transfer to small bowl; cool completely.

Cream

1. Whip heavy cream with 2 T. sugar in medium bowl.
2. Add mascarpone and mix until smooth and soft peaks form.
3. Refrigerate until serving time.

Toast
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2 med width loaves French Bread
1 qt. whipping cream (I reduce this by 50% and have also used half-n-half with good results)
10 eggs
3/4 c. orange juice
1/2 c. sugar
pinch of salt
2 T. vanilla
2 T. Gran Marnier

1. Slice French bread into 1-inch pieces and place in flat bottomed bowls or baking dishes.
2. Combine liquid ingredients and mix well.
3. Pour mixture evenly over the bread slices
4. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
5. Remove from mixture and cook both sides of toast on buttered griddle until golden brown.
6. Then bake at 450- degrees for 5-7 minutes or until the toas is puffed up like a souffle.
7. Arrange on serving platter.

To Serve

Mix fruit well to incorporate balsamic syrup and sugar.  Place cream, and toast close by.  You won't be disappointed with this dish.  I promise.   The addition of the balsamic syrup really is a perfect combination for the fruit.  For the amount of fruit I served, the recipe for the syrup needed to be doubled.  YUM!  Yes, even picky eaters like this.  If they aren't exactly sure what's on the fruit, I guarantee they'll ask.