Monkey Bread

This is such a delicious breakfast, and great for a group. It makes a lot, so be sure to invite some friends over for this one. It's definitely not healthy, but it's so gooey and sweet and tasty, and it's fun to grab the pieces off with your hands. I didn't get a picture of it whole because no one could resist it. 

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury Grands biscuits

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins 

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

Egg in a Cloud

I went to Almar the other day for breakfast and tried their egg in a cloud. It was so cool. They separated the yolk and whites and fluffed up the whites and baked them and poached the yolks and served it on top of brioche toast with ham and cheese. It was delicious. While it looks super cool, I didn't think it would be that hard to try at home. Mom and Jamie were my guinea pigs and it was great! Definitely more complicated than the average egg recipe but it's delicious and such a cool presentation. Would be great for a brunch!

Cafe LULUc

Jamie and I wandered down quiet, snowy Smith Street Saturday morning looking for a good brunch spot and stopped into Cafe LULUc. It was a bustling French bistro-style spot and there was one table for two available - perfect. We sat down around 11 and within a few minutes there was a line of people waiting to sit. Neither of us willing to compromise on getting something different, we both ordered the french toast. Yum! It was brioche french toast and it was so fluffy and light, and the berries and apple compote were a great addition. I ate the entire thing and probably could have had more (and it was big). We also got some sausages on the side that were tasty. If you're looking for a cute brunch spot in Cobble Hill/Boerum Hill/Carroll Gardens, Cafe Luluc is fab.

Smitten Kitchen's Cinnamon French Toast

This is the a great way to make French Toast for a group. By making cinnamon toast first, the flavor is cinnamony and great, adding some extra sweetness. It's perfect for when you have a group of people to feed for breakfast and you don't want to serve everyone one by one and have to eat alone at the end. Very tasty!

Serves 4 (double to serve 8)
Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
8 pieces of white toast
1/2 stick butter
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
maple syrup

Directions:
To make cinnamon toast, preheat oven to 450. Whisk cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Line a baking sheet with foil and place bread on the sheet.

Cookshop

I've been dying to try Cookshop for brunch after my mom said how great it was. Jamie and I just went this morning and it was amazing! We got the Cookshop scramble and the burger. Both were fab. The scramble was scrambled eggs with creme fresh, caramelized onions, chives, and bacon. The creme fresh made it so creamy, and the caramelized onions made it sweet and went well with the saltiness of the bacon. Plus, I love when eggs are served with a salad.

We weren't planning on ordering the burger, but a girl next to us was eating it and it looked amazing. It's topped with bacon, pickled red onions, cheddar cheese, and chipotle ketchup. So juicy and decadent. The French fried were also great! So crispy and thin, delish with the chipotle ketchup. I highly recommend it for brunch!


Also, it's right off the Highline, so on a nice day it's great to take a stroll after brunch. We walked down back to the West Village and hoped we burned off a fraction of our food. Always feels good to take a walk after a big meal.

Bismarck

Anyone who has spent the night at my house or my parents house has probably tasted the wonder that is Bismarck. I don't know where the recipe came from, but my family has been making it for weekend breakfasts as long as I can remember. I'm told it's like Yorkshire pudding. It is the crispiest, fluffiest, hands down best sweet breakfast food (I would pick Bismarck over pancakes or waffles any day of the week). You slice it up like a pie and serve it with maple syrup. Great with a little bacon, too, to dip in the syrup run off!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 stick of butter

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450. Put the butter in a medium cast iron skillet and put in the oven while it warms up. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and flour until smooth. Once the butter is melted, pour the batter into the skillet. Cook for about 15 minutes until it's fluffy and a little browned. Cut into wedges and serve with syrup!

Commerce Brunch

I had to go to a mandatory Sunday brunch with my parents this weekend--dragging myself out of bed after a way too late Saturday night--but luckily I got to pick the place. I'd been wanting to try Commerce for a while, and it's one of the village brunch spots that will actually take reservations. For a little hair of the dog, I had a mimosa. My parents each ordered a Bloody Mary. These were basically vegetable soup with vodka--a rich, orange drink brimming with celery and a few other veggies--but delicious. The very cute and friendly waiter came over and suggested we get an order of cinnamon buns for the table. These giant, gooey confections were delicious and sweet, a perfect thing to split. Though the time between the cinnamon buns and the rest of the food was a little longer than it could have been, it was great sitting in the booth by the bar and watching the foot traffic around adorable Commerce Street. My mom and I split a tomato and mozzarella tartine and the slow cooked eggs with polenta. The eggs were incredibly rich, but so tasty and unique, and a perfect complement to the slightly acidic tomato tart. The baked eggs "Shakshuka" were also a hit, and I think my dad had 3 of the Bloody Maries. I wondered out onto the quiet block of Commerce street extremely satiated. I haven't been for dinner yet, but I'd love to go. Check out Commerce for brunch--yum!