"brunch" news and stories

Homemade hash (in contrast to that greasy stuff in cans), is not only one of the best ways to use leftovers but it's a rib-stickin' dinner in its own right (with or without a fried egg on top). Roast beef, turkey, corned beef -- hash is open to them all. KitchenDaily contributor Ruth Cousineau's secret to great roast beef hash is to add a bit of heavy cream, to hold all that meat and veg together in a smooth way. We guarantee you will put this recipe on constant rotation whenever you have leftovers -- and even when you don't.

Roast Beef Hash Recipe

Watch Guy Fieri make turkey hash in this video.

French toast meets the flavor of an almond croissant in this insanely good (and simple to prepare) brunch recipe. "You'll love the way the almond topping crisps up to offset the custardy innards of the bread," says KitchenDaily contributor Kemp Minifie, who created this baked version of the stovetop classic. Topped with ice cream and fresh berries, it's pretty close to dessert. We'll take it anytime we can get it.

Recipe for Baked Almond French Toast

And here's another perfect baked, fruit-laden French toast, this one for a romantic Saturday-morning-in-bed breakfast:

Melissa Roberts's Pilow-Talk French Toast

There's a farmers market coming to a decidedly un-farmy location on September 2nd: Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago's signature restaurant, Sixteen (it's on the 16th floor of the 92-story building), is having a brunch with an ancillary rooftop farmers market. It will be open to the public from 7 to 11 a.m. (you can visit whether you have the brunch or not).

With each season of this year, Chef Brunacci has been whipping up menus with his favorite farms in mind for a series called "Feasting at Sixteen with Frank Brunacci." Now in its third installment (late summer), Brunacci will focus on "prairie produce."

While Sixteen has always served Midwestern-grown ingredients, every meal of "Prairie Produce" week will only feature food harvested within driving distance of Chicago. The meals will have detailed menus, highlighting each ingredient by source and history, and the staff can also answer questions about the ingredients and how or why the chef chose to use them.

More after the jump ...

Whether you're having guests for brunch or just nursing a hangover alone, the Bloody Mary is without a doubt the quintessential brunch drink. What we know today as the Bloody Mary actually started off as a simple tomato juice and vodka drink without all the seasonings. Try mixing up equal parts vodka (gin and aquavit also work well) and tomato water as a nod to the Mary's origins without all the trash. If you're pressed for time, tomato water can be as simple as opening a can of tomatoes and draining off the liquid or taking fresh tomato purée and straining the liquid through a fine sieve. Mix the vodka and tomato water over ice in your Boston shaker, pouring the mixture from glass to metal tin until chilled and thoroughly mixed (or shake if you don't mind a little foaminess). Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. If you can't resist adding more, perhaps rim the edge with smoked salt, celery salt, or a chunky salt-and-pepper mix and add a lemon wheel for garnish.

If coffee is the only way to start your day, you must try a cocktail that goes by a variety of names -- Espresso Martini, Vodka Espresso, and Pharmaceutical Stimulant. Supposedly it was created by a bartender in London after a customer asked him for a cocktail that would wake 'em up and screw 'em up.

Recipes after the jump...

Fat, fluffy pancakes and waffles are pretty straightforward, but the crèpe is more delicate and takes a deft hand to get it right -- thin, light, and golden brown. Add fruit and a combination of farmer cheese and cottage cheese, vanilla and sugar, along with lemon zest and raisins, if you like, and you've got a cheese blintz. Vancouver blogger vancityallie makes hers using a Julia Child recipe, along with her own recipe for an ultra-smooth filling, which uses cream cheese in addition to cottage cheese.

By the way, the origin of the word "blintz" is Yiddish for "pancake." And during the Jewish celebration of Shavuot, which began last night at sundown, blintzes are very much on the dairy-based dessert menu. For more on the Jewish blintz tradition, see this post.

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