I brought this tart to our Book Club meeting and it got good reviews. (Like the book, “Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt, which was our selection of the month) First time ever working with puff pastry, I’m eager to try again. Easy. My niece, Allyn, brought this recipe to my attention: Thanks, Allyn!!

Ingredients:

Flour for the work surface and rolling pin

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 5 1/2 ounces (2 cups) gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by- 10 inch rectangle.  trim uneven edges.  Place pastry on a baking sheet ( use parchment paper).  With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2 intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

Remove pastry shell from the oven, and sprinkle with Gruyere.  Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange the spears in a single layer over the Gruyere.  Alternate the ends and tips.  Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Bake until spears are tender, 20-25 minutes.

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Serves : 8

Ingredients

• 3 cups                                    low salt chicken broth
• 1  1/2 lbs                               thin asparagus spears, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons                           good olive oil
• 1   1/4 cups                           chopped green onions
• 1/3 cup                                  minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon                             sugar
• 1 tablespoon                          minced garlic
• 1  1/2 tablespoons                Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon                          fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon                             grated lemon peel, zest for extra garnish
• 1/2 cup                                  diced seeded red bell pepper
• +                                             thyme

Bring broth to the boil in a large pot. Add asparagus, cook until crisp and tender (about 4 minutes). Using tongs, transfer asparagus to a large bowl of ice water. Reserve 1 cup of broth in a small bowl. Drain the asparagus, pat dry. ( Can be made one day ahead. Wrap asparagus in paper towels. Seal in a plastic bag. cover broth. Chill asparagus and broth)

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oi in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. add 1 cup green onions, shallots and sugar. Saute until onions and shallots are tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, saute for 2 minutes. Stir in reserved 1 cup of broth, 1 tablespoon olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, thyme and lemon peel.  Simmer until slightly thickened and liquid is reduced to 1  1/4 cups (takes about 5 minutes).

Season with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature.

Arrange asparagus on a platter. Spoon sauce over. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup green onions and bell peppers.

Serving Suggestion : Great side dish for brunch as well as any other meal

NOTES : Its good to cook the asparagus a day ahead, wrapping in a few bundles instead of one big bundle. Prep the remaining ingredients the day before and wrap each ingredient separately, all chopped, squeezed, measured and zested. Put it all together the next day and let it stand, covered, at room temperature until ready to serve.

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Serves :   8

Ingredients

• 12  - 16                            medium Tomatoes
• 3                                      onions, sliced
• 1 tablespoon                  fresh basil OR 1 teaspoon dried basil

• butter
• buttered bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste

Peel tomatoes and cut out the cores. Then cut them in quarters. Peel and slice the onions and saute them in  3 tablespoons butter until transparent but not brown.

Butter the casserole dish, and put a layer of tomato quarters on the bottom. Top with part of the sliced onions, dot liberally with butter and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper and some of the basil.

Repeat the layers until all the vegetables have been used. Top with a layer of bread crumbs that have been browned in plenty of butter.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes and onions are thoroughly tender.

NOTES : This casserole can be prepared up to the baking part on the day before the brunch.

Recipe By :  Linda McBride

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Serves :     8-10                                         Preparation Time :

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 – 2 lbs                           bulk sausage pork
• 3/4 cup                                   uncooked oats
• 2/3 cup                                   peeled apple, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon                         salt
• 1/2 teaspoon                          sage, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon                          basil, crushed
• 1                                               egg
• 2/3 cup                                   milk
• 1 can                                        peach halves, drained

NOTES : I have my own way of serving this recipe. First of all I never use the peach halves. Tried it and the ring looked icky. Ann uses the peaches and cooks this recipe in a Bundt pan, it turns out just fine. I always prepare this recipe the day before.

Follow all the above directions and then invert the ring onto an oven proof dish and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, melt a little peach or apricot preserve with a little juice and brush over the sausage ring. Reheat and serve. Fill the center of the ring with sauteed cherry tomatoes or scrambled eggs. (not necessary but looks nice). This dish freezes well. I prepare it for Jack often and cut the ring serving size pieces, wrap each piece in Saran wrap and fill a zip lock full of the individual servings and freeze. Whenever you want to, just microwave as many servings as you need.

Suggested Wine : Mimosas

Recipe By :  Linda McBride

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Ingredients

• 2 cups                                  Steel cut oats
• 3 cups                                  boiling water
• 1 cup                                    total of raisins, dried cherries and dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup                                toasted almonds or toasted pecan pieces
• 2 tablespoons                     light brown sugar
• milk
• yogurt
• fresh fruit, like berries, peaches or what ever you like

In a heat proof bowl, mix oats with boiling water and let stand, covered for one hour. Stir in dried fruit and refrigerate overnight or up to a week. Stir in nuts and brown sugar.

To serve, pour 1/2 cup of milk in a bowl, put 1/2 cup of muesli over the milk and top with a little yogurt and fruit.

NOTES : This muesli grows on you as you eat it. It has the ‘crunch factor’ which comes from not cooking the oats. I served it as a side dish at a brunch. Piled in a glass bowl and I drizzled about a tablespoon of warmed honey on the top to give it some life.

Each gues may customize their own bowl of muesli, by providing bowls of fruit, additional toasted almonds, yogurt and a pitcher of milk near the big bowl of muesli.

The first time I served this dish, I also served bagels and lox. I presented the lox on a bed of butter lettuce, on a platter with sliced tomatoes, red onion and capers. Don’t forget the cream cheese and butter. Oh, Jack wanted eggs, so I prepared a herb frittata. Too much food for 6 people, but there was something for everyone. What I did not do was serve a pastry of coffee cake and next time, I would bake my mothers apple cake. Probably no one would want to eat it except Jack, but it makes the house smell great!

Recipe By : adapted from Food and Wine

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Serves 8

Ingredients

• 9                                  buttered white bread slices, medium thick
• 1 1/2 lbs                     Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1                                   bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons         salt
• 1/2 teaspoon             dry mustard
• 3 cups                         milk
• 1 dash                         Tabasco sauce
• 6                                  large eggs, lightly beaten
• pepper to taste

Cut off the crusts from the bread and butter each slice. Cut into 1/2″ cubes.

Saute green onions until transparent. Butter a 2qt casserole and arrange a layer of bread cubes on the bottom, placing a generous amount of grated cheese over it. Add a second layer, and last layer of cubes with the remaining cheese over it.

Mix salt, pepper and mustard together and blend it into the milk. Add onion, Tabasco and eggs and mix well. Pour over bread and cheese in the casserole. cover with wax paper.

Refrigerate overnight.

Two hours before serving, remove from the fridge. Let stand at room temperature for one hour. Preheat oven to 350. Place casserole in a pan of water and bake for one hour or until the cheese charlotte is WELL BROWNED and firm.

Let stand a few minutes before serving.

NOTES : This is a wonderful brunch dish. I buy the pre-grated cheese if pressed for time. To cut fat, which i do not recommend, use canned skim milk and reduced fat cheese. This is the usual menu for a McBride Brunch. Cheese Charolotte, Sausage Ring, either Saute Cherry tomatoes or Scalloped tomatoes, Chilled Asparagus with dressing, assorted muffins or cord bread and last but not least Mimosas.

Recipe by : Linda McBride

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Ingredients

• banana
• orange and grapefruit slices
• strawberries
• pineapple
• kiwi
• raspberries
• fresh mint optional

Use a clear glass bowl, and start at the bottom, and layer upwards.

Peel,  slice and layer bananas, peel, slice or section oranges and grapefruit. Remove as much pith as possible from the citrus. Add citrus layer. Slice the strawberries, layer over the citrus. Layer fresh pineapple chunks over the strawberries, and top with raspberries and kiwi slices.

NOTES : I have used frozen raspberries and it’s OK.

This is just a very basic recipe. The point is that it should look pretty with the contrasting layers. The first serving destroys the look, and that’s OK too. It’s too bad that this has to be assembled the morning of the brunch. You can prep a lot of it, peel, but not slice the citrus. wash the strawberries, and cut the pineapple. A garnish of fresh mint is nice too.

Yoghurt and/or whipped cream can be served on the side, as well as granola

Recipe by : Linda McBride

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