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Breakfast at Wimbledon
Blueberry Muffins Sugared Doughnuts Sliced Melon and Strawberries Passion Fruit Mimosas English Breakfast Tea
Steak ‘n Eggs Cottage Fries Baked Tomatoes
Trifle
Tennis, anyone? If you are a tennis fan, why not invite some friends over to have breakfast and watch the Wimbledon finals? This menu has a bit of English flavor and bit of Australian flavor, which is appropriate, I think. Best of all, just about everything can be prepared before guests arrive. All you will have to do is warm up the steak, potatoes and tomatoes, and give the eggs a quick scramble, leaving you to enjoy the match with your guests.
Set out a buffet with baskets of blueberry muffins and sugared doughnuts. Add a gorgeous tray of two or three kinds of sliced melon garnished with fresh strawberries, fixings for passion fruit mimosas and a pot of English breakfast tea. As guests arrive they can help themselves to the buffet. A little later, serve the steak ‘n eggs, and wrap up the morning with a delicious English trifle.
1 pint fresh blueberries 1 stick butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla ¾ cup milk ¼ cup sour cream 1 ¾ cups cake flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400º. Spray the cups of a muffin pan with cooking spray, or line them with paper muffin cups.
Sift together cake flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Toss the blueberries with a couple of tablespoons of this mixture. Set both the flour mixture and the blueberries aside.
Beat together butter and sugar in an electric mixer until soft and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until fluffy. Beat in vanilla, milk and sour cream. Gently fold in the flour mixture by hand and mix only until just combined. Add the blueberries and gently fold them in until just barely combined. The key to tender muffins is to mix the batter the minimum amount necessary.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full of the batter. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until tops are golden and resist when pressed lightly with finger. Allow muffins to cool slightly before serving.
¼ cup lukewarm water 2 packages yeast 1¼ cups milk ¾ cup sugar 4 ½ cups flour, plus more for rolling 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled 2 eggs, beaten 1 ½ teaspoon salt vegetable oil for frying 1 cup additional sugar for rolling
Heat milk to just below a simmer. Pour into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add one tablespoon of the sugar and let cool. In a small dish, stir yeast into warm water. Set aside. When milk is cool, stir in the yeast and 1½ cups flour. Beat with paddle attachment until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
Melt butter and let cool to lukewarm. Add butter, sugar, eggs and salt into the dough and mix until combined. Add remaining 3 cups flour and mix until smooth. Gather dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Roll out to about ½” thick. Cut out doughnuts with a doughnut cutter. Lay the doughnuts and the doughnut holes on a floured surface, cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled in size.
Heat about 3” oil to 375º. Fry doughnuts, three at a time, in the hot oil for about 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels. Roll doughnuts in sugar while still very warm.
Champagne Passion fruit juice or nectar Grand Marnier (optional)
Mix champagne and passion fruit juice half-and-half in a champagne flute. Add a few drops of Grand Marnier if desired.
For 6 people: 12 eggs 1 ½ pound sirloin steak (any tender cut of steak works equally well) 2 tablespoons butter 2-3 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper
Cut steak into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with salt. Heat a sauté pan until very hot. Add olive oil to hot pan. Sear steak over high heat until nicely browned on the outside and still quite pink in the middle. Cook in batches if necessary to avoid crowding. If you put too much steak in the pan at once, it will cook in its own juice rather than sear, and won’t have that nice caramelized flavor. Remove from heat immediately, grind a bit of pepper over the top, add a tablespoon of butter to the pan and set aside to cool. Reheat just before serving.
Break eggs into a bowl. Whisk together and set aside until ready to scramble. Just before serving, heat 1 tablespoon butter (for flavor) in a non-stick pan. Add salt and pepper to taste to eggs just before cooking. Scramble eggs to desired doneness and serve immediately.
4-5 russet potatoes ½ onion, chopped 4 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons butter ½ teaspoon thyme Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper
The day before your brunch, bake potatoes at 350º on a baking sheet until done, about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on size. Cool and refrigerate.
Sauté chopped onion in olive oil until soft. Meanwhile, peel and dice cooked potatoes. When onions are soft, add butter to pan. When butter melts, add potatoes. Sprinkle with thyme, salt to taste and several grindings of pepper. Sauté over medium heat until potatoes are nicely browned, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Re-warm potatoes just before serving.
3 medium tomatoes Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper ½ cup bread crumbs ¼ teaspoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons butter
Cut tomatoes in half and arrange, cut side up, in a baking pan. Mix bread crumbs with garlic powder. Sauté bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons butter until golden. Set aside. 10 minutes before you are ready to eat, preheat oven to 400º. Just before baking, sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake just until tomatoes are warmed through, about 3 minutes.
2 cups milk 6 egg yolks 2/3 cup sugar ¼ cup cornstarch 1 tablespoon butter 1 teaspoon vanilla
12 soft ladyfingers (sponge-cake type) ¾ cup cream sherry 1 pint fresh raspberries
1 cup heavy cream ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Mint leaves for garnish
Make custard the day before: Heat milk to a simmer. Meanwhile whisk egg yolks and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until thick and fluffy. Add cornstarch and whisk until no lumps remain. Whisk about ¼ cup hot milk into egg mixture. Whisk in remaining milk. Strain mixture back into the saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until it thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl and let cool slightly. Press plastic wrap onto the surface and chill.
Cut lady fingers into cubes. Place half the lady finger cubes in the bottom of 6 large wine glasses Sprinkle each with a tablespoon of sherry. Divide half the custard between the glasses. Sprinkle with a few raspberries. Reserve 6 raspberries. Repeat with remaining lady finger cubes, sherry, custard and berries.
Whip cream and confectioner’s sugar together until soft peaks form. Whisk in vanilla. Top each trifle with a generous dollop of whipped cream and garnish with a raspberry and a mint leaf. Chill until serving time.
If you don’t have wine glasses large enough, you can also make this trifle in a glass bowl. |
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Copyright © 2008 by Charlotte Rose. All rights reserved. |
