Spring Brunch!

Not only was this beautiful, but it was easy and so, very delicious!

We had this Pre-Easter Brunch last week when all the grocery stores had bunches of fresh asparagus. Hooray! 

These pretty green veggies match tangy Gruyere perfectly! We served this tart with fresh herb crepes, creme fraiche (actually we used sour cream, because it is what we had on hand), and caviar.

My stars- this was delicious!

Asparagus - Gruyere Tart

(I adapted this one from the Hip Foodie Mom blog.)

Here's what you need:

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 bunch thick stock asparagus

Dijon (or Honey Dijon) mustard

1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere

good olive oil or truffle oil

balsamic vinegar

freshly ground sea salt and pepper

Here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out the puff pastry on parchment and lightly score a 1" boarder around the edge. Prick the puff pastry, then bake for 15 minutes.

Brush Dijon or Honey-Dijon mustard on the puff pastry (except the boarder). 

Sprinkle Gruyere on top of the mustard.

Place asparagus over the cheese alternating tips and ends.

Brush asparagus with oil.

I used this wonderful white truffle oil from Olive Chattanooga.

Sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool; then drizzle with good balsamic vinegar.

Fresh Herb Crepes with Creme Fraiche and Caviar

(I used my tried and true La Bonne Femme Cookbook for the crepe recipe. I just added herbs to the Master Crepe Recipe in cookbook.)

Here's what you need:

3/4 cup 2% or whole milk

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp melted butter

pinch of salt

mix of fresh chopped herbs (whatever you have on hand)

extra butter for the pan

caviar (your favorite)

creme fraiche or sour cream

Here's what you do:

Place the first 6 ingredients in a blender to combine. Scrap side once and finish blending.

Pour through a sieve to remove any lumps and store in fridge for 1 hour to overnight.

Add the herbs to the batter and gently stir until just combined.

Heat pan over medium heat. Add butter and then a scant 1/4 cup to the pan, turning pan until well spread across the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until edges are dry and slightly golden. Flip and continue cooking for 30 seconds. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Get the creme fraiche (or sour cream) and caviar ready!

Now it's time to serve this delectable brunch!!!!

Using a pizza cutter, slice the asparagus tart into small rectangular servings. 

Fold the crepes into small triangles, top with creme fraiche, and caviar.

We served ours with a very dry Blanc De Blanc- delicious!

This was so flavorful! And easy!

It was so delicious. I think we will have to make it again soon.

Happy Brunching!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

A Wee Green Quiche for St. Patrick's Day!

Asparagus, Spring Onion, & Feta- Hooray for Spring!

This quiche recipe was in the March 2016 issue of Southern Living. As an avid Bruncher, I decided this was a must try.

I made 1 modification- I purchased a frozen deep dish pie crust, rather than using a refrigerated pie crust in a spring form pan. As a result, you might want to lower the amount of mixtures inside as it wasn't quite deep enough to hold all of the ingredients. 

While all of the egg mix couldn't fit in, it did not lack in delicious flavor!

Here's what you need:

Frozen Deep Dish pie crust

2 Tbsp butter

2 cups thinly sliced spring onions

1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tsp kosher salt, divided

3/4 tsp black pepper, divided

1 cup heavy cream

8 large eggs

2 Tbsp thinly sliced chives

2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided

What to do:

Bake frozen pie crust according to package directions.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter over medium-high . Add onions and cook (stirring occasionally) until tender and lightly brown (about 10 mins). Stir in asparagus; sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Remove from heat and cool 5 mins.

Whisk together cream, eggs, chives, parsley, nutmeg, and remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Place half of the onion mixture in the pie crust.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup feta.

Spoon half of cream mixture over feta.

Repeat layers once and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup feta.

* (If you are using a 14.1 oz refrigerated pie crust in a spring form pan, this should fit. If you are using a frozen deep dish pie crust like I did, all of this won't fit. Reducing the cream mixture ingredients slightly will help with this. We did, and it still tasted great!)

Bake until set, about 1 hour. Cool on baking rack for 20 minutes before serving.

I highly recommend serving this with a sweet cantaloupe. We did and the flavors were perfect together. The tartness of the asparagus and feta with the sweet, creamy of the melon...it was fantastic!

We have reheated this quiche for another quick breakfast since this brunch and it was just as wonderful as the first tasting.

So- here is a Wee Green Quiche for your St. Patrick's Day celebration!

Also- I found this little video about St. Patrick. It gives a brief history about the real man, and some of the myths surrounding him. 

Enjoy!

Sláinte! = Cheers! (in Irish Gaelic)

La Bonne Vie Y'all!