Breakfast for a Crowd
Bacon, Tomato and Cheddar Breakfast Bake with Eggs
This breakfast casserole topped with runny eggs by F&W's Grace Parisi develops a terrific texture as it cooks slowly in a glass dish (which makes it easy to see when the bottom is perfectly browned). As one F&W editor remarked on tasting it, "I worship the crisp bottom and the chewy, moist bread."
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Oversize Breakfast Biscuits
"Saturday mornings at the deli are all about the biscuits," says Matt Neal. "Our friends, the farmers, everyone is always clamoring for them. Some people get two filled biscuits at a time, but that's a lot." When he's rolling out the dough, he gives it two turns to evenly distribute the butter and make the biscuits extra-flaky. Then he serves them with different fillings: house-made spiced pastrami (mustard is optional); cheddar and a breakfast-sausage patty; or classic strawberry jam.
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Tropical Mini Breakfast Muffins
Mango, banana and coconut lend these muffins a sweet, tropical flavor while the garbanzo bean flour helps create a tender texture and also provides a little extra protein.
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Vegetarian Breakfast Enchiladas with Eggs and Sweet Potatoes
Vegetarians and omnivores alike will love these hearty sweet potato breakfast enchiladas.
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Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes
A hearty combination of crumbled chorizo, chunks of crispy potatoes and eggs—all cooked together in a big cast-iron skillet.
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Pecan-Honey Buns
The honeyedglaze on these sticky, nutty breakfast rolls is luscious and soft when warm, then turns nicely chewy when cool.
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Yukon Gold Potato, Leek and Fromage Blanc Frittata
This recipe gets its extra-creamy texture from fromage blanc, an extremely soft cow's-milk cheese with a sour cream-like tang. Make two.
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Spicy Honey-Glazed Bacon
Slices of smoky bacon slathered in a spicy honey mixture are great at breakfast and addictive enough for a midnight snack. This recipe is very easy to multiply.
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Scrambled Eggs with Herbed Croutons
A witty take on a breakfast staple by stirring delicious herbed croutons right into soft, creamy scrambled eggs—eliminating the need for a side of toast.
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Polenta Pound Cake with Mascarpone and Rosemary
"Eddie makes a mean pound cake," Damien Schaefer says admiringly of chef Eddie Russell. Russell garnished slices of his tender, crumbly cake with fresh figs he picked from a nearby tree, but it's equally good without them.
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Spiced Yogurt Muffins
These ingeniously moist muffins from baker Jennifer Musty are rich in calcium and low in fat.
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Ricotta Blintzes with Lingonberry Syrup
Tory Miller uses a blast freezer to preserve local produce in the summer and fall. The device rapidly freezes foods before large ice crystals form, minimizing damage to fresh vegetables and fruits, including the lingonberries he simmers in maple syrup for these blintzes. Lingonberry jam makes a fine and much easier-to-find substitute.
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Over-the-Top Mushroom Quiche
This high-rising quiche just might be the perfect one, and it's well worth the time it takes to prepare.
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Cornmeal-and-Ricotta Waffles
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Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Custard with Fresh Berries
It can be made with store-bought bread, but it's best made with a fresh bakery loaf, sliced 1/2 inch thick.
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Strawberry-Pecan Quick Bread
As this loaf bakes in the oven, the texture of chewy dried strawberries softens slightly. Buy your dried strawberries at a specialty food shop or health food store that rotates its stock frequently to make sure that they're plump and moist.
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Cardamom-Spiced Crumb Cake
This moist cake, topped by a generous layer of cardamom-spiced, pecan-dotted crumbs, is a fabulous gift. F&W's Kate Heddings brought one to a holiday dinner party for her hosts to serve to overnight guests at breakfast the next day—"even though I wouldn't be there to eat it!" she says. Along with the cake, she gave the Calphalon pan she baked it in, fresh-ground coffee beans and a glass container of heavy cream.
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Bacon-and-Leek Quiche
Pairing suggestion: Winemakers in Bordeaux often blend Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc to produce lightly honeyed, citrusy whites that go very well with rich quiches like the bacon-and-leek one here.
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Pea Tortilla with Mint and Yogurt
A Spanish tortilla is like a frittata. Francis Mallmann makes a lovely spring version with yogurt, fresh mint and sweet peas, baked in an oven (preferably a wood-fired oven) until just set. It's delicious served warm or at room temperature.
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Cinnamon-Banana Bread
This recipe is full of potassium-packed bananas. Instead of processed sugar, it calls for agave nectar, a natural sweetener; a little canola oil replaces the usual butter. The bread is an improvement on the one Erin McKenna often made with her mother when she was growing up: "I thought it was so healthy, because of the bananas. I didn't factor in all the sugar and butter."
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Monte Cristo Strata
In this rich and hearty dish, bread, ham and cheese are baked in an eggy custard; grainy mustard and tarragon add a lovely, vibrant flavor.
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Potato Frittata with Prosciutto and Gruyère
This cheesy frittata is the kind of dish—fast, flexible and easy to reheat—that Tom Valenti likes to have around for all kinds of holiday eating. "A frittata is just as good, or maybe better, at midnight," he says.
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Chunky Granola
This crispy, lightly sweet, brittle-like granola is made with high-fiber oats and protein-rich seeds, including flaxseeds, which are also high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
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Mexican Eggs in Purgatory
For the Italian breakfast dish Eggs in Purgatory, eggs are baked in a spicy tomato sauce. In this Mexican-inspired take, Grace Parisi substitutes a vibrant, fresh green sauce made with tomatillos, cilantro and scallions.