Brunch Club - Its November!

This week's brunch club theme is November. November makes me think of Thanksgiving, so I decided to incorporate some traditional thanksgiving flavors into my creation.

I started with english muffins. Then I added some sliced brie. I popped that in the oven for 5 minutes at 350, just to get the brie a little melty and the english muffins a warm and toasty.

I was lazy (and running way late because I went to the grocery store at 8:45 in the morning, and had to be done and at brunch by 11) so I used pre-made turkey sausage patties. Made this recipe SUPER easy. I prepared them in a frying pan, and put them on top of the english muffins. Then I chopped some sage and rosemary and sprinkled it over the top of the sausage patties.

While all this was going on, I also prepared a cranberry sauce to go on top of everything. I used this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/cranberry-sauce-recipe/index.html. Make sure you give it enough time to let the cranberries pop completely, because otherwise the sauce ends up having awkwardly bitter moments whenever you eat one of the cranberries that didn't burst. But, overall, super easy recipe to make. I took the cranberry sauce as a side, because putting it on too early would make things soggy.

This was a great brunch recipe, especially given the theme. It was fast and easy to make, easy to transport, and had a great flavor combination. The sage and rosemary were critical for that, because they really brought out the Thanksgiving feel.

In other brunch deliciousness, Kristin made an AWESOME corn casserole and Floren made a spicy pear bundt cake, with real pear. Recipes please!

Back blog 3... Spanish paprika is smokey!

So, I had the girls over for dinner. My first girls night in a loooong time. I ended up making paprika shrimp, which were bright red gorgeous! The cream sauce that went on them, um, not so gorgeous. Sigh. Lesson learned. I just wasn't patient enough with it. It needed to reduce by a lot more, so the flavors were great, but the consistency was just off. Too liquidy. Sides were asparagus and couscous. My go to sides. I also made lovely nectarine tarts that are SO easy. But I forgot to take pictures! Boo. Anyways, it was plated nicely. I stole Dean's silver serving platter, which makes everything look better! Oh, and I started the meal out with homemade hummus. Super easy, as long as you know where to find the Tahini in the grocery store!

The menu:
Hummus: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/hummus-recipe/index.html
Shrimp: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/grilled-shrimp-marinated-in-paprika-garlic-and-thyme-with-white-wine-sauce-recipe/index.html
Tart: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/danny-boome/honey-apple-and-nectarine-tart-with-whipped-mascarpone-recipe/index.html

A little tip for the mascarpone - add a LOT of cointreau if you actually want to get that lovely orange taste. I've made this recipe twice, and both times I added a whole heck of a lot more than what the recipe called for. But it was totally delish.