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Delicious recipes for a light winter brunch

BY Nan Yablong, Recipe Developer

Fort Wayne, Indiana (February 18, 2010) — Warm up a cold, wintry day with a delicious, healthy brunch. Pairing your favorites breakfast foods with your favorite lunch items, brunch is a wonderful way to bring family and friends together on a weekend morning.

Start with a savory apple chip appetizer alongside a refreshing pomegranate mimosa; serve a hearty, vegetable-filled frittata as the main dish; and end on a sweet note with fresh-baked lemon blueberry bread. With so many different flavors, these dishes are sure to please all of your guests!

About our featured chef: Nan Yablong has embraced the Vera Bradley Foundation as her special cause because she lost her mother to cancer 22 years ago. She has enthusiastically served on almost every committee in her eleven years as a Classic volunteer. As a graduate of LaRivage French Cooking School in Dartmouth, MA, with a passion for both cooking and baking, she was the perfect choice to help us develop healthy and delicious cancer-fighting recipes.

Vegetable Frittata (Serves 4)

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup diced sweet peppers, red, orange or yellow
• 1 cup chopped fresh broccoli
• 8 large eggs
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup shredded cheeses, cheddar, Swiss and/or Parmesan (preferably block cheeses)

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Sauté onion and peppers in 12-inch, oven-safe skillet about four or five minutes; add broccoli to skillet and sauté a few additional minutes or until broccoli is bright green.
3. Beat eggs with half-and-half until light and fluffy, pour over vegetables. Distribute shredded cheeses evenly over top and place in preheated oven; bake until top is puffed and set, about 12 – 15 minutes.
4. Serve immediately.

Tip: Try substituting a variety of vegetables in this dish to take advantage of in-season, fresh vegetables. For a lighter (just as tasty) version, use lowfat or skim milk, substitute egg whites for half the yokes (two egg whites per yolk), and/or sprinkle grated cheese on top of frittata just before placing in the oven rather than mixing it in. For serving, arrange asparagus spears atop frittata like spokes on a wheel. This provides for even serving slices and presents beautifully when entertaining at your brunch.

Blueberry Lemon Bread (10 slices)

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons lemon rind, grated
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Lemon Sauce for top of bread:

• Juice of one lemon
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour loaf bread pan and set aside.
2. Cream sugar and butter, add eggs.
3. Mix flour with baking powder and salt.
4. Add to mixer alternately with the milk and mix until thoroughly blended.
5. Stir in lemon zest and blueberries.
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes.
7. To prepare lemon sauce, in saucepan over medium heat, bring lemon juice and sugar to a boil and set aside.
8. Remove bread pan from oven and pierce top of bread several times with toothpick. Pour lemon sauce atop bread.
9. Allow to cool on wire rack until juice is absorbed, then turn out onto wire rack to allow to cool completely before slicing and serving, or wrapping for storage.

Tip: Slice and serve on a platter with additional fresh blueberries for an added touch. For an additional treat, slice the bread, dredge in an egg and skim milk mixture with a smidgen of vanilla and grill for a twist on French toast.

Apple Chips with Seasoned Goat Cheese and Pancetta (Serves 6)

• 1/2 lb pancetta slices
• 3 honey crisp apples
• 1 ounce lemon juice
• 4 ounces seasoned crumbled goat cheese
• freshly ground black pepper
• honey for drizzle

1. Place pancetta slices on a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until browned, curled and crisped; drain on paper towel, set aside.
2. Slice apple rounds about 1/8-inch thick, remove seed pieces.
3. Sprinkle apple slices with lemon juice to prevent from turning brown.
4. Place one pancetta slice in center of apple, sprinkle with goat cheese.
5. Top with freshly ground cracked black pepper then drizzle lightly with a good quality honey.
6. Arrange on platter.

Tip: For best presentation, use only center slices of the apple for consistent size. Assemble just prior to serving to prevent browning of the apple slices.

Pomegranate Mimosa (Serves 4)

• 1 quart of lemon-lime soda or 1 bottle of champagne
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 2 cups orange juice

Combine all ingredients in pitcher with ice, shake and decant into glasses.

Tip: Serve in martini or stemmed glassware with a orange slice and mint sprig for a pretty presentation. For a frozen option, add ice in a blender and pulse until slushy.

Check back for more recipes featuring fresh spring dishes!