Fare Exchange: Recipes to make weekend brunch, Christmas carrot cake

Welcome to Fare Exchange as always and, as always, we begin with requests. They came from two North Carolina visitors to this inimitable city.

Esther explained that Dave, her husband, “thinks one month out of 12 is rightly devoted to eggnog consumption. However, I would like to do something besides pouring him a glass of store-bought eggnog. Can anyone provide these recipes I have heard about: eggnog breakfast casserole, eggnog cake made with pudding mix for extra moisture, and eggnog fudge?”

And while you are thinking, please let us know about your favorite holiday foods, either a request for ones you sampled or a recipe for ones you have cooked for a grateful crowd.

BRUNCH LOVE

Margaret McNeil is a woman of many recipes; she offers regular proof on her blog, margaretsmorsels.blogspot.com. And when a recent call went out from here for brunch recipes, she answered in generous kind. This is her introduction, and we’ll ladle out her recipes today and next week.

She began with a reminiscence of how she came to love brunch – at the same time she came to love her husband.

“When my husband and I started dating 30 years ago, we would go to brunch every few weeks. At the time, Ruby Tuesday had a hillside location on Brainerd Road between Belvoir and Germantown Road. They served brunch on the weekend, so this is where we usually went. It’s where I discovered and fell in love with Eggs Benedict.

“I prefer serving brunch with a variety of breakfast items. Eggs Benedict Casserole and Baked Omelet Roll are two of my favorite brunch dishes. I only put cheese in the omelet and serve bacon, sausage or ham on the side. Potatoes O’Brien goes well with both of these dishes plus most lunch items on a brunch menu. The recipe I’m sharing is a time-saver because it uses frozen french fries.

“I like to include fresh fruit with brunch. Instead of making a fruit salad, I buy a fruit tray at Costco or the grocery. If you’d rather not pay for the convenience, you could prepare and serve grapes, pineapple slices, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or any fruit you like, preferably ones that are in season. I avoid apples and bananas since they turn brown when peeled. You can dip the apples and bananas in Fruit Fresh, lemon juice or 7Up to delay browning, but I find it easier just to omit those two fruits.

“I like to round out brunch with fruit bread, scones or muffins. If you prefer something savory, Garlic Cheese Biscuits are good with both breakfast and lunch items. Next time you need brunch for a bunch, whip up a batch of Eggs Benedict Casserole. Add some grits or Potatoes O’Brien, a fruit salad and some muffins and you’ve got a meal that won’t break the bank.”

Today we begin with Ms. Mc’s recipes for Eggs Benedict casserole-style, and Potatoes O’Brien made with frozen french fries. You’ll have to wait until next week for instructions for breads sweet and savory.

Eggs Benedict Casserole

2 (5-ounce) packages Canadian bacon, cut into pieces

6 English muffins, split and cut into 1-inch pieces

8 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

Dash pepper

2 (1.25-ounce) packages Hollandaise sauce mix, prepared according to package directions

Place half the Canadian bacon in a greased 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the English muffin pieces into the baking dish and top with the remaining Canadian bacon. Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper together and pour over the ingredients in the baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight or a minimum of four hours.

Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking and let it sit at room temperature. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes.

Prepare the Hollandaise sauce according to the package directions. Serve with the casserole. Makes 8 servings.

Potatoes O’Brien

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/3 cup chopped bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons diced pimentos, drained

3 1/2 cups diced frozen steak fries

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add bell pepper, onion and pimentos; cook until the onion is tender. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in potatoes, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are browned and heated, 15 to 25 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

CHRISTMAS CAKE

Debbie Pataky of Lookout Mountain, whose husband has rightly observed that she does not know how to make small batches of anything, proves that point in the cake department. For the Christmas carrot cake she gives us today, ” I usually bake several at a time. Pound cakes I bake six at a time. I have two KitchenAid mixers and use them both. If you are going to mess up the kitchen, why have just a small mess?”

Now there’s a kitchen philosophy worth sharing – and in fact a philosophy OF sharing.

Note that Mrs. Pataky, tongue in cheek, described this recipe as a secret one. True no more. She explained, “This is what I bake every holiday, though at Christmas I use a Christmas-tree shaped pan.”

Carrot Cake

3 cups White Lily (my preferred brand) plain flour

3 cups sugar

3 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons cinnamon (I use Watkins)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cups Wesson oil

6 eggs

2 cups grated carrots

(Shhh, now here is my secret) 3 jars carrot baby food

Cream Cheese Icing (recipe below)

If using a Christmas tree pan or regular sheet cake pan, this will make two. If you are using round layer cake pans you will have lots.

Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add oil and eggs and mix slowly in a mixer. Add carrots and then baby food and mix all for a bit on slow speed, then on medium/high for 2 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees until center is done. I usually use a cake tester to check middle, but usually when edges pull away from sides of pan it’s good.

Let cool a bit and remove from pans. Finish cooling and ice with old-fashioned cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 stick real butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I only use Watkins)

1 1/2 boxes (1 1/2 pounds) powdered sugar

Milk (enough to bring to desired creaminess)

1 cup chopped pecans

Cream together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and milk gradually to get icing to right texture. Add pecans.

Optional decorations for Christmas:

If using a Christmas tree pan, use icing to draw a garland on top of iced tree and then add whole pecans on top of the garland to serve as “ornaments.”

Sprinkle green sugar sprinkles to make the tree green, adding maraschino cherries as ornaments.

What better way to end an almost-Christmas Exchange than with a topping of sugar sprinkles? And how will we begin next week? It’s up to you.