Brunch has a special seat at the table: It bridges savory and sweet and breakfast and lunch, and appeases both early birds and late risers.
It’s a meal with very few rules, which is especially welcome to cooks as we navigate a season filled with tradition and culinary expectations. Want to serve pancakes alongside prime rib or burgers with doughnuts? No problem. Gooey mac and cheese and quiche? Why not?
Brunch is also a chance to try new flavors and dishes or put a different spin on tried-and-trues — like these recipes from recent cookbooks.
Let’s start with biscuits. A good biscuit recipe should be in every cook’s repertoire, and we found one in America’s Test Kitchen’s “When Southern Women Cook.” In addition to including more than 300 recipes, it tells the stories of women who have helped shape the cuisine of the American South. The ATK drop biscuit recipe features two variations — chocolate chip and bacon, cheese and black pepper — inspired by Bomb Biscuits restaurant in Atlanta that would be a fine addition to any meal.
Joey Maggiore’s debut cookbook, “Brunch King,” caught our attention with its fun boozy drinks made with breakfast cereal, but the Italian American chef’s inventive breakfast bruschetta and over-the-top breakfast burger made us true fans. For the bruschetta, batons of brioche are pan-toasted in butter, topped with crème brûlée custard and brown sugar and then broiled, garnished with strawberries and, if you’re in a playful mood, strawberry cotton candy.