Brunch Club August: A Guest Blog by LeAnna

The brunch club was back and better than ever this month. I mean, look at us:



BreAnna did a fantastic job this month. They not only managed to host the biggest brunch club in brunch club history, they did it picnic style in their front yard area. With the city in the background, sitting under the shade of the tailgate tent with the canines and a plate of food was the perfect way to spend a lazy glutinous sunday afternoon.



Stanley meets Parker:


BreAnna always makes a ridiculous amount of food for their hungry guests. This is not me complaining by any means because every single thing is delicious. This month, LeAnna made a vegetable orzo dish that was of upmost satisfaction to this blogger. It was honestly the first time I had ever had the pasta-that-really-resembles-rice dish, and i was delightful mixed with some chunky veggies served cold brunch-style.



Some other notable dishes this week included LeAnna'a neighbor's chocolate chip cookies (her mother's recipe):



Sube's guiltily delicious berry berry good coffee cake was too good for words:



I made some siily-bad-for-you corn muffins stuffed with bbq pulled pork:


LeAnna was kind enough to write a guest blog for me after I offered my highest compliments to her veggie orzo. You will rarely see her without a smile on her face. She is always hospitable, even when she is not in her own home. She is the first to offer a helping hand to me in the kitchen when her and Brian come to my apartment for get-togethers. She is friendly, cheerful and a pleasure to be around. See for yourself will ya?

Hi! This is LeAnna. The Amazing Lindsey asked me to write a guest blog after hosting brunch, and I decided to go with it, despite having no idea how to write one. This should be fun for all of us!

So, a little back-story about me in regards to cooking: I'm half Sicilian and the other half is one of 26 grandchildren, from a mother who was 7 of 9, from a grandmother who was 13 of 13. I am genetically programmed to cook for LARGE groups of people. I can cook for one, two, or twenty--there is no middle ground. I do quite like cooking, but also being quite lazy, I don't very often. Thus, when I have a reason to cook (and REALLY cook, at that), I go ALL OUT. And now onto brunch…




For my (and Brian's) brunch I made/had:

Bacon

Hashbrowns

Pancakes

Stuffed Mushrooms

“Water Should Never Not Taste Like This” Water

Vegetable Orzo

Brian's Breakfast Casserole

Caprese Salad

Bagels

COFFEE (aka life blood)

And…

Mimosas (because what's brunch without booze?!)

I'm not going to lie, even with all the above and knowing that people would be bringing other dishes, I was still worried that it wouldn't be enough food. It's a hereditary thing. I was INCREDIBLY wrong about that, by the way--seriously, does anyone want to come over for leftovers? Please?

Well, incase you're not a fan of going over to a stranger's house and eating her brunch leftovers, yet would still like to recreate some of this experience, I'll share 2 recipes with you. (I'll try to give you the smallest serving sizes possible--key word being try.)

“Water Should Never Not Taste Like This” Water

This is a recipe I was inspired to create after enjoying some uber fancy water at a tres chic spa. I find it especially refreshing on hot days.



Ingredients:

2 gallons of water

2 lemons

2 oranges

1 cucumber

Prep:

Wash produce like crazy!!! You will be leaving the skin and rinds on and putting them in the water. Nobody wants to drink pesticides, so wash those better than you would your newborn.

Slice off ends of lemons, oranges, and cucumber. Discard. Slice remaining fruit and cucumber into ¼- ½ circles.

Put in a pitcher with water. Chill. Or don't. Delicious either way.

Also, to recreate a spa experience on a penny buster budget, grab the biggest glass you can find, pour in this water, throw on a towel, and sit in your parked car with the windows rolled up on a hot summer day.

“Vegetable Orzo”

This is a variation of a recipe I grew up with. It's fairly healthy because the orzo is marinated with the juices of the vegetables rather than a heavy sauce. It's vegan (I think).

Ingredients:

Orzo pasta

1 green zucchini

1 yellow squash

2 tomatoes

Shitake mushrooms (I normally put in 6, but it really depends on how much you like Shitake)

Small bunch of asparagus

Olive oil

Prep:

Thoroughly wash produce.

Slice zucchini, squash, and mushrooms. Dice tomatoes. Chop asparagus.

Boil water and cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain.

Add about a capful of olive oil into a skillet over medium heat and add mushrooms and asparagus. Cover. Occasionally stir.

When mushrooms first start to wilt (about 3-4 minutes) add zucchini and squash. Cover. Occasionally stir.

When zucchini and squash are wilted (about 10-15 minutes) add tomatoes. Stir. Cover.

Quickly allow the tomatoes to heat (about 2 minutes), then stir and remove from heat. Dump vegetables, along with their juices into your drained orzo and serve (or put in the fridge for later--can be eaten hot or cold).
And that's how you make that!

I hope you guys like these recipes. Yay Lindsey's blog readers!!!

Thanks for having me!

Happy Eating,

LeAnna

If you are wondering about my brunch recipe. Don't. I cannot even express how easy it is. It is simply Jiffy corn muffin mix and BBQ pulled pork. You can buy the pulled pork or make it yourself. I bought it. You just put some corn mix (prepare as directed on box) i the bottom of greased muffin tins, then put about 1 tbsp of pulled pork on top of it, and then top it with more muffin mix. The muffin mix will engulf the pork. For something a little more palatable for vegetarians or, well, health concious folks, you can use anything to stuff the corn muffins...ground beef, blue cheese crumbles, black beans, baked beans... just stick anything you want in there!