Sidewalk Brunch for a Bunch
appeared in The Sunday Oregonian, Taste Makers, June 15, 2003
Adapted from George Mardikes, attorney, Davis, Wright, Tremaine LLP
This recipe is recommended for the savvy sidewalk sous chef.
Menu
Scrambled Eggs with Morels and Shallots (recipe included)
French Toast with maple syrup or apricot preserves (recipe included)
Canadian Bacon (recipe included)
Homemade poundcake and purchased poppy seed muffins
Strawberries Romanoff with first-of-the-season Oregon strawberries (recipe included)
Watermelon carved fruit basket filled with fresh fruit
Coffee, hot chocolate, milk and orange juice
Scrambled Eggs with Morels and Shallots
French Toast with Maple Syrup or Apricot Preserves
Canadian Bacon
Serves up to 50
Master Recipe:
2 pounds fresh medium morel mushrooms, trimmed and cleaned, divided
2 cups (1 pound) clarified butter, divided (see Note)
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 tablespoons (about 8 large) minced shallots, divided
12 dozen (144) large eggs, divided
10 loaves artisan-style French bread, with uniform crumb and no large air holes
Salt and pepper
1 gallon milk
1 bottle pure vanilla extract
1 quart maple syrup
2 jars apricot preserves
5 pounds Canadian bacon, thinly sliced
In the kitchen:
A month to a day ahead (when the mushrooms are fresh). Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
On the stovetop, heat 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup olive oil in a heavy, oven-proof, 12-inch skillet over medium heat. When hot, add 1/4 pound mushrooms and toss to coat. Bake for 7 minutes. Add 2 tablespoon minced shallows and mix. Continue to bake until the mushrooms are brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature and store in freezer-style, sealable 1-quart plastic bags (make sure to remove air when sealing). Refrigerate up to a day ahead or freeze up to 1 month.
A day ahead: Place a sieve over a bowl. In batches, break the eggs into another bowl, beat to break the yokes, then pour into the sieve and push them through (they will be a uniform golden color). Store in freezer-style, sealable 1-gallon plastic bags and refrigerate immediately.
Cut the French bread into 3/4-inch slices, put in paper grocery bags and let sit out overnight.
On the sidewalk: Transport and keep all perishable food in a cooler.
Preheat two Coleman-style stoves. Make sure you have a Teflon-style grill top for one of them and remember to bring plenty of propane, about 4 bottles. While the grill is heating one one stove, warm a large heavy cast-iron, paella-style serving dish for the French toast as well as other serving pieces for the eggs and the Canadian bacon over the burners on the other stove.
To prepare the eggs: In a heavy 12-inch frying pan with high sides, scoop out about one third of the mushroom mixture into the pan (this also provides enough butter and oil to cook the eggs). Heat over medium heat. When the mushrooms begin to sizzle and their aroma is fragrant, pour enough of the egg mixture to fill the pan 1/2 inch from the top. Cook, stirring periodically with a wooden spoon or heatproof rubber spatula, until the eggs are thickened into soft curds. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove to the warmed serving dish. Serves about 20. Repeat for additional servings.
To prepare the French Toast: Meanwhile, in a very large stainless steel bowl, mix together 3 cups egg mixture, 4 cups milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (no salt or sugar is used). With clean hands, add enough bread slices to fill the bowl, pushing the slices to the bottom. Let the bread rest for 5 to 7 minutes. With your hands, squeeze and dunk the bread so that the egg mixture permeates the slices to the center. Wipe hands on a clean towel. Spread clarified butter on the surface of the grill with a spoon or pastry brush, then arrange as many side-to-side slices on the hot grill as possible. Cook until the bottoms are nicely browned. Beware of hot and cold spots on the grill and move the bread around so that all the pieces are uniformly browned on both sides. Serve or remove to a large baking pan and cover with foil until serving time. Accompany with a choice of maple syrup or apricot preserves. Serves about 12. Repeat for additional servings.
Meanwhile, between the batches of French toast, quickly grill some of the Canadian bacon, then wipe the grill clean with a paper towel for the next batch of French toast.
Note: Clarified butter is unsalted butter that has been slowly melted, thereby evaporating most of the water and separating the milk solids from the golden liquid. After the foam is skimmed off the top, the clean (clarified butter is poured off the milk residue and used in cooking. Many supermarkets, such as Zupan's, carries clarified butter in their dairy section. It also is called ghee and is found in many international food stores.
Strawberries Romanoff
Serves about 50
1 flat fresh Oregon strawberries with tops, cleaned
1 cup Gran Marnier liqueur
1 pint sour cream
2 cups dark brown sugar
In batches, place the strawberries in a large bowl. Pour the liqueur into a small bowl. Spoon the sour cream into a medium bowl. Spoon the brown sugar into a medium bowl.
To serve: Let each person pick a strawberry and dunk it into the liqueur. Then, dunk each berry into the sour cream and finally, the brown sugar. Eat at once and go back for more! Feel free to change the order of the dunking.