Today’s newsletter is all about brunch! I wanted to do something Easter-y (I know I’m a little early), but I feel like most people either set family traditions or skip Easter dinner altogether. For me, Easter was always more about the post-egg-hunt brunch anyway.
But whether you’re hosting Easter brunch, planning a brunch for another occasion, or just love a good brunch spread, I’ve got tips to make it all simple as can be cause hosting should be fun for you, too!
Here’s a few tips I try to follow for simple hosting:
Plan one standout dish: everything else should be somewhat low-effort. Do one thing and do it well. Better to undercommit and overdeliver.
Lean into make-ahead: prep as much as you can the day before. Chop veggies/fruit, mix dressings, set out serveware, and have your serving dishes ready to go. The less you have to do in real time, the better.
Think assembly over cooking: I always get stressed about everyones specific likes/dislikes. A well-built spread means everyone gets to choose their own adventure. A smoked salmon platter with all the fixings, a yogurt and fruit station, or a sliced baguette with spreads and cheese are an impressive but easy addition.
Set up a drink station: depending on your group size, self-serve mimosas, coffee with some fun creamers, fresh juice, or a pitcher of a welcome mocktail. People love to play bartender for a minute so let your guests play bartender!
Lean into the shortcut wins: no shame in getting pastries or jams from your favorite local shop. And if someone offers to bring something, let them.
Maybe not simple but if you want to be a bit extra, I love to do up a cute little menu on canva and print them off for guests.
And finally, for a stress-free brunch, try and do these in advance:
slice your fruit and assemble the platter the night before.
set the table and drinks station first thing. Then pop a bowl of ice on the table right before you sit down.
turn on some music, light a candle, and pretend you’re hosting a breezy brunch café.
my super simple but a little extra Easter brunch menu:
this weeks recipe: croque monsieur monkey bread
TOTAL TIME: 1 1/2 hours (30 prep + 1 hour bake/cool)
SERVES: 6
Chef’s knife
Cutting board (not my exact one but very similar)
Mixing bowls
Whisk
Nonstick pan
Silicone spatula
Mandoline
Cheese grater
Bundt pan
For the eggs
6 eggs
2 tbsp whipping/whole cream
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt + pepper
2 tbsp butter
For the dijon butter
6 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tbsp honey
For the rest
150 grams thinly sliced ham
100 g monterey jack/havarti cheese
150 g swiss cheese/gruyere
1/4 cup chopped chives
2 cans biscuits dough
Prep your biscuits
Remove the biscuits from the cans and slice each one into 6 pieces. (Optional: roll each piece into a ball for a slightly nicer presentation, but leaving them as is works just fine.)
Toss the biscuit pieces into a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to assemble.
Cook your eggs
In a bowl, whisk together the 6 eggs, 2 tbsp cream, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Melt 2 tbsp butter in the skillet.
Once the butter is almost melted, add the egg mixture. Cook, stirring every few seconds, for about 5 minutes, until the eggs are mostly cooked but still slightly wet (aiming for a soft scramble with small curds). Set aside to cool.
Make your dijon butter
in a small bowl, melt 6 tbsp salted butter. Whisk in 3 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tbsp honey. Set aside to cool.
Prep the rest
Thinly slice ham and roughly chop into bite size pieces - with some larger chunks.
Grate your cheeses.
Finely dice your chives.
Assemble
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Remove the biscuit bowl from the fridge and pour over the Dijon butter. Toss to coat.
Mix in the cheeses, ham, and chives, ensuring the biscuit pieces are evenly coated and not sticking together.
Bake + serve
Grease a bundt pan with butter or avocado oil.
Transfer the biscuit mixture into the bundt pan. Press down lightly to get the mixture into the pan’s curves.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the edges are golden and the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F (74°C).
Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Use a plastic or wooden utensil to gently loosen the bread from the pan’s edges, then flip it onto a plate. Sprinkle with chives and slice to serve.
Do the cheeses matter: since we’re going for a croque monsieur vibe here I wanted to do a gruyere - but your girl does not have unlimited budget for such cheeses! So swiss has a similar flavor profile and is a lot less 💰 . However… swiss cheese is not super melty and in order to help bind your biscuit pieces, you need the meltiness of a havarti/jack cheese as well. To be frank, you can sub in any cheese, just ensure you have a bit of something that melts well.
A note on the eggs: the curd size matters to me. I personally cannot STAND overcooked eggs, like it gives me the mega ick. So the smaller curds help negate getting a large chunk of really overcooked egg, and it also helps to bind the bread together. If you want to do larger chunks you can, but know the chunks will feel overdone after baking.
Storing + reheating: store in the fridge for up to 4 days. This is awesome leftover, pop it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds and enjoy.
Make it dairy-free: if you can find df biscuits, sub in df butter, and a melty df cheese, you can make this work, but no promises.
If there is not a substitute listed I do not recommend omitting or substituting an ingredient as it will drastically change the final dish.
For the eggs
heavy cream: you can definitely sub in milk it just won’t be as rich
dijon mustard: can skip
butter: you can sub in oil but it will slightly alter the flavor profile and won’t be as rich.
For the dijon butter
If you hate dijon, make a garlic parsley butter here instead. It will change the vibe of the dish but will be delicious. Sub in 2 tbsp chopped parsley, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tbsp honey. Skip the rest of the ingredients below if you’re doing this.
Dried thyme: use 2 tsp fresh
Cayenne: this is NOT spicy, it adds a nice depth. Don’t skip
Nutmeg: this elevates the flavor profile just a touch. You barely notice it but if you have an aversion you may skip.
Honey: this sauce needs sweetness for balance but you can sub in equal parts maple syrup.
For the rest
Thinly sliced ham: the ham gets really nice and kind crispy on the edges but soft on the inside. If you must, you can sub in cooked crumble sausage, or bacon, or skip.
Cheeses: see note above
Chopped chives: this benefits from having a pop of freshness so don’t skip but you can sub in 2 tbsp green onion tobs, or 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
Biscuit dough: I did test this with a variety of doughs and biscuit dough was the winner. I don’t recommend swapping out a different dough.
With love from Reggie and her weekly stick pic 🫶
I made this last night for dinner, super delicious! While I was making it, I kept thinking that it was too much effort, but in hind sight, it was super easy, I just didn't know what I was doing (and the kitchen was messy, so that always adds more stress while cooking). The recipe also doesn't say when to add the eggs, so I had to go back to the video to watch. A couple of lessons that I learned, this is a salty concoction, so I will use unsalted butter next time. The dough needs to be cold and firm when I mix in all the stuff, so I need to keep it in the fridge until everything is prepped (I know the recipe says as much, but I still learned the hard way). And lastly, I should make the dijon butter after prepping the rest of the mix-ins, otherwise the butter mixture will become unpourable and I'll need to re-microwave it. And most importantly, I learned that my fire alarm does actually work after I preheated my ss pan a little too hot for a little too long and adding avo oil won't cool it down.
Did anyone try prepping this ahead of time? Like assembling the whole thing and baking the next day?