Mother's Day Champagne Brunch

Today was the third in a series of annual Mother’s Day Brunches in different cities. This blog is for you MissyFitzy!

The inspiration came from my lovely green view of Mount Victoria in Hong Kong. The view from my window is of the trees on the mountainside. All year-round there is a green view. I decided to bring the outside in to my home. Slowly I have been converting my living room into a haven of green.

Although Often I feel that the Urban Jungle is too gray and monotonous for my true inner nature, one day this week, I thoroughly enjoyed the smell of fresh blossoms cooking in the heat and humidity on the grey concrete of Hong Kong. The sunlight came out yesterday morning, giving me the push to get going with my Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch cooking. And cook I did.

My inspiration board for the food was done on my Mother's Day Board over on Pinterest. I suppose Pinterest also gave me a mood board to inspire my décor for the party.
 
This is me toying with layout:

As well, my assistant was able to find some lovely flowers from the lady under the bridge. Her flowers are always a little dusty, but the need for instant flower power was urgent, so they did in a pinch.

Crepes are a favourite around here. I once hired an assistant purely because of her ability to make perfect crepes. I was considering making fish tacos, but I wanted to make everything from scratch. (I have to admit, I cheated on the artichokes, olives, baguette and sun-dried tomatoes and used bottled and deli sources; but all else was handmade.) The real pleaser in this Spinach and Goat Cheese Crepe recipe was the goat’s cheese – it was divine when slightly melted. Although the recipe I used called for chipotle, I’m pleased I left it out the result was such a delicate melding of flavours.

Because I had a hankering for fish (taco option mentioned above) I made these Salmon Croquettes. This was a fresh salmon fillet that I baked to perfection. When the onions were fried, they had a creamy texture and a cheese-like flavour. It will be hard to use canned salmon again. The mix of housewife bread and white bread crumbs gave real body to the croquettes.

I love my antipasto – when hubby and were first dating in TO, we would always order the same thing at the restaurant: a pizza, the antipasto and a bottle of red which usual made up half the dinner bill. At our wedding we had a delicious antipasto too. This was a labour-intensive project (well worth it with the tasty and praise-worthy results). 

Mini-quiches were an eye-opener for me when I worked at the Steckle (say steck-Lee) Heritage Homestead in Kitchener, Ontario. My mentor, Jean Steckle taught me to make quiche, without the crust. What a time saver! These little guys were a bit tiny, but packed with flavour. My assistant painstakingly bathed, stemmed and chopped the fresh spinach so I could steam and flavour the delicious results. And I always add a speck of freshly ground nutmeg into my quiche.

Quinoa Greek Salad was a healthy option - although, everything was pretty healthy at this table. Somehow the fresh coriander just allowed the flavours to meld together. I used a Greek salad inspiration for the dressing. The cucumbers are so crunchy these last few weeks. And the cherry tomatoes from Israel did the trick.

The Carrot Cake is an old traditional in my family – my mom makes a kick-ass carrot cake. This was an ode to my own mother, who was not sufficiently rewarded this year on Mother’s Day from my end – don’t worry mom, I’ll get you back soon! I have to admit, the pieces of pineapple could’ve been a tad smaller…

Brownies, say no more. These were pretty gooey and delicious. I could’ve added more walnuts. I love the taste of walnuts and chocolate. Hey, why aren’t there any chocolate bars with walnuts added? I actually like walnut in my carrot cake too, but I thought it’d be overkill.

I cannot believe that I got a good batch of strawberries. I managed to wash and dry these and left them out for a day to dry completely so I could dip them. I put them back into the fridge to let the chocolate harden.

What a hit. There was one little-lady at the party, a four-year old friend who thoroughly enjoyed gobbling up these tasty morsels. Here are the ladies:

Quinoa Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

1 cup of quinoa (cooked & cooled)
3 cucumbers, striped, sliced and quartered
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup fresh whole-leave coriander, stemmed
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/2 can black beans, drained and washed

Dressing

1/4 cup oil
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper
Fresh coriander and basil

Directions

Cook one cup of quinoa in two cups of boiling water. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, or until water is mostly evaporated. When I see small holes in the surface of the quinoa I know it is ready. Let the quinoa sit for 15 minutes and fluff with a fork. Refrigerate until needed.
Use cold cucumber and tomatoes; chop and add to quinoa.
Spread the black beans on top of salad.
Crumble Feta cheese over top and sprinkle with fresh herbs
Add the dressing at the last (and take pictures before tossing!)

Spinach and Cheese Egg Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup freshly steamed stemmed and chopped spinach (two bags
6 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated cheddar Cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Oil a 12-cupcake pan well. Spoon out the spinach & cheese mixture evenly into each cupcake.
5. Ladle the egg mixture over top.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

source

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup golden brown sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

4 large eggs

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

3 cups (500 mL) coarsely grated peeled carrots

½ can crushed pineapple, drained

Cream Cheese Icing

¼ cup butter, room temperature (ensure room temperature to create white colour)

1 package 8 oz cream cheese

1 cup icing sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese together

Add icing sugar 1/3 cup at a time

Blend well

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Butter a square cake pan or a loaf pan. Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl.

Using an electric mixer, beat brown sugar and butter in a large bowl until well blended, then add eggs, lemon juice, and zest and beat for another three minutes.

Add sifted dry ingredients; beat until blended. Stir in carrots and pineapples.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake for half time and turn pans to ensure even baking.

Bake until tester inserted near the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Salmon Croquette

 

SERVES 6

1/4 cup white wine
½ tsp plus 1 tsp. kosher salt
1-lb. boneless salmon filet
1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs (mix whole wheat and white bread)
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

1.      Use a small amount of oil and salt to lightly massage the salmon. Place salmon skin side down in a pan in a 180 C oven.  Add a splash of ¼ cup of white wine to the pan.

2.     Cook for about 15 minutes – the salmon should be slightly pink in the middle. Use a metal spatula to gently remove the cooked salmon from the pan (the skin will remain stuck to the pan.

3.     Break salmon into small pieces and places pieces in a large bowl. Add the remaining paprika, pepper and salt along with the bread crumbs, butter, onions, eggs, and lemon juice. Stir ingredients until just combined and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

4.     Divide salmon into half and again in quarters in order to form equal-sized patties. Use your hands to form patties.

5.     Transfer patty to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Repeat to make 12 patties. Refrigerate patties overnight.

6.     Add a good amount of oil to a cast-iron skillet. Using a metal spatula, gently transfer half of the patties to skillet and cook until golden brown. Flip once with the spatula, cook about five minutes. 


7.     Transfer croquettes to a paper towel–lined plate and repeat with remaining patties.