By Joe Bonwich
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
04/08/2009
Whether your Easter brunch will be an intimate affair or a crowd scene, the recipes that make up this menu can be just the right size.
We asked Greg Ziegenfuss, chef and vice president at Butler’s Pantry catering, for recipes that can stretch or shrink. After all, caterers are frequently called upon at the last minute to manipulate the number of servings they prepare, and they often work with clients to select a menu that’s adaptable to various numbers of guests.
Ziegenfuss suggested a menu that can be easily adjusted to serve two, eight or 24 people. (He cheated a little on the bread pudding: It would be difficult to make only two servings, but Ziegenfuss says it’s so good that you won’t mind having leftovers.)
The focal point of his menu is an individual baked frittata, a cupcake-shaped egg dish loaded with vegetables. “Because different people eat Easter brunch at different times, I wanted something they’d be comfortable eating in the morning or afternoon,” Ziegenfuss said.
He offered three side dishes: a spring chopped vegetable salad, a jicama-and-grapefruit salad and wedge-shaped rosti potatoes. The beverage is a festive lemon-raspberry sparkler that can be alcoholic or not.
Ziegenfuss had several suggestions for the host or hostess.
— Make a shopping list; check it while you shop and again before you check out. Remember that most supermarkets are closed on Easter Sunday. “You don’t want to get caught short of an ingredient on Sunday morning,” he said.
— Do as much work as possible in advance. “You want to be able to enjoy the event along with your guests,” he said.
The bread pudding can be made well in advance and reheated. You can make the jicama-and-grapefruit salad up to a day in advance, and you can precut all the vegetables for the chopped salad except the mushrooms and cucumber. Ziegenfuss recommends waiting until Easter morning to blanch the asparagus and snow peas for the chopped salad.
The frittatas and potatoes can be made in advance and reheated, although they’re better freshly cooked.
— Finally, think about the presentation. “You don’t have to cut your vegetables as precisely as we do in our kitchen, but taking a few minutes extra and being careful to cut evenly can make it look really wonderful,” Ziegenfuss said. “If you have a mandoline or a similar tool, it makes it a lot easier, especially if you’re cooking for a crowd.”