Make Ahead Recipes

You can't beat individual mini quiches for a great make-ahead dish that everyone loves. Make a day in advance and then warm up in the microwave just before serving. Our three favorite mini quiche recipes are all crustless and gluten-free. 

Bacon-Wrapped Quiche Minis 

 We all know bacon makes just about everything a little bit yummier. I add a ring of bacon to each of these quiches by cooking the bacon part way in the oven and then looping them in a muffin tin. Pour the quiche ingredients into the tin and the bacon finishes cooking along with the quiche. You can use this same technique to add bacon rings to our other quiche minis. 

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Spinach and Goat Cheese Quiche Minis

Mini crustless quiches are the perfect finger food that can be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between. Because there is no crust they are quick to prepare and gluten free. This recipe starts with oven-roasted tomatoes, frozen spinach and goat cheese.

Potato Quiche Minis

These quiche minis are a personal favorite. They were inspired by individual quiches that are served at Alta Coffee Warehouse and Restaurant in Newport Beach, one of the last great independent coffee houses in our area. What makes these cheesy nuggets so good is Smoke Spanish Paprika, never to be confused with blah tasting grocery store paprika. If you are not familiar with this delicious spice, do yourself a favor and buy a container. You will wonder how you ever got along without it!

Tutu's Banana Bread

This recipe came from my mom, who believes the recipe originated at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki. I used to make this bread as a kid when I lived in Honolulu. My daughter Margo found my old recipe card and reworked the recipe to make Banana Bread Muffin Tops. I love a recipe that encompasses three generations! Check out my old recipe card, complete with misspellings. Margo thought it was hysterical!

A Complete Meal

Salmon Hash

This Salmon Hash is a one dish meal that will fuel you and your family for the rest of the day. Great for brunch, it is also delicious for dinner. 

Click to download our free e-cookbook: 3 Fabulous Turkey Recipes Guaranteed To Be Spectacular

Make Easter Morning

Minted Fruit Salad

This fresh fruit salad is always on our brunch menu and also shows up for dinner and sometimes dessert. You can make it with whatever fruit is fresh and seasonal. The trick is the fresh chopped mint. It transforms the fruit into something heavenly and refreshing. Thank you to my friend Carol for sharing this secret.

Dutch Baby Apple Pancakes

My confession is that I am not and have never been a breakfast-making person. I will cook dinner until the cows come home, but I have always left my family on their own for breakfast. My kids would always shame me when they came home from a sleep over with stories of pancakes, waffles and bacon, which is something they never saw at our house. I stock the kitchen with homemade yogurt, eggs, fruit, bread and cereal, but have always let everyone fend for themselves for everyday breakfasts. Yes, I did this even when my kids were little. The good news is they all left for college knowing how to fry an egg.

So on the rare occasion that I actually make breakfast, like Christmas and Easter mornings, I usually put on the dog. For these special occasions my family always insists on this delicious Dutch Baby Apple Pancake. It is a big, puffy showstopper that is every bit as delicious as it looks.

Aebleskiver Pancakes with Berries 

My friend Sue introduced me to these Danish stuffed pancakes. A special pan is required, but once you own one you can make all kinds of sweet and savory varieties of these delicious breakfast treats. I have a non-stick pan, but the traditional pan is cast iron. 

Sue's Company Bacon

My friend Sue introduced me to this delicious, easy and unmessy method of making tons of bacon without having to stand over a hot greasy stove. Once I learned this method I have never looked back. For special occasions I add the brown sugar and black pepper; otherwise I just bake it in the oven. This bacon is so good I have been known to serve it as appetizers with cocktails!

Adult Refreshments

If your Easter brunch includes adults you can't go wrong with these two classic brunch cocktails.

The Best Bloody Mary

These are fully loaded Bloody Mary's. I start with a homemade mix that uses Ina Garten's technique of finely blending celery and onion to give the mix some texture, heft and character. Then the fun starts. I season with sriracha sauce, horseradish, celery seeds and Smoked Spanish Paprika.  Garnish includes miniature pickles, caperberries, blue cheese stuffed olives and chorizo slices. This cocktail is literally a meal in itself. 

Ramos Gin Fizz

I had my first Ramos Gin Fizz at the Outrigger Canoe Club on Diamond Head Beach in the 70's. Back then the drinking age in Hawaii was 18. I was working in restaurants at the time and considered it my professional duty to try new cocktails. Somethings never change! The Ramos Fizz was different than anything I had ever tried before, mostly because it includes fiercely whipped raw egg whites. Don't let the raw eggs scare you off; the Ramos Fizz is truly delicious. The history of the Ramos Fizz is fascinating, going back over 100 years to New Orleans. Read my recipe to learn more about this classic American cocktail. 

Happy Easter!