The weather finally has the feel of autumn, cold nights and chilly mornings. Now that everyone is into their fall routine, this is a great time for me to have some former colleagues over for brunch.
 
I had eight guests, including myself, so I planned on preparing brunch with the hopes of having everything done ahead of their arrival. With everyone trying to eat healthy, I tried to balance the rich breakfast items with some alternatives. My menu consisted of Grand Fruit Salad, Individual Zucchini Frittatas with Pecorino and Chives, Orange-Vanilla French Toast Casserole with Bourbon-Maple Syrup, Crustless Broccoli Cheese Quiche, Cranberry-Orange Scones, English Muffin Toasting Bread, Bacon and Maple-Brown Sugar Breakfast Sausage. With careful planning, everything was done prior to my guests’ arrival and was kept warm in the oven and my gas grill that I utilized as a warming oven.

My husband was away for a few days last week attending homecoming at his college. Prior to his departure, I made a few meals which resulted in leftovers for my dinner in his absence. In one of the last CSA boxes, my daughter and I split a head of Napa cabbage that I turned into Unstuffed Cabbage. For another meal, I was in the mood for Tarragon Turkey Hash Meatloaf. This meat loaf contains ground turkey and a variety of vegetables such as potatoes, green peas, an onion, red pepper and seasonings. The only thing I needed to add to make this an easy meal was a green salad. These recipes were easy to prepare and made for a tasty dinner and even cold meat loaf sandwiches, which my husband loves.

​Have you ever purchased ingredients for a recipe then find you have a small amount leftover? Such was the case with buttermilk and a small container of whole milk ricotta I purchased. My daughter, who loves Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, turned down my offer to make some for her. Undeterred, I decided to treat myself to a special breakfast. Although I previously made a Williams-Sonoma recipe, I found one by Genevieve Ko on The New York Times/NYT Cooking website that didn’t require whipping egg whites. For Ms. Ko’s recipe you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, fine salt, granulated sugar, a lemon, vanilla extract, eggs, whole milk ricotta, buttermilk and unsalted butter.
 
To make the pancakes, the flour, baking powder and salt are whisked together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, the sugar and the zest of one lemon are added. To infuse the lemon flavor into the pancakes, you’ll use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar. Next, the vanilla is whisked in, followed by the eggs that you’ll whisk until foamy on top. To that you’ll add the ricotta, butter and melted butter and whisk until blended. Finally, the dry ingredients are incorporated and mixed until the flour is fully moistened. Using a 1/4-cup, scoop batter and place on a well-butter griddle. Cook until both sides are golden brown. 

I recently saw an acquaintance and she asked if I was still doing my blog as she hadn’t seen any recent posts on Instagram. I explained that I wasn’t posting until I had the recipe accessible on my webpage. I’m not sure if that’s the way to go, therefore, please weigh in this. Do you prefer to see my posts on Instagram with or without a link to the recipe?
 
I really must get this post done as two of the recipes use cherry tomatoes. Summer tomatoes are slowly going away, however, this recent spate of warm days is probably keeping the tomato plants going. The first recipe involving tomatoes was Dijon Chicken with Tomatoes and Scallions by Yasmin Fahr and the second Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts by Christian Reynoso both recipes were on The New York Times/NYT Cooking website.