Savory Egg Pudding!

I bet you're thinking - that doesn't look like a picture Lauren took! Well, you're right. I kinda forgot to take a picture.. so I stole it from the site where I stole the recipe! I got it from Chowhound - if anyone is familiar with that site, it's great! It offers up loads of help from discussion boards to recipes. You can find the recipe here.
For Easter brunch, we were trying to come up with a replacement egg dish instead of our popular egg casserole (which uses bacon).. we needed a vegetarian dish so we decided to try something completely different. Lindsay and I have done souffle's before, but those are work and I didn't want to have to put forth more effort than it was worth. This dish was quick, simple, and very tasty... plus it makes great leftovers the next morning! It's close to a quiche in texture.. but there is no crust involved. simple!

Savory Egg Pudding
serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 medium red potatoes, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 2 1/2 cups) You can also use yukon gold potatoes
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise, rinsed, and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 medium garlic clove, peeled and minced

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with butter and set aside.
2. Combine flour, 1/2 of the half-and-half, eggs, and egg yolk in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add cream and remaining half-and-half, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and whisk to combine; set aside.
3. Combine potatoes, herbs, and zest in a large bowl and toss to coat; set aside. Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, add leeks and garlic, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook until leeks are soft, about 5 to 6 minutes.
4. Mix cooked leeks into potato mixture and season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper. Evenly spread potato mixture in the prepared baking dish and pour egg mixture over potatoes.
5. Bake until custard is puffy, golden, and set, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest at least 20 minutes before serving. Can be served warm, room temperature, or cold.

Serve with coffee cake, bacon, and bloody marys or mimosas!

Submitted by Lauren

The Perfect Bloody Mary Mix

It's a "good thing". Hint - its a Martha Stewart recipe with some minor adjustments. For Easter brunch - what better accompaniment than a refreshing spring cocktail? Sure sure... mimosas are delicious, too - but come on.. those need no recipe. Orange juice and Champagne. But with family in town (one who would probably enjoy a drink at every meal), a boyfriend who loves bloody mary's, and a dad who loves tomato juice... I figured it'd be fun to start a new tradition of a brunch cocktail for the holidays!
I remembered watching an episode last fall of the Martha Stewart Show, where she was coming up with homemade gift ideas - one being a bloody mary mix. I thought - that's a great gift idea! But, at the same time - it's highly perishable. So if I were to make it as gifts, they'd have to get it the day I made it, and then use it within 4 or 5 days. No thanks! So instead, I tucked it away for future use... and it came to me this weekend. I like it because it doesn't come off a grocery store shelf, its made from ingredients you most likely have on hand, and you can adjust the heat level. Thats the big thing for me - I can't handle heat! So here is your recipe...

Bloody Mary Mix
adapted from Martha Stewart
serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 cups tomato juice
• Juice of 2 large lemons
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 heaping tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1 1/2 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press
• 2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
• Celery salt, to taste
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• Unflavored vodka, to taste
• Lemon wedges, for serving
• Celery sticks, for serving and munching

Directions:

1. Place tomato juice in a large container with a tight-fitting lid. Add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, garlic, pepper, and Tabasco; shake vigorously. Taste, and adjust for seasoning; the mixture should be quite spicy.
2. Pour 1 part vodka and 3 parts Bloody Mary mix over ice in a shaker. Shake well. Pour into glasses. Squeeze a wedge of lemon over drink (do not subsequently stir or shake drink), discard used wedge. Garnish with a large stick of celery (reserve extra stalks for munching) and a large lemon wedge. Top with some fresh cracked pepper and celery salt.

So to adjust the heat - of course just adjust the tabasco amounts. The only things I changed from this recipe were the addition of the celery salt, the cracked pepper on top, and NOT squeezing fresh lemon juice on top of the drink... oh and I used maybe 1/4t tabasco - and let Brandon use an additional teaspoon in his glass alone. So really - this is a highly enjoyable drink. I never used to like them due to the heat factor, but always wanted to - and now I can. Thanks, homemade bloody mary mix!

enjoy!

submitted by Lauren!