Gale Gand's Brunch!

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The daffodils and tulips are blooming, the cherry blossoms are exploding in the Nation's Capital, and spring is in the air. How do you celebrate? Host a brunch. Which chef would you like to get a brunch invitation from? Get a copy of Gale Gand's Brunch! (Clarkson Potter 2009) and that'll be an easy question to answer. Gale's recipes range from simple to sophisticated, but all are perfect for a stress-free meal: If there's one thing I've learned from my decades of being a top pastry chef, it is this: It's not the difficult techniques of special equipment that makes things taste stellar – it's the ingredients and the way they are combined that make food so delicious. Gale starts off with drinks including fun kid-friendly Raspberry Lemonade (p. 29) and adult-friendly Gale's 3-Alarm Bloody Mary with plenty of Tabasco. Next are two chapters crammed with egg recipes and multiple variations –from Omelet 101 (p. 41) to Baked Eggs in Ham Cups (p. 68) flavored with pesto and cherry tomatoes, also on the cover in a photo by Ben Fink. Gale Gand is a pastry chef, so there are plenty of sweet and not-so-sweet pastries in the book as well. There are cute Ginger Scones with Peaches and Cream (p. 106), Pear and Almond Tartlets (p. 120.) and Herbed Mini Popovers (p. 128) and plenty more. But Brunch need not be all eggs and pastry – after all it just Breakfast and Lunch put together. Gale includes plenty of savory salads that would also be perfect for a light lunch or dinner. Wheat Berry Salad (p. 164) and Farro with Tomatoes and Parsley, are just the kind of healthy, grain-packed salads that lighten up a meal. The last section covers Fruits and Condiments from fruit salads to preserves and even a faux Nutella, Chocolate-Hazelnut spread (p. 190). Gale Gand's Brunch! is full of great ideas for Sunday brunch – all you have to do is choose - and invite the guests over to help. Previous articles: AnsweredTV: Gale Gand is the AnsweredChef Gale Gand's Short + Sweet Gale Gand on Mr. Easy-bake Oven [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, cookbook reviews, Gale Gand --> back to Cookbook Reviews --> back to Super Chef