Thanks to the continued efforts of the U.S. Congress to preserve the nation's candle supply, daylight-saving time is starting three weeks early this year. In addition to causing headaches for everyone addicted to Microsoft Outlook schedules, the great spring forward can also derail Sunday brunch. So while you're setting all the hour hands ahead Saturday night, try throwing together a few time-delay dishes to make the morning that much easier.
“We generally make stuff fresh every morning,” said Gibson Mansion bed-and-breakfast owner Tom Malikie. “But our egg-and-cheese strata has to sit overnight so the batter can soak into the bread. It makes it a little easier for quick prep time. Just pull it out of the fridge and it's done in 45 minutes.”
At least this year, daylight-saving time and Easter are a full month apart. The two dates occasionally coincide, resulting in mayhem on one of the biggest church holidays of the year.
But even if you're not concerned about getting breakfast out on time this Sunday morning, keep that Easter date in mind. Many churches schedule their baptism ceremonies for Easter Sunday. That means some families with infants or young children could be expecting lots of relatives in town, and lots of breakfast to whip up.
Quick breads and casseroles are the most reliable tradeoff between fresh-baked treats and the host's sleep needs. Yeast-leavened breads and buns are wonderful, but really should be left to professionals. It's not that they're hard, but do you really want to add in the extra hour of post-refrigerator rising time to the 30-40 minute baking time in an already busy morning? Leave that to the folks who get out of bed at 3 a.m. for a living.
Biscuits, muffins and coffee cakes, on the other hand, can be quickly made the afternoon before, stashed in the refrigerator, and delivered piping hot on the needed morning. Anyone who's ever played with vinegar and baking soda would be excused for thinking all the fluff would fizz away overnight. But in fact, even acidic buttermilk recipes will rise with the sun.
You may sacrifice some rising power by making the dough the night before. For just a few breakfast guests, there might be
no benefit to prepping muffins
12 hours early. But if you'll need triple or quadruple batches of something for a big brunch or reunion gathering, why not have the goods ready to go?
Overnight Egg Strata
8 slices bread
3/4 pound cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup diced red pepper
6 eggs
3/4 tablespoon dry mustard
3 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
dash cayenne pepper
1 pound sausage
Cube the bread slices, and lay them in the bottom of a greased 9-by-13-inch ovenproof pan. Sprinkle the onions, peppers and cheese evenly over the bread. Mix the eggs, milk, mustard, salt and red pepper and pour over the dry ingredients. Crumble and brown the sausage. Drain and discard the grease, and sprinkle the sausage on top of the egg mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight, allowing the egg mixture to soak into the bread. In the morning, bake covered at
325 degrees for one hour.
This recipe can be modified in several ways. Switch the sausage for shrimp or crab and the dry mustard for curry powder for a seafood twist. Brown the onions in the sausage grease for a richer flavor. Change the sausage to ham and the cheddar to Swiss for a croque monsieur turn.
Serves 8-10
Sleepover Coffee Cake
(from Simply Classic, Junior League of Seattle cookbook)
For the cake:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or almonds, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, melted
Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Mix all cake ingredients together and pour into pan. Mix dry topping ingredients and sprinkle over cake batter. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, melt the butter and drizzle over topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until top is a rich, golden brown. Serve warm.
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