Let’s Have Some Brunch

I specifically waited until Saturday to put this post up because to me, Sunday is the king of brunch days.

Thanks to my dear friend Cath of A Blithe Palate and Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness, I’ve had the chance to review Gale Gand’s Brunch! as part of a cookbook spotlight that they’re co-hosting.

I’m lucky enough to own a copy of Gale’s book Chocolate and Vanilla (read the review I did here), which I love and have used many times.

I’m a big fan of Gale’s, although I’m not as familiar with her as I am with other cookbook authors. But most of the people that I know that are familiar with Gale, seem to enjoy the same things that I like about her books. To begin with, they’re very open. What I mean by that is that from the first page there’s a very clear sense that I can easily try each and every recipe in the book. And brunch, above all things, should be easy and straightforward. That’s why we call it brunch and not a formal dinner!

There’s also a lightness to her recipes that I enjoy. Do not fear. There’s butter aplenty (as there should be in all brunches). What I mean is that the recipes are imbued with a sense of starting your day off in a comforting, happy way … another important ingredient in a successful brunch!

At the end of the day (or should I say the beginning), it’s easy to imagine waking up on a Sunday morning and trying any one of the recipes in this book. As it turns out, I tried three, all of which were wonderful.

Because I’ve never met a buttermilk pancake recipe that I haven’t wanted to try, I tried the Buttermilk Pancakes and they were simple, quick and just delicious (pictured above).

And because I’ve never met a granola recipe that I haven’t wanted to try, I made the Cranberry-Almond Granola (with some macadamia nuts thrown in). Wonderful!

And finally, the Quick Pear Streusel Coffee Cake called to me because I had some pears that were languishing in the fruit basket. Now I should tell you that pears are not high on my list of favoured fruits but this quick and most cake actually made me like them. That’s good enough for me!

If you’re into brunch (and who isn’t), I cannot recommend this book more highly! I’m off to plan tomorrow’s brunch …

Ciao!