Southern Spoonful: A Southern Belle Brunch

The story below is from our March/April 2020 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!

Welcome friends and family to celebrate the arrival of spring with a leisurely brunch.

As a southern cook, born and bred, I believe that kitchens make the best family rooms, anything is better when it sits on a biscuit, and coffee should always be served with cake. It is in this spirit that I present to you some of my favorite brunch recipes. 

Brunch is the perfect blending of breakfast and lunch. As spring approaches and days get longer, we southerners can stretch this meal to an all-day event. So dress up your table with Grandma’s prettiest china and some delicate daffodils plucked from the garden, and delight your guests with these southern brunch treats:

Mini Sweet Potato Biscuits with Kentucky Legend Ham

Mini Sweet Potato Biscuits

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart’s sweet potato biscuit recipe. Yield: 24 biscuits. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 1¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for tops of biscuits
• 1 large sweet potato, roasted, peeled and mashed (about ¾ cup)
• ¹/_³ cup buttermilk 

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.  

In a separate small bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk. Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and mix to make a soft dough (do not overmix). 

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth (add more flour as needed so that the dough does not stick to the board). Roll the dough out to 1-inch thick and cut with a 2⅛-inch biscuit cutter. 

Place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet and coat tops with melted butter. Bake for 15-20 minutes. (Turn the baking sheet one rotation in the oven after baking 10 minutes.)

Kentucky Legend Ham Biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 1 pound sliced Kentucky Legend Ham (available at Kroger)
• 1¹/_³ cups grainy mustard
• 1¹/_³ cups light brown sugar

Place mustard and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Place slices of ham in a baking pan and slather with half of the mustard mixture. Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the ham is warm. Remove from oven and cut slices into pieces that will fit on biscuits. 

Split the biscuits and using the remaining mustard mixture, spread it on the top half of each biscuit. Place ham on bottom side of biscuits. Place tops on biscuits and place on serving plate.

Mimosa Asparagus

Yield: 4 servings. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 1¼ pound fresh thin asparagus spears

For breadcrumbs:

• 1 cup breadcrumbs (day-old bread makes the best bread crumbs)
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

For champagne vinaigrette:

• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• ½ teaspoon Zen Fire Roasted Poblano Pepper Sauce (available at Mr. Bill’s Wine Cellar or Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op)
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Good grind freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest for garnish

Trim asparagus and steam it until just tender (do not overcook; spears should be slightly firm to the touch). Drain asparagus and place ice cubes in the pan to stop the cooking process. Once the asparagus has cooled, remove any ice cubes, drain asparagus, cover and refrigerate.

Put the breadcrumbs on a sheet pan. Toast breadcrumbs in 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Toss Parmesan cheese with the cooled breadcrumbs. 

Make the vinaigrette. Place orange juice, olive oil, shallot, pepper sauce, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine all ingredients.

Remove asparagus from refrigerator and place in a serving dish. Pour the vinaigrette over the asparagus. Toss to cover the asparagus with vinaigrette. Cover and place in refrigerator until service. When ready to serve, sprinkle the parmesan breadcrumbs over the asparagus. Garnish with orange zest.

Mary Ellen’s Blueberry Coffee Cake and Becky’s Blueberry Butter

This delicious coffee cake recipe was given to me by my sweet friend Mary Ellen Stokes who also happens to be a fabulous southern cook.  Makes one tube cake or two loaf pan cakes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks at room temperature)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 1 cup pecans, hand-chopped
• ¹/_³ cup white sugar
• ¹/_³ cup brown sugar
• 1½ to 2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon

Blueberry Mix

• 1 generous cup blueberries
• Sugar and flour to coat berries

Place blueberries in a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and flour. Toss to coat blueberries. 

Cream butter, sugars and sour cream. Add eggs and whip until mixture is light and fluffy. Add flavorings and mix. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat approximately 1 minute.

Layering for a tube cake pan: Oil pan with either butter or PAM. Spread approximately ¼ of nut mixture. Add blueberries. Spread with remainder of batter. Top with remainder of nut mix. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Do not remove from oven any sooner. 

Layering for two loaf pans:  Because this makes a large cake, I usually make two smaller loaf cakes. It’s always nice to have one on hand. Follow the same process, except dividing batter/nut mix/blueberries between the two loaf pans. The first time you try this it might be a bit of a learning curve. Second time will be a piece of cake…figuratively and literally!

Becky’s Blueberry Butter

• 8 ounces butter, softened
• 4 tablespoons blueberry jam

Place butter in bowl of electric mixer. Add blueberry jam and mix until all ingredients are combined. Cover and chill until service. 

Raspberry Mimosas

Place a fresh raspberry in each compartment of an ice cube tray. Cover the raspberries with Mionetto Prosecco (available at Target). Freeze ice cubes. 

To make each cocktail: Fill a champagne flute with prosecco ice cubes. Pour prosecco over the ice cubes to fill the flute about ¼ full and top with Orangina (available at Fresh Market). 

Garnish with fresh raspberries on a cocktail pick and a sprig of fresh mint. As the prosecco ice cubes melt, they will not water down your mimosa! 

… for more from our March/April 2020 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!