With friends coming out to Aurora for brunch on Saturday, I used that as an excuse to create a new menu and try some new dishes as well as try some old ones in a brunch setting.
First Course
Prosecco cocktails: Bellinis with Jumex peach nectar and Nino Franco rustico and Il Monetto prosecco; mimosas using prosecco; and Monin raspberry syrup and prosecco
Breakfast bruschetta: french bread sliced medium-thin, toasted on both sides and broiled with butter and a light dusting of granulated sugar on one side, topped with marscapone smear, sliced strawberries that had been marinating in the juice of one lemon and two tablespoons of sugar and finally topped with powdered sugar.
Second Course
Pork Saltimbocca: pork cutlets pounded thin, covered in flour, fried in pancetta fat with fresh sage and prosciutto on one side finished with a Villa del Borgo Pinot Grigio wine reduction pan sauce.
Pancetta risotto cakes: risotto combined with rendered pancetta and two eggs, coated with bread crumbs and pan fried.
Pesto frittata: 8 eggs scrambled, two tablespoons fresh pesto (basil, olive oil, grana padano, pine nuts), 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigano reggiano.
Third Course
St. Joseph Day Rice Fritters: risotto cooked in milk combined with sugar, flour, 4 egg yolks, cinnamon, rum, 4 egg whites whipped; deep fried.
It was a great morning/afternoon and not much effort to create a fun, nontraditional brunch menu.
