Sunday Brunch Ideas

Well it is Sunday already.  I have a couple of ideas for a Sunday brunch for you and yours.

Sausage-Stuffed Corn Muffins

1 pounds pork breakfast or sage sausage

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup milk

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425°F.  Roll your sausage into 12 evenly sized balls (You could also use link sausage and just cut into 1 inch pieces). Preheat a skillet over medium heat and cook sausage balls until no longer pink in the center, about 8 minutes. Remove from the pan and reserve.

Grease a 12 muffin tin with butter. In a large bowl combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk together vegetable oil, egg and milk then pour over dry ingredients and mix until there are no longer any lumps, adding optional parsley if desired.  You can simplify by using a corn muffin mix if you like.  Just follow the directions on the package.

Divide half the batter between muffins tins, place a piece of sausage on top then cover with remaining batter. Place in the oven and bake until muffins are puffed and beginning to brown (about 18 minutes). Serve warm.

Watermelon Salad

¼  cup sugar

¼ cup water

Mint leaves and chopped mint

Zest and Juice of lemon

Pinch of Kosher salt

2 cups blueberries

3 cups cubed watermelon

Make a simple syrup by bringing water and sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan.  Remove from heat, add mint sprigs and steep for 10 minutes for a mint syrup.  Let the syrup cool.

Place watermelon and blueberries in a bowl. Discard the mint from the simple syrup.  Add the lemon zest, juice and salt.  Stir to combine.

Pour over fruit, toss gently.  Let stand 15 minutes.  Top with chopped mint.

Variation – you can switch out the blueberries for blackberries or what ever fruit you would like. I like the contrast in color with the blackberries or blueberries or you can add more than two fresh fruits.  I have tiny cookie cutters that I like to use to shape the melon to make an even more beautiful presentation.  I just slice the watermelon about 1/2 thick and then cut flower shapes with the cookie cutter.  I like to do this for Christmas brunch with 3 kinds of melon and 3 Christmas cookie cutters.   

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday.  Be happy and may God bless you and yours.