Ask A Chef: Breakfast Recipes For Mother's Day

On Sunday, May 11, we celebrate moms with a day dedicated just to them. Here, Philadelphia chefs offer a few recipes that are sure to make your Mother's Day brunch extra special. For even more inspiration, take a look at last year's roundup of brunch recipes.

Chef Al Paris
8229 Germantown Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19118
(215) 242-6200
www.parisbistro.net

With over 30 years of restaurant experience, Chef Al Paris is an expert when it comes to food preparation, food and drink pairing, restaurant supervision, finance and design. His most recent undertaking is Paris Bistro & Jazz Café, a classic bistro-style French eatery and jazz club in charming Chestnut Hill. The quiche Lorraine is a favorite dish available on the weekend brunch menu, but you can make it for your family at home with this recipe. Made with creamy Gruyere, sweet onions and salty ham, it's the perfect flavor combination. It pairs well with a simple frisee salad prepared with 1 head of frisee, 1 Tablespoon of grain mustard, 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of one lemon. The quiche and salad will serve 8-12 people depending on how hungry your guests are.

Quiche Lorraine

Dough Ingredients:

• 3-1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound diced unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons cold water

Directions:

1. Add salt to flour.
2. Incorporate the butter into the flour until it is coarse and pebble-like.
3. Add eggs and water and mix by hand until a smooth dough forms.
4. Cover and let rest in a cool place for 1 hour.
5. Press dough into a 10" spring form pan.

Filling Ingredients:

• 3 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
• 2 pounds baked chopped fresh French ham
• 2 sliced sweet onions, sautéed in butter
• 1 Tablespoon chopped chives

Batter:

• 12 eggs
• 3-1/2 cups cream
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine filling ingredients and pour over the cooled dough in the pan.
2. Mix batter ingredients and pour over the filling.
3. Bake at 310 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-50 minutes, until set.

Related: Top Breakfast Specials In Philadelphia

Chef Kevin Sbraga
The Fat Ham
3131 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 735-1914
www.sbragadining.com/fatham

Previously the executive chef at Rat's Restaurant at Grounds for Sculpture, Chef Kevin Sbraga's big break came after winning the seventh season of Bravo's popular "Top Chef." He then went on to open his namesake restaurant Sbraga on the Avenue of the Arts in 2011, and most recently debuted The Fat Ham in December of 2013. This University City spot is inspired by Southern-style cuisine with flavorful small plates that encourage sharing of multiple dishes. Chef Sbraga's recipes for endive salad and farm egg with pork belly each make four servings.

Endive Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 heads of endive
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1 ounce lemon juice
• 1 ounce orange juice
• 4 baby beets
• 2 ounces olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons roasted walnuts, crushed
• 1 Tablespoon chives
• 1 ounce mache
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Roast baby beets at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until fork tender (about 15 minutes). Allow to slightly cool, then peel.
2. Combine lemon juice, orange juice, olive oil, chives and salt. Drizzle over chopped endive.
3. Garnish salad with baby beets, goat cheese and walnuts.
4. Finish with sprigs of mache on top.

Farm Egg and Pork Belly Ingredients:

• 4 large Idaho potatoes, diced
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 4 eggs
• 1 ounce maple syrup
• 8 ounces pork belly or slab bacon
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Saute potatoes in butter until golden brown.
2. Add diced onions and peppers to the potatoes and cook until tender.
3. Heat water to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and poach eggs for 4 minutes, or until the white is cooked but yolk is still soft.
4. Crisp the pork belly or bacon until it is caramelized on each side. Use the maple sryup to deglaze the pan and create a maple glaze.
5. Divide the potatoes with peppers and onions between four plates. Place a poached egg on top. Add pork belly or bacon with a maple syrup glaze drizzle. Chervil, parsley or chives can be used as garnish.

Chef Todd Lean
Pod Restaurant
3636 Sansom St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 387-1803
www.podrestaurant.com

Chef Todd Lean got his start in the restaurant business working as a teenager at Forager Restaurant & Bar in New Hope. After graduating from the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, he went into catering before joining the STARR family as the executive sous chef at Pod in 2008. In 2013, Chef Lean took over the position of executive chef at the ultra-modern Asian restaurant from Stephen Starr. This baked brioche French toast with candied walnut and maple syrup is a favorite breakfast item of Chef Todd Lean's and is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.

Baked Brioche French Toast 

Candied Walnuts Ingredients:

• 1 pound walnut halves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 cups water (plus a pot for boiling nuts)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Boil a pot of water.
2. Add nuts and simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Add the baking soda a tiny bit at a time, mixing thoroughly.
4. Remove pot from heat and drain nuts in a colander.
5. Create a simple syrup by mixing 4 cups water, sugar and corn syrup. Simmer until of of the ingredients have dissolved.
6. Add blanched nuts to the simple syrup and gently simmer for 4 hours.
7. Drain the candied walnuts using a colander and spread on a cookie sheet to cool.
8. Fry the walnuts in the oven at 275 degrees Fahrenheit until crisp.
9. Drain any oil from frying and cool on parchment paper.

French Toast Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1-1/2 cups half & half
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean
• Brioche loaf, sliced
• 1 pint raspberries
• 2 cups mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup candied walnuts
• 1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish using butter.
3. Add eggs, milk, half & half, vanilla extract and vanilla bean to a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
4. Place a layer of brioche slices at the bottom of the baking dish.
5. Spread a thin layer of mascarpone cheese topped with fruit over the bread.
6. Continue to layer bread, cheese and fruit until you have four layers. End with bread on top.
7. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the bread layers.
8. Top with candied walnuts.
9. Bake for 40 minutes uncovered.
10. Cool for 5 minutes and then finish with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Chef Nunzio Patruno
Nunzio Ristorante Rustico
706 Haddon Ave.
Collingswood, NJ 08108
(856) 858-9840
www.nunzios.net

Chef Nunzio Patruno's culinary education started on the family's farm in the heart of Italy's agricultural region, Puglia. He went on to earn his degree as a culinary chef, and from there, traveled to Monte Carlo where he became known for his French Provence-Italian fusion cuisine. In the 1980s, he came to the United States, eventually opening five restaurants in the Philadelphia area. More than 20 years later, he has returned to his roots with Nunzio's Ristorante Rustico, a BYOB offering authentic regional Italian dishes made with the freshest ingredients possible. Chef Nunzio recommends this frittata recipe because it celebrates the spring season with ingredients such as dandelion and mustard greens. Per his suggestion, you should make brunch extra special by serving with Prosecco sparkling wine. This frittata will serve six people.

Frittata di Verdure

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of your choice of greens (kale, dandelion, spinach, mustard greens, escarole, broccoli rabe or a mixture)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup pecorino cheese
• Pinch of parsley
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Boil your choice of greens. Drain water and sauté greens with onions and garlic. Set cooked greens aside.
3. Combine the eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
4. Pour the egg mixture over the sautéed greens, mixing well.
5. Spread the whole mixture in a baking pan or chafing dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Related: Top Restaurants With Handmade Pasta In Philadelphia

Michelle Hein is the social media editor for a women's fashion company in Bucks County by day and a self-proclaimed food and drink fanatic by night and weekend. She enjoys attending wine classes, trying new recipes in the kitchen and going to old favorites and new restaurants alike in the Bucks County and Philadelphia area. If the writing gig doesn't pan out, she constantly dreams of owning her own bakery…perhaps connected to the restaurant/bar that her lawyer fiance would love to open.
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