An ingrained Midwestern privilege and ultimate brunch benefit is the ability to head out in the remnants of last night’s disaster for a nourishing mid-day meal. But when day turns to night, do you really want to put in the effort to “get it to together” for dinner? Of course not. So, instead of kicking your leftovers to the curb, Big Jones’Executive Chef Paul Fehribachoffers some Southern hospitality on how to salvage scraps:
“Here’s a Southern classic you can make with leftover grits. Almost any other savory leftover from brunch could be added as flavoring, such as chopped up sausage, shrimp, green tomatoes, even chopped up leftover omelets or hash browns. The key is to not use more than 1 cup of add-ins because the spoon bread will become too heavy to poof up well. The more finely chopped the add-ins are, the better the result.
More flavorful add-ins such as bacon or sausage should definitely be used more sparingly. A couple leftover strips of bacon or a sausage patty would be about perfect.”
Fehribach’s recipe for Spoon Bread with Grits after jump.
Having been bed-ridden on-and-off for the past month, unfortunately, brunch this weekend will be a labor of love. I say “unfortunately” because it’s FIVE DEGREES OUTSIDE and now we call all look forward to CTA shut downs. Can’t even have a stiff drink to warm the blood either, thanks to the buzzkill of antibiotics. So, yes, I would like to have some cheese with that whine. You win this time, Chicago.
A bloody shame I can’t drink this! (Photo: Carly Fisher)
Here are some suggestions on where to have brunch this weekend, including where to find me sober, throwing my crayons and sipping on a few Shirley Temples!
P.S. – The Restaurant Directory has been had so many additions and changes, it will blow. your. mind. (or at least find you a new brunch spot).
Yeah, I copped out and didn’t update for a week. What, even? Maybe if everyone would stay home when they’re sick instead of coughing on my face on the El, I wouldn’t have relapsed and suffered in bed for the past 10 days. Totally not resentful at all.
Anyway, today’s user-submitted content comes from a very special guest. Susan Lee-Chun is a performance artist living in Miami Beach, Florida, and also the woman responsible for fostering my growth as an artist and socially awkward teenager. Thank you for letting me take weird photographs of Jesus motifs on refrigerators and suicidal ketchup, for I would not be half the woman I am today. Susan shares an intimate moment of breakfast over a bowl of Frosted Flakes.
I have an upper respiratory infection of some sort, so no mid-week food porn because I don’t want to look at Photoshop or mess around with the annoying intricacies of blog formatting. Doesn’t mean I don’t love you, just means I hope I’m not dying.
Editor’s note:Every now and then, Chicago Brunch Blog is lucky enough to receive content from friends and fans. Former Chicago residents, Eric Wilson and Julie Zielinski, run an adorable sustainable food blog called D.I. Wine and Dine from their love nest in Boulder, Colorado. Fellow brunch lovers motivated by friendship and mild arm twisting, they have been kind enough to contribute this delicious Czech recipe. Enjoy!
Growing up, I thought dumplings and eggs, made with Czech bread dumplings, was just something my family made up. Then I found out that it’s actually an authentic Czech recipe: houskove knedlicky s vejci, literally “bread dumplings with egg.” In true Bohemian fashion, you use old bread dumplings, which themselves are a way to use stale bread. In Chicago you can buy frozen bread dumplings at the grocery store, but if you want to try making them, here’s my great-grandma’s recipe:
Got the time, but don’t have the dime? Salvaging brunch scraps keeps you warm, full, happy — and cheap. Don’t act like you’re not. Though Mado dropped brunch not too long ago in order to teach butchering and charcuterie classes on Sundays, Rob Leavitt was kind enough to offer some great advice for how to rework brunch leftovers without reheating another sad, soggy pancake:
“The first thing that comes to mind is a cornmeal pancake batter that we made a while back. Not too sweet, and with chunks of grilled local sweet corn. At brunch we served it with local blueberries from Seedling, but we had a bunch of batter left over, so we used it to make little corn fritters on our dinner menu. We fried them up in pork fat and garnished them with roasted poblano chiles and house-made creme fraiche.
In Italy, it is fairly common to make panini with slices of frittata. So, a warm sandwich with leftover omelet, a little melted cheese and some arugula would be a lovely lunch.”
Instead of telling you where to brunch this weekend, I’m leaving the choice up to you! Must I always be so selfless and cater to your demands? And if you think that this is just some half-assed attempt to get out of work because I drank too much last night, well, you would be right. What, even?
Quick, someone head with me to the Hammond Horseshoe because I totally called this number: small plates!
David Burke’s Primehouse is launching a brand new brunch menu on January 24th and judging from the low down from Executive Chef Rick Gresh, it is probably going to be really awesome. Gresh is trading dim sum for bento boxes, including The Hangover Bento Box complete with sunglasses and aspirin. How kawaii! Be on the lookout for smaller plates and small pitchers to share with friends or eat alone awkwardly. The menu is still coming along, but check back for the exclusive as it rolls in.
An ingrained Midwestern privilege and ultimate brunch benefit is the ability to head out in the remnants of last night’s disaster for a nourishing mid-day meal. But when day turns to night, do you really want to put in the effort to “get it to together” for dinner? Of course not. So, instead of kicking your leftovers to the curb, Big Jones’ Executive Chef Paul Fehribach offers some Southern hospitality on how to salvage scraps:
A bloody shame I can’t drink this! (Photo: Carly Fisher)
Malted waffles with huckleberries from The Bristol (Photo: Carly Fisher)
Got the time, but don’t have the dime? Salvaging brunch scraps keeps you warm, full, happy — and cheap. Don’t act like you’re not. Though 
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Quick, someone head with me to the Hammond Horseshoe because I totally called this number: small plates!
