Spicy Chorizo Shakshuka

Ahh shakshuka! An amazing Middle Eastern breakfast dish that is as fun to say as it is delicious to eat.

At its most basic, shakshuka is a dish of eggs baked in a savory tomato and pepper sauce spiced with paprika and cumin. But honestly, that's just the beginning. Add in sauteed veggies, cheese, or meat (or all the above) or have a little fun with the spices. It's a simple and cozy dish that works well for both breakfast and easy dinners. It's wonderful if you're feeding a crowd because the sauce can be made well in advance with just the eggs and final baking done right before serving.

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A Simply Orange Brunch Party (Orange Muffins + Orange Rose Mimosas)

Though we do have little pockets of green here and there, New York City has never really been known for its nature. This is especially true during the colder months when hibernation is basically the only sane option, and a proper dose of sunshine requires a seat on a plane headed due south.

I admittedly love any excuse to get out of town, but unfortunately, that isn't always possible.

The next best way to cure a case of urban cabin fever? Finding a way to bring a bit of nature home through the things we eat and drink!

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Orange Rose Mimosas Recipe

A dash of rose water and fresh lemon juice adds an elegant and floral twist to a classic mimosa. Enjoy this easy recipe at your next brunch party or event.

This is perfect with my Orange Sunshine Muffins, or click here for more citrus-themed brunch recipe inspiration!

This recipe was created in sponsored collaboration with Simply Orange. Thank you for supporting amazing companies like Simply that make it possible for me to keep bringing you great new recipes!

Orange Rose Mimosas
Makes 2 mimosas, multiply as necessary

Ingredients
4 ounces chilled Simply Orange juice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon rose water
Chilled dry prosecco, cava, or champagne.

Directions
Combine the orange juice, lemon juice, and rose water in a mixer and stir well. Divide into two champagne flutes or wine glasses. Top with sparkling wine until it doubles in volume or reaches the top of the glass. Serve immediately.

Tip: if making these for a crowd, mix up a the juices and rose water first and chill, then pour into individual glasses and top with bubbly as necessary. Keep everything very cold and only open the sparkling wine or champagne right before serving.

 

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Orange Sunshine Muffins Recipe

These easy orange juice muffins are made with nearly two full cups of orange juice, and are ready in less than 30 minutes. You'll love the bright orange flavor and crunchy sugar topping.

Pair these with my rose-scented mimosas, or click over for more fun citrus-themed brunch recipes.

This recipe was created in sponsored collaboration with Simply Orange. Thank you for supporting amazing companies like Simply that make it possible for me to keep bringing you great new recipes!

Orange Sunshine Muffins
Makes 2 dozen regular muffins or 12 giant muffins

Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cups Simply Orange juice (I used Simply Orange Pulp Free)
3 tablespoons fresh orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons Turbinado sugar for topping (optional)

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line two 12-cup muffin tins (or two giant 6-cup muffin tins). Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Pour in the melted butter, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla, and stir just until evenly combined.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar on top, if using.

Bake 15-20 minutes (or 20-25 minutes for giant muffins), or until slightly golden on top. A cake tester should come up clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.

Let cool in pan 5 minutes, before transferring to wire rack.

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Grape Juice-Glazed Breakfast Sausages

Breakfast sausages already have a ton of amazing flavor, but if you're entertaining guests for a brunch party or have family staying with you for the holidays, this is a simple way to turn simple cooked sausages into an elegant side dish.

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Simple Baguette French Toast

I love a good baguette.

Last summer I got into a really bad habit of buying a baguette several times a week because there happened to be an awesome bakery located right next to the pottery studio where I was taking classes.

(And yes. I DO realize this sentence makes me sound like a movie starring Diane Keaton.)

While my favorite way to eat baguettes is really just ripped right off with my hand, perhaps with a bit of soft butter and salt, I do also love when a day-old baguette can be turned into something lovely.

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Orange Blossom Mimosas

How do you feel about mimosas? I confess that while I love the idea of them (boozy brunches! day drinking!), in reality, I'm rarely a fan.

I usually find that they're WAY too sweet, never served cold enough, and made with the cheapest possible sparkling wine, making for inevitable headaches later on in the afternoon.

I generally avoid them, but a few weeks ago, I was introduced to a spectacular twist on the classic mimosa that totally changed my mind forever about them.

If you have felt the same in the past, you'll probably love these Orange Blossom Mimosas just as much as I do! Made with fresh orange and lemon juice, and a few drops of orange blossom water, they're a light and sophisticated take on a regular ol' mimosa.

We were served something similar at a fancy jazz brunch I went to with friends a few weeks ago, and loved the tart, slightly floral flavor. You want to pour heavy on the bubbles, so that the orange is really the accent--not the main event.

Give these a try at your next brunch (or whatever!) party, and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

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Loved this recipe? Here are a few other brunch recipes you might like:

• Tortilla Española Bites with Chorizo
• Potato Chip Scrambled Eggs
• Watermelon Tomato & Burrata Salad 

And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading!


 

Orange Blossom Mimosas
Makes 1 mimosa, multiply as necessary

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces chilled fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water
Chilled dry champagne

Directions
Combine the orange juice, lemon juice, and orange blossom water at the bottom of a champagne flute. Top with champagne until it reaches nearly the top of the glass. Serve immediately.

Tip: if making these for a crowd, mix up a the juices and orange blossom water first and chill, then pour into individual glasses and top with champagne as necessary. Keep everything very cold and only open the champagne right before serving.

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A Fruity Winter Brunch

Over the past few years, I've found that January and February have become two of my favorite months for entertaining. The buzz and expectations of the holidays have died down, and created the perfect opportunity for relaxed and cozy gatherings with friends.

No need to worry about things like gifts or decorations or even elaborate recipes; it's now just about simple, good things to eat in the company of your loved ones. What could be better than that?!

It's also a great opportunity to reinforce new friendships or connections made during the holidays.

Did you, for example, meet a cool couple at a dinner party? Or chat with a colleague from a different department at the office holiday luncheon?

Why not reach out now and invite them over for a casual brunch at home? In the spirit of the New Year, it's the perfect time to create new experiences and relationships. It could mean the difference between creating an awesome new friend, or just fading off and never talking again.

(I KNOW you know what I mean!)

I was recently inspired to do just that, thanks to the help of Simply Beverages.

I've long been a fan of their lemonade and orange juice, so when they asked me to collaborate with them on a sponsored post featuring their new line of refreshing, all natural fruit juice drinks in three flavors (Mixed Berry, Tropical, and Fruit Punch), I jumped at the chance! I knew it would be the perfect start for a fun winter brunch party menu to share with all of you.

Since January is the time of year when many folks like to swear off alcohol or make other healthier choices, I used the juice drinks to create three beautiful and refreshing "mocktails," just by adding some fun and simple garnishes.

No need to be a fancy mixologist!

Made with real fruit juice, these drinks already taste fantastic on their own, which means all you need to do is pour them into a pretty glass, add a few simple touches, and you have something that looks gorgeous and elegant, with barely any additional effort!

Using the juice drinks as inspiration, I created an easy party menu celebrating bright, fruity flavors. Along with the beverages, I created a simple brunch spread featuring mini bite-sized quiches, fresh citrus and berries, croissants, and warm crusty cranberry walnut bread served with soft cheeses.

For dessert, I served a plate of pretty raspberry cupcakes garnished with sparkly sugar and fresh mint!

Instead of fancy decorations or flowers, I decorated the table with some simple succulent plants in small pots. Super easy, pretty, and the perfect wintery touch (don't they look almost like tiny pine trees?!) After the party, you can send each of your guests home with one of these, or keep them to decorate your home (they last forever and are SO easy to care for).

Simple, colorful, and the perfect backdrop to an afternoon of chatting and snacking with friends both old and new!

Below are tips on how I dressed up my beverages. Just because there isn't any alcohol, doesn't mean you should skimp on the special touches! A simple, delicious juice + some fresh garnishes = a perfect beverage to serve party guests.

1. Mixed Berry Sippers

I added freshly washed raspberries and blueberries to tall flute glasses, then topped it off with chilled Simply Mixed Berry Juice Drink.

A simple garnish of fresh mint finished it off!

Note that you can prepare these in advance, or leave out bowls of fresh berries and mint so that your guests can personalize their own beverages.

2. Tropical Sparklers

The sweet Simply Tropical has delicious fruity hints of mango and pineapple that worked beautifully with some fresh lemon juice.

I served them in sparkly sugar-rimmed coupe glasses that I made by rubbing the edges with a bit of honey, then dipping into a shallow bowl of sugar.

A squeeze of fresh lemon juice and bit of lemon rind garnish completed the drink. If you'd like it fizzy, you can also add a bit of soda water right at the end!

3. Fresh Cherry Fruit Punch

Simply Fruit Punch is definitely my favorite of the three new flavors!

Made with all natural ingredients and real sugar, it tastes like a fresher, more sophisticated version of the kind we drank as kids.

To highlight the cherry flavors in the punch, I added fresh cherries and thin lime slices to my glass.

I also used giant ice cubes (made with a special silicon mold) to keep the drinks ice cold without watering them down. It adds an easy, but unexpectedly elegant touch that your guests will love.

I hope these ideas inspire you to do the same at home! To learn more about these new juice drinks or to get more serving ideas, visit the Simply Orange page on Facebook. And let me know in the comments...which of these flavors would you like to try first?


This is a sponsored post on behalf of Simply Beverages, however, my opinions, recipes, and ideas are totally my own. I only work with companies that I genuinely use and love. Thanks to them--and you!--for making all this possible.

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Chorizo, Manchego & Asparagus Frittata

A few years ago, I went to a work event where I won a pan as a prize in a raffle.

While I was a bit bored with the prize at the time, the pan--a shallow 12" round nonstick skillet--has since become one of my favorites for making baked omelets and frittatas.

The only problem was that I never owned a round platter large enough to serve said frittatas, so plating was always a bit of a challenge. I'd usually go with a large rectangular one, and just let the sides of the circle hang off the edge--a clumsy solution at best.

But a few weeks ago, I found the perfect plate in the sale shelf at Crate & Barrel! It's huge, round, and perfectly flat, which is ideal for serving frittatas family style on the dining table. Add a bowl of salad on the side and dinner or lunch is served.

Now my problem is storage. After doing the dishes yesterday, Eugene came out with the platter and asked me where it goes.

"Um...I haven't figured that out, yet," I explained.

Because my perfect big platter is too big to fit in any of the cabinets or shelves where I keep my other ceramics, but too delicate to slide in vertically in the slot where I keep my larger wood platters and sheet pans. I've actually just been leaving it out on the dining table where it inevitably gets topped with a pile of mail and keys and magazines.

I suppose now I'll have to buy a big cabinet to put it in, but then that would mean I'd have to find a bigger apartment to fit the cabinet.

It's really a neverending cycle...

Now this frittata that you see here is anything but imperfect.

The combination of salty, spicy chorizo and manchego is already a classic, but diced asparagus adds a fresh, seasonal touch to the dish. I really like to pile in the fillings and only use enough egg to hold it all together.

Served with a salad or other simple side, an omelet this size will feed about four. Eugene and I usually have half for dinner and then the leftovers become an easy breakfast or on-the-go lunch.

Oh and if you're entertaining guests, you can also cut this into small cubes and serve cold as an appetizer, perhaps with a dot of aioli or pesto on top.

I do this a lot and it's always quick to go, regardless of the hour of day.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!     

Chorizo, Manchego & Asparagus Frittata  
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound Spanish chorizo, diced (use the kind that is smoked and fully cooked, not fresh sausage)
1 bunch asparagus, rough ends trimmed, diced
8 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons smoked spanish paprika
1/2 cup shredded manchego cheese, plus a bit more for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large 10-12" nonstick skillet over medium heat, add chorizo and oil, and cook 3 minutes just until some of the fat is rendered and chorizo is a bit crispy. Add the asparagus and saute 2 minutes then spread out evenly in the pan.

Whisk the eggs, salt, paprika, and cheese together, and pour evenly over the asparagus and chorizo.

Place in oven and bake 10-15 minutes until cooked through and slightly puffed. Flip out onto a serving plate and sprinkle with a bit more cheese before serving.

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A Cozy Winter Brunch at Home

This past weekend, I invited a few of my favorite people over for a cozy winter brunch at home.

It was cold, but sunny, and felt like the perfect day to spend a few hours sipping coffee and feasting on a bevy of sweet and savory dishes. 

I've been collaborating with Starbucks this month to share how their Starbucks K-Cup packs make entertaining guests easier, so it was also the perfect opportunity to share the new Starbucks® Vanilla K-Cup® Packs and Starbucks® Caramel K-Cup® Packs with my friends.

I seriously love that I can just let my guests pick their favorite flavor, pop them into the Keurig Special Edition Brewing System, and in just a few seconds, am able to serve them a perfect steaming mug of Starbucks coffee--without even leaving my own kitchen!

As my friends arrived on Sunday, I told them to toss their coats on the bed, and let them pick their favorite flavor.

Once they had their coffee in hand, I sent them into the living room where I'd set out a pretty tray of cream, milk, and sugar so that they could prepare their coffee, just how they like it.

Decorations

When it comes to brunch, I like to keep decorations light and simple. Flowers are one of my favorite touches (they're perfect for brunch) and so easy and inexpensive.

We'd actually just celebrated our wedding anniversary a couple days before the brunch, and Eugene had given me a beautiful bouquet of roses that I decided to use for the party.

I also ordered a dozen Gerbera daisies from the grocer, and then broke both bouquets down to make my own simple floral arrangements.

Even the baby's breath found a home, tucked into tiny milk bottles and placed around the apartment. (I still have one of these sitting in my bathroom, and I absolutely love it!)

Nothing like fresh flowers in unexpected corners.

Set the Mood

I think one of the best aromas is the smell of brewing coffee, and I wanted to enhance the great scents coming out of the kitchen by creating my own DIY Coffee Potpourri.

To make, simply fill a small decorative container with coffee beans (choose your favorite flavor--they all have different scents!) and nestle in a small votive.

The warmth from the candle will spread the scent of coffee throughout your home, giving it that cozy, coffee shop feel.

The Menu

The beauty of brunch is that sweet and savory dishes are equally acceptable, so it gives you a lot of flexibility to play around with the menu and serve some of your favorite dishes.

To start, I set out a cheese plate featuring three great cheese (Cotswold, Humboldt Fog, and Coupole), with some accompaniments--sweet red grapes, dried apricots, apple slices, walnuts, Irish brown bread crackers, and slices of fig & almond cake.

I also put out a bowl of Spiced Feta Yogurt Dip with pita chips, and croissants and crackers with my homemade Mixed Berry Cocoa Jam.

The jam is one of my new favorite recipes, and I was excited to share it with my guests. The flavors went particularly well with the Starbucks® Vanilla K-Cup® coffee.

Entrees

As the main course, I made Mini Chorizo & Zucchini Frittatas, which I baked in a muffin pan and served at room temperature.

Mini frittatas are definitely the way to go when serving a crowd. They look cute, and are already perfectly portioned into individual servings so that people can just help themselves.

I also baked a gorgeous spiral ham, that I topped with a simple Orange Honey Ham Glaze.  The ham already comes fully cooked, so all you have to do is heat it through and pour on the glaze.

It's one of my favorite things to serve when entertaining.

(Especially when I can just let the boys handle the carving!)


Side Dishes

For the sides, I made a couple of hearty winter salads.

Eugene and I recently had dinner at an Italian restaurant here in the city called Barbuto, and I fell in love with their Brussels Sprouts Salad with Hazelnuts. I wanted to recreate it...so I did!

It's a beautiful combination of shaved raw Brussels sprouts, toasted hazelnuts, and grated Pecorino cheese in a simple lemon dressing. I balanced it out by adding a drizzle of orange blossom honey on top just before serving.

I also made a simple Herbed Quinoa Salad with Turmeric, which added a lot of bright color to the table, and paired nicely with both the eggs and the ham.

(Tip: if you make this one, i recommend doubling the recipe as it keeps well for days and makes a brilliant brown bag lunch.)

Beverages

Along with the mugs of steaming Starbucks® K-Cup® coffee, I also served a mix of fresh citrus juices, by combining freshly squeezed orange, tangerine, grapefruit, and lemon juices.

It was bright and tart, and a fresh twist from the usual. I served it in my favorite glass beverage dispenser, but it would also look really pretty in a big pitcher or punch bowl. (I might even add a few orange or lemon slices, and possibly even a bit of fresh mint leaves!)

Some of the guests also brought bottles of chilled white and sparkling wines to share.

Dessert & Coffee

As the afternoon wore on, I pulled out the cake I baked for dessert.

I wanted to celebrate the flavors of the winter season, so I made a Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake studded with fresh, tart cranberries, and dark chocolate chips.

It's citrus season, so I scented the cake batter with rich vanilla extract and a flurry of fresh orange zest--a light and sweet combination that paired beautifully with the Starbucks® Vanilla K-Cup® flavor.

It really was the perfect sweet ending to the day!


DISCLAIMER: This post is sponsored by Starbucks K-Cup Packs. Thank you for supporting great companies like Starbucks that make it possible for me to keep creating fun new content for you to enjoy. All photos, opinions, and ideas are (of course!) my own. 

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