My mother always told me, never make something for the first time when you're having company. Of course the other thing she mentioned was that nothing will ever be as good as the first time you make it.... well i decided to go with the second rule and made an entire meal of things i really have not made before. Why not live dangerously, especially when you're hosting quite a few people for mother's day brunch???
I actually had some real assistance with this meal - my friend Adam was nice enough to make some delicious biscuits for the meal. I'm not a real bread baker so i was really impressed, as was my mom. (i was a little jealous of her reaction to the biscuits). I'm thinking of asking Adam for the recipe so i can recreate them.
James also helped me with the Praline for the bread pudding, and ran to the store for the million of things i forgot. He also calmed me down when i realized i had made a very substantial mistake when making the Tuna Empanada.
Three of these recipes were actually from Bon Appetite - and i would make them again.
Above: The mother's day spread!
The philo with the prosciutto
As i mentioned i was freaking out a little bit when i started making the Tuna Empanadas and realized that i had purchased phio pastry instead of puff pastry. Yes, these are both a pastry, but they are very different. I decided to make the dish as best i could and decide whether to serve it once it was out of the oven.
It wasn't too difficult a recipe - you sauteed onions, green peppers, garlic and seeded plum tomatoes. Once they were done you added a couple of tins of really good tuna in olive oil - allowing the mixture to cool. You then halved the pastry (which ever kind you bought) then lined the pastry with prosciutto and topped it with the tuna mix. Then you spread two sliced hard boiled eggs, and topped with the other half of the pastry. (if you actually bought they right kind, you'd want to fold the edges here) then brush with egg wash.
Cutting up the Tuna Empanada ingredients
I also made a cheese tart with cantal cheese, which you could replace with white cheddar, but i wanted to make it the authentic way. I went down to St. Lawence Market to a cheese monger to get this cheese. This recipe involved me actually making the pastry in my food processor - cooling it, and baking the crust before adding the decadent mixture of eggs and cheese. I made something of a mess with this one as my floors aren't even and the custard that i added overflowed a little. I would make this one again - and if you wanted a shortcut you could use pre-made pastry.
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