Cookbooks for Brunch Lovers

Brunch is one of my favorite ways to entertain. As I write that sentence, I realize I’ve only hosted one brunch since we’ve been in Colorado and that was on a holiday morning. I will need to remedy that.

I have a thing for brunch cookbooks – I can imagine your thoughts – she has a thing for all cookbooks. I do, but they have to be unique and special to land on a shelf here. My husband hates the cookbooks, but loves the collector. While I battle daily for my right to surround myself with books I love, I also try to be selective and respect his disdain for towers of books. Afterall, I don’t want to be at the bottom of a cookbook avalanche and have my tombstone read “she was always buried in her work.”

Today’s post shares a look at a few brunch books that I enjoy and if you have a moment, please head over to The Cookbook Junkies‘ website and enter the giveaway for a trio of books: Devonshire Scream (a mystery with recipes), Simply Scratch and The Love and Lemons Cookbook that contain some great recipes for brunch (as well as tea parties).

Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast Brunch, and Beyond from New York’s Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant by Dede Lahman and Neil Kleinberg is a keeper. If it is a New York based brunch or baking book, it needs to be mine. Those pancakes on the cover are everything — so good. The famous blueberry pancakes and warm maple butter, along with recipes for desserts, pastries and their award-winning buttermilk fried chicken are also included. Sometimes books contain editing errors, no one is happy about it – not the authors, the publishers or the consumers, but it happens, so be sure to check out the errata information on Clinton St. Baking’s site.

Brunch @ Bobby’s: 140 Recipes for the Best Part of the Weekend from Bobby Flay is deliciously good. As I will never, in this lifetime or any other, be invited to Bobby’s – this book will have to do. The Orange Ricotta Pancakes were stellar – I think I am seeing a pancake addiction developing here. Crab Cakes Benedict, Hang Town Fry (an omelet of bacon and oysters), Carrot Cake Pancakes, and Biscuit Sticky Buns are other examples of the varied dishes in this book. The chapters on Coffee, Tea and Cocktails as well as Spreads and Syrups are great ways to turn simple items into something spectacular and offer more options for your guests.

Sarabeth’s Good Morning Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch and Baking by Sarabeth Levine is a beautiful book. Sarabeth’s books are always special. Her first book Sarabeth’s Bakery is a valuable resource for any baker (and shares some wonderful brunch options). From the Good Morning Cookbook, I made the Provençal Quiche – and that crust with the oyster crackers was very tasty. Jam Mandelbrot, Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake and her Popovers are all wonderful recipes that would delight your family and friends.

There are other titles in my collection that are great for those who love breakfast and brunch: The Perfect Egg, Breakfast Recipes to Wake Up For, The Breakfast Book and Dorie Greenspans’ Waffles and Pancakes are just a few. What is your favorite cookbook in your collection that you find yourself heading to for brunch inspiration?