April Cookbook Club: American Girl Breakfast & Brunch

We’ve partnered with American Girl® to create our fourth cookbook, American Girl Breakfast & Brunch: Fabulous Recipes to Start Your Day, a whole edition dedicated exclusively to our favorite meal of the day. Designed to make mornings fun, Breakfast & Brunch includes more than 50 kid-friendly recipes, from breakfast basics like pancakes to crowd-pleasers like breakfast burritos.

 

Below is a peek at two fabulous recipes from the new book. If you’re into the dishes you see here, be sure to join us along with your favorite junior chefs at your local Williams-Sonoma store on Wednesday, April 26 for our next cookbook club event. $50 per person includes a cooking demonstration from one of our culinary specialists, a copy of American Girl Breakfast & Brunch and a generous tasting of all the recipes prepared. On the menu: Perfect Scrambled Eggs, Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing and Pineapple Peach Smoothies. Get in touch with your local store for more details.

Scrambled Egg Chilaquiles

This tasty egg scramble includes a poblano chile, which can range from mild to spicy. Carefully remove its seeds before cooking so that the dish doesn’t become too spicy! For a pretty finish, top each serving with minced red onion and fresh cilantro leaves.

 

Makes 4 servings

 

8 large eggs

3 tablespoons whole milk

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

3 corn tortillas

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large poblano chile, seeded and cut into thin strips

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

 

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and salt until nice and frothy. Stir in the shredded cheese. Set aside. Stack the tortillas and cut the stack in half, then cut each stack into wedges or crosswise into strips about . inch wide. Set aside.

 

Put the canola oil in a cast-iron skillet or large nonstick frying pan and set the pan over medium heat. Add the chile and cook, stirring often, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tortilla wedges and cook, stirring constantly, until they begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, pour in the egg mixture, and cook, stirring often and scraping the pan bottom to prevent sticking, until the eggs are set but still moist, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Gently stir in the tomatoes and serve right away.

 

Tomato & Mozzarella Strata

The word strata means “layers,” and this easy, all-in-one breakfast dish is a savory bread pudding that has layers of bread, cheese, and tomatoes. You can swap the country-style bread for a baguette, challah, or even English muffins.

 

Makes 6 servings

 

Unsalted butter, for greasing the baking dish

6 large eggs

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and ground black pepper

1 loaf country-style bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese

3 medium tomatoes, diced

 

Butter a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, Parmesan, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Arrange half of the bread slices in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour half of the egg mixture over the bread and top with half each of the mozzarella and tomatoes. Repeat the layering with the remaining ingredients. Let the strata stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, occasionally pressing it down with a spatula to keep the bread submerged. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

 

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the strata from the oven and, using the spatula, press down on the top layer of bread. Continue to bake until the strata is golden brown and puffed, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.

 

Ideas for add-ins:

• Fresh herbs, such as thyme, flat-leaf parsley, or sage, chopped and added to the egg mixture
• Italian sausage or breakfast sausage, removed from its casing, cooked, and scattered over the bottom bread layer
• Slices of ham, placed on top of the bottom bread layer

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