Recipes for a Birders Brunch

Bird watching is a wonderful outdoor activity, and to fill up after enjoying an early morning bird watching and to prepare for more bird watching, a nice filling brunch menu is essential. Here are a few great ideas, which you can pack up for brunch on the go, or can enjoy as a sit down meal.

Spanish Tortilla also called Tortilla de Patata or Potato Omelette

This is a wonderful filling dish, eaten across Spain. You can eat this dish warm, or cold. It is great in wedges warm, but it is also great served in thin slices on a fresh baguette. You can serve with cheese or sausage to add a little protein, or enjoy plain.

You will need:
1 lb yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin slices
1 medium spanish onion, sliced into thin slices
7 eggs
5 tbsp olive oil
salt and ground black pepper

Start by washing, peeling and slicing the potatoes and onion. Heat 3 tbsp of the olive oil in a nonstick skillet, then add the potatoes and onions. Cook the potatoes over low heat until they are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the potatoes and onions from the heat, then clean the skillet.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, then add the salt and pepper to taste. Add the potatoes and onions to the eggs. Next heat the rest of the oil in the skillet and pout the egg and potatoes mixture into the skillet. Cook until the eggs are just set, about 5 minutes. While cooking make sure to lift the edges of the tortilla, which will keep it from sticking and allow any uncooked egg to pour onto the bottom.

The next step in cooking is flipping the tortilla over. To do this place a large plate over the top of the skillet and flip the pan over, placing the tortilla on the plate. Then carefully slide the tortilla back into the pan topside down. Cook for approximately 2 minutes longer to allow the underside to cook.

Serve warm or cold, cut into wedges or slices.

Grilled Sausage

Spanish Andouille Sausage make a fantastic accompaniment to the Spanish tortilla. You should choose whatever type of sausage is your favorite. Other great options are Chicken and Apple sausage or even Bratwurst. Make sure you have enough sausage for each person attending the brunch and grill until the sausages reach the temperature specified on the package.

If you prefer to have a picnic style brunch you can grill the sausages and put them in a container that will preserve some of the heat. You can serve these sausages in sandwich with the tortilla, or just eat them on the side. If you decide to put them in sandwiches it is a good idea to cut each sausage in half lengthwise.

Fruit

Fresh fruit is a must for any brunch, whether at the table or in the picnic basket. Fruit is easy since it requires almost no preparation. Combine several types of fruit for a simple fruit medley.

Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapes
Strawberries
Orange
Scant lemon juice

These are just a few of my favorite fruits to combine into a fruit salad. You can choose any fruits that you like. You can use more exotic fruits if you can find them at your local store, like star fruit, kiwis or figs. When satsumas are available they are a great addition.

Peel and chop melons into about 1-in squares, or if you want something a little more decorative, use a melon baller and make melon balls. Peel orange and cut into pieces. If you are using star fruit or kiwis, slice crosswise. Star fruit make very appealing star shaped slices. Mix all fruit together into a bowl, leaving the strawberries and grapes whole. Tossing fruit with a little lemon juice will prevent any browning of the cut fruits and keep fruits fresh. It also adds a nice flavor.

Fresh Orange Juice

No brunch is complete without some chilled fresh orange juice. If you have a juicer you can make your juice quickly and easily, or you can squeeze by hand if you enjoy the challenge. Make sure you have two oranges per person attending the brunch. However, if you are short on time you can purchase pre-squeezed orange juice at this store, although not as fresh it is still a wonderful accompaniment to the brunch.