Leftovers are perfect for post Thanksgiving brunches
Chef Linton Hopkins looks forward to the postthanksgiving brunch almost as much as the main event.
“It’s funny, I’m usually more hungry the day after Thanksgiving because I’ve been cooking and tasting all day, I don’t really feel like sitting down to a huge dinner,” said the chef, who owns Hopkins and Co. restaurant group with his wife, Gina Hopkins.
Hopkins’ approach to brunch is quite cheffy in that it creatively reuses the overabundance of Thanksgiving dinner. “Everything on the Thanksgiving table with eggs is how I look at the next day,” he said. “Or with bread as a sandwich.”
This means serving ham biscuits alongside a spread of pastries from Hopkins and Co. superstar pastry chef Jen Yee. On the side of the pastries, a compote made from the following day’s cranberry sauce works nicely. Poached eggs, perfect with reheated gravy, takes the place of hollandaise.
“I usually am not trying to do too much work because I’m pretty much exhausted,” Hopkins said. “The stuffing for me becomes an egg casserole as well.”
Particularly if the stuffing is well-seasoned and studded with sausage, it works perfectly at the heart of a savory breakfast strata.
If you have leftovers of simply roasted sweet potatoes, those make a nice accompaniment to the strata when smashed and griddled in a hot skillet with some butter.
“Just about everything makes griddle cakes,” Hopkins said. “If all you want to do is make griddle cakes, just use some stuffing.”
Hopkins enjoys his griddle cakes with gravy while still standing at the stove. It’s his reward for executing brunch for the rest of the family. Chefs are used to eating standing up, he adds. “The food’s better right out of the pan, anyway.”
That’s part of why he serves his breakfast strata straight out of the skillet. It’s a simple pleasure, digging into that tender stuffing bound with eggs and milk. And it’s one that your family can return to year after year.
Thanksgiving brunch, Hopkins said, is yet another holiday custom. “Creating those rituals and hanging onto them is so important,” he said. “You’re getting into memory-making, and that’s powerful.”