This has been an amazing summer for me! Mostly, thanks to my circle of remarkable friends. My friends have been so generous and have taken me into their summer homes to share their kitchens throughout the season. Through staying with them, I have been able to renew my creative juices and fill their kitchens with the aromas of delicious food that we’ve cooked together. I have also enjoyed teaching them tricks and tips from my years of cooking and entertaining.

Last weekend, I stayed with my dear friends Alan and Diane Lieberman at their summer home in Bridgehampton. The Leibermans own many of the best boutique hotels in Miami. And Diane owns her own real estate company, SBI Realty. Naturally, they have a truly beautiful home with a large kitchen, built perfectly for entertaining. This past Sunday, Diane decided to have a few friends over for brunch and I volunteered to help, of course. While most friends would be at the pool or on the tennis courts, I am happiest cooking!

The Liebermans usually have house guests every weekend and keep their two huge fridges packed with food. So different from my tiny kitchen in NYC and so much easier to experiment and enjoy the process in.

For Brunch, Alan, Diane, and I created a menu. The last time I stayed with them, on July 4th, they had a huge brunch with 200 guests and scrambled eggs to order. This weekend, I decided to make two different kinds of frittatas: one with shiitake, asparagus, and goat cheese; and the other with zucchini, onions, and cheddar.  Frittatas are elegant, can be made ahead of time, and there are so many different varieties. You can use your vegetable garden and fresh herbs and use up all of those left overs from the weekend.

I also poached two Salmons, using some amazing soy ginger glaze that Alan had bought and mixing it with red wine. I cooked them at 500 degrees for 20 mins and they came out perfectly tender and still pink inside.

Diane made a beautiful fruit salad, her chocolate chip banana bread, and cooked loads of turkey bacon. Alan put together a Smoked Salmon platter with bagels and all the fixings.  There was a lot of food and some very happy guests…including myself!

Though I am not a big dessert maker, I decided to top the brunch off with my classic recipe for a warm Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Brown Betty.  This was, of course, the highlight for everybody with even the slightest sweet tooth.

Brunch Menu

2 Frittatas:

Shiitake, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese

Zucchini, Onions, and Cheddar

Poached Salmon with Ginger Soy Glaze

Cucumber, Dill, and Red Onion Salad

Bagels, Locks, and Cream Cheese

Sliced Watermelon and Cantaloupe

Breads, Butter, and Jams

Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Brown Betty with Vanilla Ice Cream

Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Brown Betty
Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Brown Betty
Print Recipe Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Brown Betty
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Course: Comfort, Dessert, Fall, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian, Winter
Servings: 8 people

Diane’s Chocolate Chip and Banana Bread

*The original blog was called Flavors in Love. All material has been transferred and some has been edited for easier reading, and archiving.