How to make Mother’s Day breakfast for a crowd with minimal stress

On Mother’s Day, our family finds it preferable to gather at someone’s home rather than wait in line at a crowded restaurant. The challenge is that we’d all like easy preparations that deliver restaurant-quality flair.

This year, I’m using frozen puff pastry to make breakfast treats for a crowd with minimal stress. Made by layering butter between dough through a series of turns and flips, this pastry bakes into many flaky, buttery layers.

I used to make homemade puff pastry and loved the rolling and layering. Now, I choose the all-butter version from Dufour Pastry Kitchen, found in large supermarkets’ freezer aisles. Just defrost as instructed, then cut and shape the dough for any treats. Pepperidge Farm's frozen puff pastry proves more readily available and works well, too.

For our family breakfast, I par-bake large dough squares, then top them with sauteed vegetables and an egg. The egg cooks gently surrounded by the vegetables and a sprinkling of cheese while the pastry crisps to perfection. A sprinkle of fresh herbs finishes the treat.

Our meat lovers will enjoy the same pastry, smeared with a spicy mustard mixture and rolled around a fully cooked sausage. An egg glaze and sprinkling of sesame seeds top the golden-encrusted sausage.

Puff pastry treats are best enjoyed with a knife and fork to capture the flakiness. A green salad with diced asparagus and fresh mozzarella, dressed in lemon vinaigrette, rounds out the meal. Freshly squeezed orange juice mimosas make the mothers in my life happy — and maybe yours too.

Puffy egg galettes with spinach, bacon and cheese

If desired, skip the egg and substitute crumbled feta or goat cheese in the center of the squares. Reduce baking time by half — or just until cheese is softened.

DuFour Pastry Kitchens sells their puff pastry in a 14-ounce package containing one sheet of dough; you’ll need two packages to make eight galettes. Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sells two sheets in their 17.3-ounce package. You can cut four squares from each sheet.

Yield: 8

Ingredients

• 2 packages (14 ounces each) frozen all butter puff pastry or 1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package, see note
• 4 thick strips hickory-smoked bacon, about 4 ounces
• 1 medium-sized onion, halved, thinly sliced
• 1 roasted red bell pepper from a jar, drained, cut into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon each: dried thyme, freshly ground black pepper
• 2 packed cups (about 2 ounces) baby spinach
• Salt to taste
• About ¼ cup mascarpone, creme fraiche or sour cream
• 8 small or medium-size eggs
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese blend
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped parsley
• Chopped chives or green onion tops

Directions

Have two baking sheets lined with kitchen parchment or silicon mats ready. Working on a large cutting board, unfold pastry. Cut eight squares, each measuring about 4 ½ by 4 ½ inches. Pierce the squares all over with a fork and place on prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate while you make the filling and heat the oven.

Cut bacon into thin matchsticks. Cook, stirring often in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to set crisp bacon aside. Add onion slices to pan with bacon drippings; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in bell pepper strips and garlic, Cook 1 minute. Add cumin, thyme and pepper. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach and keep stirring to wilt the spinach with the heat of the pan and its ingredients. Season to taste with salt.

Heat oven to 400 F. Bake pastry squares for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Working carefully as things are hot, spread about 1 teaspoon mascarpone over each pastry square. Evenly divide the onion mixture over the squares and arrange it around the edges of the pastry leaving the center empty. Sprinkle vegetables with about 1 tablespoon cheese for each square.

Use clean fingers to make a slight indent in the middle of the mixture in each square. Carefully crack an egg into the center of each pastry. Return to oven and bake until pastry is richly browned and egg is nearly set, 15 to 17 minutes more. Sprinkle with crispy bacon and herbs. Serve.

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Chicken chorizo and chihuahua sausage rolls

Double the recipe for a crowd.

Yield: 4 rolls

Ingredients

• 1 package (14 ounces) all butter puff pastry or ½ of a 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo or 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ¼ medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup shredded Chihuahua cheese
• 4 links (one 10- to 12-ounce package) fully-cooked chicken chorizo or andouille sausage links
• Egg white, lightly beaten
• Black and white sesame seeds, or Everything But the Bagel seasoning blend

Directions

Heat oven to 400 F. Have a parchment paper lined baking sheet ready. Mix mustard, chipotle and oregano in a small bowl.

Unfold puff pastry and cut into four 5-by-5-inch squares. Brush the pastry with mustard mixture leaving a ¼-inch-wide border. Sprinkle each with some of the onion and then cheese. Place a sausage on one end of a rectangle. Roll up to enclose sausage, leaving ends of sausage exposed. Pinch seam closed.

Place rolls on prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Brush with beaten egg white. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

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Mom's cheesecake with strawberry sauce

Servings: 8 to 10

For crust

• 12 graham crackers
• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• ¼ cup sugar
• Pinch of salt

For filling

• 3 ½ packages (28 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Dash of salt
• 3 eggs, beaten

For strawberry sauce

• 1 pound hulled and quartered strawberries, plus a handful of halved strawberries for garnish
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Prepare crust: Pulse graham crackers in a food processor several times until you have large crumbs. Add butter, sugar and salt and pulse again until well combined. The mixture will be thick, sandy and coarse.

Pour mixture into a buttered springform pan. Using your fingers, press it across the bottom and up the sides with medium-firm pressure (you don't want any loose crumbs).

Bake until crust is fragrant and edges are golden, 12-14 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack while you prepare filling.

In bowl of stand mixer outfitted with a whisk, mix cream cheese, sugar and sour cream at medium-low speed until smooth. Add vanilla, a pinch of salt and eggs; mix some more at medium-low speed until smooth. To avoid beating too much air into the batter, use a mixer set at low-medium speed. To avoid lumps, make sure the cream cheese is softened at room temperature.

Pour filling mixture into the prepared crust (it should come almost to the rim). Place cheesecake on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes, then turn off heat and leave in oven for an additional 15 minutes with door closed.

Allow cheesecake to cool completely before covering and placing in fridge to chill overnight before serving.

Prepare strawberry sauce: Place strawberries, sugar, salt and lemon juice in a small sauce pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring almost constantly, and cook at a low boil gently, using a potato masher or dough cutter to break up the fruit every so often.Stir frequently, until mixture thickens. The sauce should cling to a spoon. Let cool before using.

When ready to serve, loosen and remove sides of springform pan from cheesecake. Arrange halved strawberries on top and spoon strawberry sauce over berries, allowing some to drip down the sides of the cheesecake. Serve immediately.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette