I have recently been making Okonomiyaki for brunch. Here is my recipe:

OKONOMIYAKI BY LARS

Sauce
1/4 cup ketchup (use sugar reduced Heinz)
1-1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce

Batter
1 cup cake flour (or okonomiyaki mix)
2 tbsp grated Japanese Yam or Taro root, or 2 tbsp potato or tapioca starch
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup dashi (3/4 cup water plus 1 tsp instant dashi)
2 eggs
1-1/2 to 2 cups finely shredded Napa cabbage (about 1/3 head)
2 green onions, finely sliced, including tops
2 tbsp minced benishoga (pickled red ginger)
2 thinly sliced sausages or teriyaki meatballs (about 7 ounces)
1/3 cup Tenkasu (Tempura bits) - can substitute Rice Krispies
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil (or olive oil) for sauteing
6 strips bacon, cut into 3” pieces (Optional)

Toppings
(Okonomiyaki sauce, above)
1/4 cup katsuobushi (bonito flakes), chopped
Kewpie Mayonnaise
(or 2 tbsp mayonnaise with 1/2 tsp wasabi or Sriracha sauce)
2 tbsp toasted and crumbled nori (or sesame-nori Furikake)

In a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook over low heat for three minutes, remove the pan from the heat, and set aside.

Sift the flour, starch, and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the dashi and eggs, and whisk until you have a smooth batter. Adjust the liquid, if necessary, to become pancake batter consistency. Add the cabbage, benishoga, sausages/meatballs, and tensaksu and stir until evenly combined. Divide batter in half (each half will be about 1-1/3 cups).

Heat a griddle (or two very large iron skillets) and add the vegetable oil, evenly distributing. Remove excess oil and reserve it for oiling the griddle later. Pour 1/2 of the batter into a circle, and spread the circle to a 6 to 6½” diameter, using spatulas to push the outside edges back into the correct diameter and to keep the thickness even. Repeat with the remaining batter. Add bacon strips to cover the top of each pancake (if using). Cook the pancakes over medium heat for about 3 minutes; flip, and cook for 4 more minutes. Flip pancakes again (bacon side up) and cook for 3 more minutes or until firm and well browned. Can be flipped multiple times to get even doneness.

Remove to plate and spread reserved okonomiyaki sauce thinly over the top surface of each pancake. (You will need only half of the sauce made and can reserve the rest for the next batch.) Sprinkle bonito flakes on top of sauce and press in lightly, to keep in place. Drizzle with Kewpie Mayonnaise (or substitute made), and then sprinkle on the crumbled nori or Furikake. You can use the Furikake of your choice, but it should definitely have nori and sesame.

Cut each pancake into six wedges and serve hot. Can be reheated on the griddle if needed. (Kevin microwaves it.)

It helps to watch some videos, if you have never made it:
cooking with dog
with fried egg
Osaka style
You need two good metal spatulas for pushing the batter into shape and for turning, as you may see in the videos.

Here is a salad I like to serve with it:

Lars Wakame Salad

Ingredients
1 cup Wakame preserved in salt (100 g or 3½ oz in weight)
1 Tbsp chopped sushi shoga (pickled ginger)
2½ tsp seasoned rice wine vinegar (or plain rice wine vinegar)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp White sesame seeds
1/2 tsp Black sesame seeds
3/8 tsp Chili flakes

Soak the wakame in water for a few seconds to dissolve the salt, and then rinse well in a strainer or colander. Gently squeeze out the excess water and pat dry with a paper or cloth towel. Chop the wakame into 1” pieces and place in an appropriately sized serving bowl with the chopped ginger - I use a Japanese rice bowl.

Combine the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the wakame and ginger, stirring to combine evenly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for half an hour or up to a few days.

You can make this with dried wakame that you reconstitute yourself, and it will weigh the same amount when reconstituted.

The Okonomiyaki can be made ahead and reheated on a griddle or in the microwave, even after the toppings have been added, but if you prefer, you can add the toppings at the last moment.

Okonomiyaki is cheap street food, and my BIL used to eat it a lot with his first wife in Japan when they were first married and did not have much money. So, it is nothing fancy, but it has a lot of flavor. Because it is mostly cabbage, it is not all that filling, but it is satisfying because of the flavor. It doesn't even taste like cabbage! You would want to make probably three batches of this recipe and serve it with other food, but at least you can make it ahead of time.

Lars

I like to make sweet potato biscuits and serve them alongside slivers of glazed ham, the kids seem to like the sweetness of both and people can take one or the other or both.

Fruit salad is good, although I'd always rather have my fruit in a Danish or coffeecake, LOL.

The ever present egg strata/quiche/frittata is a good idea too, gives you a protein if you don't want to go with the ham and I like Woodie's Crème Brulee French Toast which gets made the night before and baked in the morning. I leave out the Cointreau.

I like to make muffins and breads, some people will just take a muffin and fruit, others want the protein. If it's brunch, most people will not have had breakfast and so some will be very hungry.

Coffee, tea and juice, of course.

Annie

Quiche could also fill the bill as a protein. I'm a protein person in the morning and Annie's sweet potato biscuits and ham sounds good too.

Here is what I would serve:

chicken or spinach quiche (a total of 4 quiches - 8 slices each)
biscuits filled with thin slices of glazed ham
baked french toast (sweet offering) with a pitcher of syrup
bowl or platter of cubed fruit (strawberries, melon, berries, kiwi etc.) or homemade chunky applesauce
basket of muffins
coffeecake
fruit juice, coffee, tea, milk

The French Toast Casseroles are the easiest and most appreciated at our family brunches (30+).

German Stuffed Toast:
• 1 1/2 loaves cinnamon raisin bread
• 16 ounces cream cheese (2 pkgs)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup raisins or pecans
• 1 can apple pie filling or make your own apples
• 2 cups half- &-half
• 8 eggs (large)
• 1 cup maple syrup (1/2 cup + ½ cup)
• 1/2 cup butter

Praline Topping:
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.

Grease 9X13 baking dish or larger.

Cube bread (approximately 1 inch x 1 inch)
Mix cream cheese with vanilla and pecans
Layer: bread, cream cheese, apples, bread

Mix in mixing bowl: milk, eggs, 1/2-cup maple syrup
Pour over casserole, making sure that bread is saturated

Cover and refrigerate overnight; the next morning:

• Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle casserole with cinnamon.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.

Before serving, mix melted butter and 1/2 cup maple syrup in small saucepan. Pour mixture over baked casserole, punching holes in casserole to allow sauce to penetrate.

Here is another make ahead.

Overnight Breakfast Casserole
• 2 lbs. package frozen Hash Brown potatoes, thawed
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 lb. cooked, crumbled sausage
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 8 -10 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• S & P to taste
Spray 9 X 13 dish with cooking spray. Mix potatoes and onions, salt and pepper together and place in pan. Then spread sausage on top, then cheese. Beat eggs and milk (S & P) together and pour over other ingredients in pan, cover and set in refrigerator overnight.
Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour at 350.

Great ideas! I like the idea of quiche for a protein dish. Can I make quiche ahead? Can I use store brought pie crust?

Any quiche recipes with veggies and no meat?

Muffins and stuffed french toast seem like a good idea.

For a first event and possibly outside or 1/2 outside, i would keep it simple and make things that are prepped ahead. Or re-heated and designate a helpful friend to carry out when ready on trays. More fun for you if not a slave to the oven. Trying new recipes is fun, but easy favorites can lessen the stress.
Great do-aheads above! I always forget that some like sweet in the morning (i like savory)
Biscuits and ham
German stuffed toast (for a sweet)
Overnight casserole. I always pre-cook to within 15min of done for quiche and frittata. Then re-heat. That one looks super easy and sounds great.

A watermelon, cut in half the log way, and scooped out for a fruit salad using it as a bowl is something we would not do for ourselves but fun for a gathering.

Keep cold things cold. If you have freezer room you can use cake pans for blocks of ice. Nest two bowls and put ice below to keep something cold in the bowl on top.
Use your smartphone timer. We use our iphone timer All. The. Time. In our pockets if running around. Reminder if something is in the oven. Re-heating something prepped the day or night before does not need the recipe heat so the oven can be set at maybe 250 for a slower re-heat for multiple items and will prevent overcooking.
Keeping hot things hot like a sterno caterer frame or a grill on low works. Always someone that asks "what can i do to help". I had a friends 7yr old on me like velcro and played waiter. We made frozen leftover waffle ice cream sandwiches and fruit smoothies i had not planned but kept him occupied. (next visit i will probably have cooties and he won't speak to me like kids do, but he was an unexpected joy and cooking partner)

I usually start a list well ahead for ingredients and write out the menu wishes, then add or eliminate if i go overboard. Guest don't like to see stress, so stress before hand, lol, and make it look easy at the event so you can have fun along with the gang.

Can't go wrong with smoked salmon and the usual accompaniments.

Here is a recipe for stuffed portobello mushrooms from Mary Ann Esposito that resembles a quiche but does not have a crust. I've made it several times because I like it so much.

You can slightly undercook them ahead of time and then warm them up in a 220 degree oven.

Lars

This is silly easy and is always eaten. It's one of the many recipes I've collected from a great cook in our extended family and works well for brunch, or even a roast pork dinner...
You can assemble it the day before, bake the day of your brunch and I always appreciate those things I can have ready ahead of time. Very forgiving, use any canned fruit you like, make it as large as you like, I often double the amounts, or more...

Hot Fruit Compote

Large can apricots
Large can pears
Large can peaches
Large can pineapple
12 Mothers brand coconut macaroons (broken or crushed)
1/4 C sherry or 1/4 C reserved syrup from fruit
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C melted butter
1/2 C slivered almonds

Lightly butter casserole. Layer drained fruit and macaroons. Top with brown sugar, sherry, melted butter and almonds. Bake 350 for 30 min or until hot and bubbly. If you've made it ahead and refrigerated allow some extra time to heat all the way through.

"Can I make quiche ahead?"

Yes. You can refrigerate the finished quiche overnight and serve at room temperature or reheated. I like it room temp.

"Can I use store brought pie crust?"

I always do. Making quiche becomes ultra simple.

"Any quiche recipes with veggies and no meat?"

Absolutely. Possibilities are endless. Just make the custard mixture with a ratio of about one cup of milk or cream to four eggs and go from there. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. One of my favorites is spinach with or without Swiss cheese and/or salmon.

Jim

Excellent tips from Jim! Just make sure to squeeze all the water out of the spinach before adding to the quiche mixture. Drain frozen spinach and SQUEEZE repeatedly!

On the Hot Fruit Compote-- it's delicious with ham. I'm not sure if Mother's cookies are even available here any longer, however a crunchy mild spice cookie will work just as well. Make sure the cookie is a crispy type- not soft.

Mothers macaroons were not available to us here for a while but are back on the shelves again. But you're right, the type of cookie wouldn't matter as long as it was a crisp variety.

Here's a quiche that I love.

Note that the quantities are for a quiche pan that is 9 inch across x 3 inch tall (metal with a removable bottom). You may have to adjust the amount of filling, egg mixture and baking time if your pan has shorter sides.

Mediterranean Quiche

Cream Cheese Dough
Makes: 2 crusts (using a 9 x 3 inch tall metal quiche pan with removable bottom)

2 cups flour
8oz cream cheese, cubed
8 oz cold unsalted butter, cubed

Place ingredients in food processor, pulse to mix, then process until mixture comes together. Divide in half, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9 inch pan (I like to use a metal pan with 3 inch sides and a removable bottom). Refrigerate pan while you prepare filling.

Preheat oven to 425.

Filling

2 Tbsp butter
1 cup sliced yellow onions
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
¼ pound mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
5 oz oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
5 tsp chopped fresh basil
3 tsp chopped fresh thyme
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

¾ cup grated Gruyere
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

In large skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and zucchini and cook, stirring, for about 6 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until all the liquid evaporates. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes, basil, thyme and salt and pepper, stirring until combined. Set aside to cool.

Spoon the vegetable mixture into the prepared crust, sprinkle with the Gruyere cheese. Pour in the egg mixture (see note) and crumble the goat cheese on top.

Note: The amount of egg mixture you’ll need depends on the depth of your quiche pan. Here is a basic recipe.

For every 1/2 cup of half and half use 1 egg

Examples:
½ cup of half and half
1 egg
Pinch of nutmeg and cayenne
(enough to fill 7 - 4 inch tarts)

1 cup half and half
2 eggs
Pinch of nutmeg and cayenne

1½ cup half and half
3 eggs
Nutmeg and cayenne

2 cups half and half
4 eggs
¼ tsp each nutmeg and cayenne
(will fill 1 9x3inch quiche pan)

Bake on sheet pan at 425 degrees (on bottom rack) for 15 minutes, then drop temp to 350 and continue to bake for 35-45 minutes, until filling is set. Let cool at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight (it will cut cleaner if chilled). Serve at room temp or heated slightly.

"Drain frozen spinach and SQUEEZE repeatedly!"

Important tip, compumom! If using fresh spinach or swiss chard, steam it and squeeze out excess moisture.

"For every 1/2 cup of half and half use 1 egg"

I'm sure this will work as well as the ratio I suggested even though mine is very different. This is surprisingly forgiving, as you will see if you survey a lot of quiche recipes.

"The amount of egg mixture you’ll need depends on the depth of your quiche pan."

Good point. Frozen pie shells come in regular or deep dish sizes. BTW, frozen pie shells come in foil pans, which is handy when making quiche for a crowd.

Jim

This post was edited by jimster on Wed, Sep 18, 13 at 22:29

I'm not crazy about the frozen pie shells but the stuff that comes in a red box, refrigerated section, rolled up, isn't bad. I passed it off as homemade to Dad, LOL, and all he said was "you didn't make this with lard, did you?". Nope, I sure didn't. (grin)

I made 600 tiny little mini-muffin cup quiche for Ben's wedding, some were cheese and spinach, some Italian sausage and mushroom, some crab and I don't remember what, maybe asparagus since it was in May? They all froze just fine, reheated nicely. Doucanoe's hash brown crust for quiche was very good too, I liked that, but I like potatoes better than I like pie crust.

This time of year something with fresh tomatoes in it might be nice too.

Annie

While I love a nice buttery crust, I would rather have it with pie than quiche, so I always make quiche without the crust (and I have a flock of hens so I make a lot of quiche). It cuts out a lot of calories and really we don't miss it.

I often serve a baked oatmeal for brunch or holiday breakfast. I will link a recipe I use below --it is very flexible and the reviews suggest a number of delicious options. I use less butter and don't miss it. I prepare the dry ingredients the night before and put it together in the morning.

Here is a link that might be useful: baked oatmeal

Thanks all..

Here is a tentative menu:Please review and comment

Note: Mostly vegetarians.. so dairy but no meat.

Location: Weather is supposed to be sunny 72 degrees here in San Francisco bay area. So I will take advantage of our nice courtyard and garden. We have a nice indoor- outdoor flow from the kitchen so I will keep the french doors open, set out the food in kitchen and adjoining dining room. There will be enough seating in the courtyard and inside.

Mini muffins ( I am thinking apple bran and chocolate chip). Have to find a recipe to bake ahead on Saturday
Assorted bagels and spreads (this i will pick up from our local bagel place in the morning)
Quiche --> I want to do this but will make ahead on Saturday so that I have time to fix or change if it does not turn out good. Maybe with asparagus and spinach
Frittata with potatoes, peas and cheese
Baked oatmeal (mabelgeldine's recipe above)
Devilled eggs --> I picked some stuff from penzeys and will try it with some mural of flavor with some hungarian paprika sprinkling. Can steam eggs in the oven.
Waffles --> I was thinking to make the yeast dough that ann_t posted a while back. I got chefmate belgian wafflemaker as a birthday gift many months ago and this would be a good time to use it. I will do a trial batch the day before to make sure I get it right. Assorted toppings like strawberries, some kind of compote, maple and agave for syrups. I was thinking to try a savory version as well as some of the folks like savory. Maybe jalapeno and cheese.
Fruit Bowl in watermelon (per Sleendog's idea). It is late summer in california and we are awash in amazing fruit.

Beverages --> Jasmine iced tea with meyer lemon slices
Assorted Teas
Coffee
Fresh juices from the juicer that I will make in the morning.
I was thinking morning cocktails and could not come up with any ideas other than mimosas which I am not overly fond of. so may skip that.

Great menu, but my first impression is that is way too much food for only 30 guests. Others will weigh in, but that seems like a lot of work and duplication. Deviled eggs, frittata and quiche are all egg dishes. I'd choose no more than two of the three and focus your energies there.

Instead of mimosas, bellinis are nice with puréed peaches. Bloody Mary's are my fave.

I think I would add a sweet....mini cheesecakes or brownies?

Lovely menu but I don;t think you need the frittata and the quiche. If you want that variety make a couple of different quiche..or frittata ..but not both.

I love waffles but they are very trick to serve to a group. They don't stay crisp long so they really need tending in an oven or toaster...too much hassle for a large group...IMO. I'm also not convinced the frittata/quiche and waffles work well on the same plate and people do like a bit of everything.

I'd do a potato dish, casserole or hash brown type dish, instead of the waffles.

Have a great time....

Looks great. Like the mini muffins. (make one with a chocolate batter, AND chips!)
Seems all is do-ahead stuff except for the waffles. DH tends our waffle project so that would leave me free for other things, like bloody mary's, lol.
I rarely drink at my own gatherings, until ti is almost over, so i like virgin mary's.
I like to make my own but the Knudsen VeryVeggie is great in a pinch. Just needs spicing up with worcestershire, horseradish and hot pepper sauce. (i like siriracha)

If the quiche and frittata recipes are new to you, i would stick with just one of those. But with all the diet restrictions in our friends these days, more variety always seems a good choice.

OK.. Good point on sticking to either quiche or Frittata. I need to pick one fail safe recipe and stick to it. I thought it would be hard to make enough for 30 people with my pans, so instead of multiples of each, I thought one of each but you guys are right.. may be multiples of each would be easier. I have to find a fail safe recipe that I feel confident about.

Will add a sweet. Maybe scones instead of muffins and brownie bites.

I am intrigued by Bloody Mary and Bellinis. Any recipes to share?

It's pretty unanimous on the frittata plus quiche issue. You probably don't need both. And, as chase says, making two or three different varieties of quiche is no more work than making one if you want variety.

Jim

And it is brunch, which is part breakfast and part lunch-- lunch should include dessert and IMO so should brunch -- a real dessert although it can be disguished as a coffeecake!

Martha

Funny you should ask about drinks, this came today in my Food and Wine newsletter. It's fruity, not too much alcohol, serves a lot. Have I made it? Nope. (grin)

Sparkling Pomegranate Punch

quart pomegranate juice
2 cups fresh orange juice, strained
2 cups chilled limeade
One 750-milliliter bottle Prosecco
Lime and orange slices, for garnish
Ice
1 cup pomegranate seeds

In a punch bowl, combine the pomegranate juice, orange juice and limeade. Pour in the Prosecco; float lime and orange slices on top. Ladle into 12 ice-filled glasses, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve.

Annie

Brunch party is done and it went beautifully :) It was a housewarming party of sorts as none of our friends had seen our house after we finished the remodel and moved in. Thanks to all of you in the cooking forum, the food was amazing. Like any good party, we packed some to-go goodies and have some left overs for us to enjoy over the week.

Here is the final menu and how it worked.

Scones a la Ann_t -- I made blueberry, raspberry and orange cranberry. Baked last night and served warm today after reheating in the oven. These were awesome and hugely popular.

Baked oatmeal from Mabelgeldine's recipe with bananas, blueberries and walnuts. This was great and we have some leftover for this week.

Yeasted waffles (marion cunningham's recipe that Ann_t posted a while back). I tripled the recipe and the batter doubled a couple of times and I had to beat it down. I finally refrigerated it late last night. The waffles were great. I served with sliced strawberries, whipped cream and maple syrup. My batter is never as runny as the recipe says. I did add 3/4 cup extra flour as described for the Belgian waffle. I may try with less next time.

DD made Ina Garten's rosemary potatoes. She woke up early to cut 5lbs of red, white and purple baby potatoes. We used some rosemary springs from the garden, salt, freshly ground tellicherry peppers and whole cloves of garlic with the skin. Baked in the steam oven and it turned out great. DD who is 8 was really thrilled with her first party dish being a hit.

Fritatta - I read many recipes and finally adapted a couple to make a baked version in my all clad lasagna pan. This turned out really delish. I used 18eggs, a cup or so of milk, a 1/4 cup of cream, 1 cup grated gruyere, about 8 tbsp of goat cheese. Seasoned the custard with minced herbs (marjoram, thyme, basil, italian parsley), truffle salt and some grinds of pepper. Sautéed minced shallots, thinly sliced asparagus, 1red bell pepper. Seasoned with salt and pepper and some of penzeys granulated garlic and Fox run seasoning. Layered the sautéed veggies, poured the custard. Arranged slices of tomatoes on the top from the garden (San marzanos, yellow pears and red cherries), dotted with the goat cheese. Baked in the steam oven at 360 for 35 minutes. It was polished off. Definitely something I will repeat and experiment with again.

Fruit salad with a dressing of agave, lemon juice, mint.

Brownie bites for dessert.

Fresh orange juice and apple juice rounded up the menu. We decided to skip the alcohol this time :)

That sounds delicious, and congrats to the DD on her first "party dish". She'll be a great help in future parties, I'll bet.

I'm glad the brunch went well and Ann T's scones are my favorite.

Annie

Nice menu! The frittata egg dish sounds wonderful. I so like asparagus with eggs. I made a potato salad this past weekend with the same baby red, white, and blues. So creamy in texture.
What a treat for your young chef to learn cooking with a steam oven!

Sounds great and glad it went so well. I've never heard of a steam oven! :p

Glad things went so well. The menu sounded scrumptious.

You are a way braver lady than me to attempt waffles for a crowd!

Congrats!

Waffles went very smoothly. I set up a station with self serve maple syrup, whipped cream and slices strawberries. The waffles came out fast 2 minutes for four squares and nothing stuck ever. Some oozing happened. I need to figure out how to pour to get the batter to all of the corners.. That I will chalk up to user error :)

Great job! I hope your guest enjoyed your remodel as much as the menu.