holiday brunch
plus: a winter cabbage salad with mandarins and cashews
Monday, December 22, 2025
Good morning!
The Biggest Food Trends of 2026 (I only link to these when Kat Kinsman writes them!)
We had to cancel our family Hanukkah celebration last week since a few of us were sick so I volunteered to host a New Year’s Day brunch instead. “Aren’t you going to a party on New Year’s Eve?” my mom asked. “Are you sure you want to wake up early and cook?” my husband responded. It’s like they don’t even know me. Get up early to make brunch? Surely, they’re not new here. My 2009 brunch magnum opus (ha), How To Host Brunch And Still Sleep in, still stands. I love hosting brunch and I also love that almost all of my favorite brunch dishes can be assembled the day or night before and just need to be popped in the oven in the morning. You will not catch me at the stove flipping individual pancakes in the morning, not when I can scramble and chop a big fluffy one instead. More of my favorites are below. The crispy crumbled potatoes need a last-minute fry, but if you’ve had them, you know they’re worth it. These hash brown patties, however, reheat perfectly the next day or from the freezer, should you not want to think too hard in the morning. The day-of brunch is for squeezing juice (this is my hero all citrus season), mixing salads (you’re going to love this new one), and moving things from the fridge to the oven. Even bacon — we bake it directly on a sheet pan at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, longer for thicker slices — is hands-off in my kitchen. I hope you’re hungry.
Cheers,
Deb
I’ve written three cookbooks and one audiobook and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Not sure which one to check out first? Take a look at the recipe index and see which collection jumps out at you most.
winter cabbage salad with mandarins and cashews
New! Slightly tart mandarin orange segments, salty-spicy-sweet roasted cashews, and a very crunchy red cabbage salad threaded with fennel, scallions, and a hint of fresh mint with a sumac-specked vinaigrette make up the salad I’ve craved incessantly all December and I’m so glad I caved. It goes so well with latkes, heavy holiday meals, brunch, and even as a brief break from cookies, I don’t want you to miss it.
winter fruit salad
Fruit salad needn’t just be a summer thing, not when you can celebrate seasonal fruits that take well to holiday flavors like star anise, vanilla bean and strips of lemon peel. This longtime favorite of ours is from the great Amanda Hesser; Christmas breakfast doesn’t feel right without it.
liège waffles
Why eat any old waffles if you could have these? Stretchy, layered and faintly crunchy within; firm on the outside with a gloss of burnt sugar, all in an unforgettable and habit-forming waffle. Your weekend is going to be so much better with them in it.
austrian torn, fluffy pancake
Kaiserschmarrn is a fluffy pancake that’s shredded or chopped into bite-sized pieces then fried in butter until each is a glorious golden-edged, custardy-centered nugget. You finish it with a drift of powdered sugar, serve it with an easy plum compote, and eat it while daydreaming about skiing in the Alps.
rolled spinach omelet
I’m completely obsessed with this omelet that’s angling to be your holiday brunch centerpiece. The ingredients are simple (frozen spinach, cheddar, eggs), the process is quick (hand-whisked, bakes in 15 minutes), but the presentation is gorgeous enough for a fancy table. I hope you love it too. [Video below!]
leek, ham and cheese egg bake
Vying for a place on your weekend agenda: a giant puffed and bronzed casserole that serves a crowd, reheats like a treat and tastes like the inside of a very good quiche.
spinach and cheese strata
This is my go-to foolproof workhorse of a brunch dish, just bread, milk, eggs, spinach and all the cheese your heart desires. Plus, it supports my most essential weekend requirement -- laziness -- as it tasks us with nothing in the morning besides turning the oven on. (Yay.)
breakfast slab pie
A mammoth one-pan breakfast with the works (eggs, cheese, potatoes, spinach) that can be made well in advance, left for guests to reheat and eat as they wake up, plopped in little hands before sending the “underfoots” out to their day’s destructive work, or, you know, a week of weekday mornings sorted. Basically, it’s kind of a breakfast miracle.
crispy crumbled potatoes
Every craggy edge and erratic angle of these restaurant-style potato nuggets get perfectly browned and transcendently crunchy with this cooking technique, which could not be simpler. I hope they make all of your holiday brunch hopes and dreams come true.
twisty cinnamon buns
Everything dreamy about cinnamon buns in a full pan of salted butter and brown cinnamon sugar ribbons and twists. As they fan open in the oven, the filling lightly caramelizes and crisps. Each bite has an equal amount of cinnamon ribboning, and you can cut them into any size your heart desires. Cream cheese icing on the side, because these are too pretty to cover.
baklava babka
What happens when baklava meets a babka? Buttery, nutty, glossy woven happiness. Don’t miss this one.
rolled spinach omelet
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more that you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser. For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
What’s the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser? It’s essentially a lower profile enameled cast-iron Dutch oven that works as as well as a deep sauté pan as it does a soup pot, roasting pan, or even casserole dish that perfectly fits a pasta bake. Not a week has gone by in the decade-plus I’ve had mine when I don’t use it at least three times. Fun news: The braiser is now exclusively sold at Williams-Sonoma and available in six gorgeous new colors!
Looking for recipe inspiration for your new braiser? I created a category on the site to highlight some of my favorite dishes I make in mine.
See you next week!
