Serving Holiday Brunch will be a Timesaving Gift to Yourself by Lisa Messinger on Creators.com

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Serving Holiday Brunch will be a Timesaving Gift to Yourself

Santa's busy and will make brunch this year instead of a long, labored holiday dinner. This, though, is definitely one of his nice, rather than naughty, acts. If you're in the rut of preparing one time-consuming supper entree after another to fill your holiday table, consider throwing a brunch soiree instead. Dishes can be just as impressive with about an eighth of the preparation time.

Some of the usual suspects when it comes to ingredients can still extend their holiday greetings and leave guests dazzled with your creativity. Thick slices of ham, for instance, are front and center in Ron Silver's sophisticated version of green eggs and ham. The owner of Bubby's breakfast spot in New York City and author of the new "Bubby's Brunch Cookbook" (Ballantine, $30) creates a delicious, simple basil-garlic puree to flavor eggs, which are served with a seared, crispy, thick 5-ounce ham slice. Red tomato slices against the green eggs backdrop only add to the seasonal theme.

Turn pancakes into gingerbread with just the addition of a few holiday ground spices, such as ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar, recommends Chef Lisa Schroeder, author of "Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again" (Taunton, $28). Adding buttermilk and a few tablespoons of brewed cold coffee to your pancake mix is the final step toward gingerbread heaven. Stir a bit of ground ginger into a seasonal store-bought or homemade fruit compote, and you've got a split-second side dish.

Brunch, though easier than preparing dinner, doesn't have to mean strictly casual fare. Elegance can still be in the air — add smoked salmon to hash, as Schroeder enjoys, or cooked lobster bits to a frittata, like Silver does along with pecorino cheese.

Brunch is just as ripe for cocktails as later meals in the day. The innovative use of favorite holiday ingredients can continue. Says Silver: For instant pizzazz, add peppermint schnapps to taste to hot chocolate or follow his simple recipe below for "Cranmosas," a festive take on mimosas, the popular brunch staple.

CRANMOSA

2 ounces (1/4 cup) fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons (1/8 cup) (preferably fresh, see Note) cranberry juice

3 ounces champagne

Yields 1 serving.

Combine the orange juice and cranberry juice in a champagne flute.

Stir gently. Stir in the champagne and serve immediately.

Note: To prepare fresh cranberry juice for this and other uses, juice 1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries (thawed if frozen) through an electric juicer and strain through a very fine sieve to remove pulp. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 2 cups hot water in a pitcher and stir briskly until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool. Pour cranberry juice into pitcher, mix well and serve immediately over ice or refrigerate until serving time.

GREEN EGGS AND HAM

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

2 small garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

6 extra-large eggs

2 (4- to 6-ounce each) ham slices

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Tomato slices, for serving

Yields 2 servings.

To prepare basil puree: In the work bowl of a food processor or blender, puree the basil, parsley, garlic, olive oil and just less that 1/4 cup water until smooth.

To prepare eggs: Using a whisk or fork, beat eggs in a small bowl until frothy.

Sear ham in a hot medium nonstick skillet for 1 minute, or until crispy.

Heat the skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the butter and lower the heat slightly. Pour eggs into the pan. Cook, constantly pushing the eggs toward the center of the pan with a rubber spatula, until they begin to thicken.

Stir in about 1/4 cup of the basil puree and just slightly less than 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese. Continue to cook and stir the eggs until they are nearly set but still soft and creamy. Arrange the green eggs and ham on a serving plate and garnish with the tomato slices. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the eggs and serve immediately.

— Recipes from "Bubby's Brunch Cookbook: Recipes and Menus from New York's Favorite Comfort Food Restaurant" by Ron Silver with Rosemary Black (Ballantine, $30).

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.