Sinful Sunday Brunch at Ashleigh's

This past Sunday, even though apparently Ashleigh had quite an eventful evening, she still managed to put together a delightfully tasty brunch in celebration of Maggie and Tosh being in town. The main attraction, of course, was not the food--Ashleigh and Patrick regaling us with stories of their night, and a viewing of Clueless, definitely won out for best part of the morning. However, the refreshments were also super yummy! And definitely worthy of a blog post.

In addition to some super-sweet honeydew, croissants, chicken salad, and coffee, there were both a sweet and a savory casserole. The sweet one, Peach French Toast Casserole came from a VA B&B recipe (not online, approximate recipe below); the savory one, Spicy Breakfast Casserole with Andouille Sausage comes from the web.

Peach French Toast Casserole

1stick butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cans of sliced peaches in lite syrup, drained
nutmeg
10-12 slices Pepperidge Farm Sweet Buttermilk or Hearty White bread
6 large eggs
1.5 cups milk or half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans
powdered sugar for garnish

Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in brown sugar until combined. Add sour cream, whisk until smooth and set aside to cool. Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Evenly spread cooled butter mixture over bottom of dish. Arrange peaches over butter mixture. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Cut up bread slices into one-inch pieces and pile on top of peaches to the edge of the casserole dish. Beat together eggs, milk and vanilla, pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat oven to 375F. Top with pecans (can toast them if you want). Bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool slightly, dust with powdered sugar and serve.


And on top of that, Mandy brought a deliciously indulgent monkey bread (recipe below).

Mandy's Monkey Bread
2 cans jumbo refrigerator biscuits (8 each)
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed

Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Pour sugar and cinnamon into a plastic bag and mix. Add biscuit pieces, several at a time; shake to coat well.Place pieces in a buttered tube or Bundt pan until all are used. Bring brown sugar and butter to a boil in saucepan. Cool 10 minutes, then pour over top of biscuits. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool 15 minutes before removing from pan. Turn upside down onto a plate and serve.

I was feeling okay about all of these until I saw the ingredients. They were all fantastic, but it's a good thing Ashleigh doesn't host these every weekend! Next time, my house. And maybe a little less butter and sugar. ;) Thanks ladies!!!