We’ve collected a plethora of wonderful recipes from chefs over the past 8.5 years and we want to share what we have. Check back here twice a week for new content from your favorite Philly and out of town chefs to add some spice to your home cooking repertoire.

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The weekend. Remember those? With our days blending together, it’s difficult to truly define the end of a week. Nothing says weekend like brunch, so we’re here to help you prepare an egg-celent brunch yourself. Plus, while some people like things savory and others prefer sweet, we’re offering not one but two brunch-y recipes, courtesy of one of COOK’s go-to brunch masters – Becca O’Brien of Two Birds Catering & Canning. Enjoy!

“Green Eggs and Ham”
Canadian Bacon, Spinach & Fresh Herb Quiche

Pie crust (uncooked, store-bought is fine!)

Filling:
Cooked Canadian bacon
Chopped cooked or frozen spinach, drained
Cleaned, chopped, cooked or raw leeks
Sun-dried tomatoes
Mixed fresh herbs, chopped (use what you can get – parsley, basil, dill, thyme, chives)

Custard:
8 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

Place pie crust into pie pan and press edges with a fork. Fill crust with filling ingredients. You can switch these out as you see fit (regular cooked bacon, sausage, Swiss chard, scallions, etc) and use only as much of each as you want. Pour custard over the filling ingredients, the custard should fill the shell 2/3. Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden and the center is set but retains a bit of jiggle. Can be made in advance and reheated in the oven when you’re ready to serve.

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread French Toast
If you’re in bread baking mode, try your hand at making your own cinnamon swirl bread, which is perfect for this spin on French toast. For a shortcut, buy your own cinnamon swirl bread, or you can simply use any white bread you prefer!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread Dough:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup neutral oil (vegetable, canola, grapeseed)
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/8 cups warm water/
1 egg

Bread Filling:
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
8 tbsp brown sugar

Bread Egg Wash:
1 egg + 1 tbsp water

In a mixer combine all the dough ingredients on low speed until incorporated. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rest 5 minutes. Knead dough on med/low speed for 2 minutes until silky. Dough should clean the sides of the bowl and be lightly sticky. Cover and allow to rest 20 minutes. Knead on med/low for 4 minutes until dough is a uniform ball. Cover and rest for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size. Once doubled, punch the dough down in the center, cover and allow to rise again.

Once doubled again, remove from the bowl to a floured surface. Flatten into a rectangle with a rolling pin. Brush the bread with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll the bread up keeping it tight, and place it in  a bread pan lined with parchment. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise until doubled.

Heat oven to 375. Brush the risen bread with the egg wash. Bake 30 minutes, or until the loaf is brown and sound hollow when you knock on it.

French Toast:
6-8 thick slices bread
4 eggs (more if you like an eggy batter!)
1 cup heavy cream, half and half or milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple syrup

And for those days when you simply don’t feel like cooking, The Philadelphia Inquirer has a comprehensive list of area restaurants who are offering takeout and delivery!