Recipes & Cooking

To avoid the rush, do as much as you can ahead of time; that way, you can sit down to enjoy brunch with family and friends on Christmas morning. For pictures and recipes of the 4 dishes listed below, flip through the photos here:

Strata: Prepare 1 day ahead but don't bake it; just cover tightly and refrigerate. On Christmas morning, take strata out of fridge and let it come to room temperature while the coffee cake is in the oven. Bake until puffed and golden.
Home Fries: Start with a package of microwave-ready breakfast potato chunks and a frozen sliced bell-pepper mix. Prepare both according to package label instructions, then cook them with a chopped onion and seasoning as recipe directs.
Compote: Prepare it up to 3 days ahead; cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature or warm up on the stove before serving.
Coffee Cake: Up to 2 days before, measure out the dry ingredients, mix and store in zip-top plastic bags (store flour and pecan mixtures separately). Cut butter into pieces, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. On Christmas morning, take the butter out of the fridge first (it'll soften quicker than whole sticks) while the oven is heating and prepare the pan. Then it's a snap to mix together your premeasured ingredients and bake the cake.