Here are a the most popular dishes that I have used for brunches in the past.
They can all be made ahead, but some need finishing at the end.
I haven’t tried freezing them, but I hope some of them help you anyway.
MOCK SOUFFLE
Always a big hit at my parties. Substitute cooked breakfast sausage or cooked bacon for the ham if you want. It also works well with Morningstar Farms vegetarian sausage, or without any meat at all. It sounds like an odd recipe, but no one will be able to tell you’re serving them a pan of white bread & eggs. 
I often make 2 or 3 varieties for my brunches. IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe does not scale upward successfully. If you want to make more than the batch below, which serves about 10 if other things are served with it, DO NOT INCREASE THE RECIPE & COOK IN A BIGGER PAN - you’ll end up with a soggy mess. Make the same size recipe in multiple pans.
8 oz. sharp cheese such as cheddar, shredded
12 oz cubed ham
16 slices white bread (crust removed)
8 eggs, beaten
4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
butter, softened
Lightly butter 8 slices bread, arrange in 9x13 pan: sprinkle ham and cheese over bread. Butter other 8 slices and lay on top of ham and cheese. Beat eggs with milk and dry mustard. Pour over mixture in pan. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before baking. Drizzle with melted butter if desired. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
This quiche works well baked ahead & then served at room temperature.
You can bake it up to 2 days in advance, if you cover it very well with plastic wrap when you refrigerate it. I’ve never tried to freeze it, so I don’t know how it would behave.
CHEDDAR BROCCOLI QUICHE
1 unbaked (9-inch) pie shell
1 1/4 C. chopped broccoli – chopped fine
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 C. fresh mushrooms – sliced thin
1/2 Small Bunch green onions – chopped fine
1/2 Medium green pepper – sliced thin
3 eggs
1/2 Tsp. salt
1 C. milk
1 C. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Cook and chop fresh broccoli or thaw frozen chopped broccoli. Drain and pat dry. Melt butter and Saute sliced mushrooms, onions and peppers in butter until wilted. Drain if necessary.
Beat eggs and salt together, add milk and vegetables.
Mix well. Sprinkle cheese on bottom of pie crust and mix the rest into the egg/milk/vegetable mixture.
Place vegetable mix into pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Quiche is done when it begins to set.
IMPORTANT NOTE: get the broccoli as dry as you can. Squeeze it between paper towels, or spread it on paper towels & let it air dry for a while. It makes a big difference - if you don’t get it really dry this quiche tends to be a bit soggy.
Also try to cook off all the liquid from the mushrooms.
This is an amazingly good quiche, hot or at room temperature. Can also be baked a couple of days in advance, wrapped well & refrigerated. I have not tried freezing it.
Quiche Lorraine
Pastry:
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
7 Tbs. butter or margerine
3-5 Tbs. ice water
Use pastry blender to mix ingredients until it resembles crumbs. Add ice
water, use as much water as you need to form dough consistency. Refrigerate
for 30 minutes.
Filling:
8 oz. bacon (cooked)
4 eggs, separated
1 cup whipping cream
1 pinch white pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
generous 1 cup of edam cheese
Grease and flour 1 10", or 2 7" flan pans. (I usually use a regular pie tin)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out dough to 1/6" thick. Press into pan to form crust.
Chop bacon, sprinkle over dough. Mix yolks, cream, pepper and salt. Stir in cheese.
Beat egg whites in separate bowl, fold into other mixture. Pour into the pan.
Bake 30-40 minutes until inserted knife comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing sides. Serve warm.
NOTE: I always use a Pillbury all-ready pie crust instead of making my own.
Cheesecake, Smoked Salmon and Chive
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion – minced
2 cloves garlic – minced
1/2 cup red bell pepper – minced
16 ounces cream cheese – softened
3 whole eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese – grated
1/4 cup jarlsberg cheese – shredded
1/2 cup fresh chives – chopped
1 dash Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 ounces cold-smoked salmon – diced
8 inch springform cake pan
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 1 minute. Add bell pepper and saute 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, until well combined. Beat in milk, salt and cheeses, scraping down sides of mixer bowl. Add onion-pepper mixture, chives, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Beat to combine. Add salmon and beat just until incorporated.
Lightly oil the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Pour batter into pan. Bake in a preheated, 350-degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the cheesecake is firm along the sides but still slightly wiggly in the middle. Remove from oven and cool.
Cover and chill cheesecake for several hours or overnight. Run a sharp knife around sides of pan, then remove pan sides. Cut into wedges and eat with a fork as an appetizer, or surround the cheesecake with crackers and serve as a spread.
Source:
“THE TENNESSEAN, July 12, 1999”
This can be served hot or at room temperature. You can bake it a day ahead, cool, then cover tightly. No need to refrigerate if it’s only made a day ahead.
Farka - Breakfast Couscous
Recipe By : Bon Appetit May 1995
Serves 8
2 2/3 cups couscous – (about 1 lb)
2 2/3 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts – toasted
8 ounces pitted dates – chopped
2 cups whole milk – hot
Place couscous in large bowl. Bring 2 2/3 cups water, 1/2 cup sugar and oil to boil in heavy large saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour mixture over couscous and stir until well blended. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Fluff with fork to separate grains. Mix nuts and dates into couscous. Transfer couscous to 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Cool. Cover with foil. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake couscous until heated through, about 20 minutes. Spoon into bowls. Serve, passing hot milk and additional sugar separately.
NOTES : For the chopped nuts, use a combination of hazelnuts, almonds & pecans, coarsely chopped.
When serving, offer additional sugar for topping.
These are best made the day of, but I have successfuly reheated them after making ahead.
Individual Cheddar Frittatas
Recipe By : adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit, December 2000
Serves 12
10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
5 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed – chopped
dried oregano
18 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter 12 half-cup ramekins.
Pack cheese evenly in bottoms of ramekins. Sprinkle sun-dried tomatoes and
oregano over cheese (about 1/8 tsp oregano in each ramekin).
Using electric mixer, beat eggs in large bowl until pale and slightly
thickened, about 8 minutes. Beat in Tabasco. Pour egg mixture into dishes.
Bake until firm, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly.
(Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Reheat in 350°F oven 10 minutes.)
Serve warm.
Turkey bacon will work fine in place of pork bacon in my recipes, if that helps.
but there’s a frozen dealie called “Pour-a-Quiche”. You defrost it, pour it into a pie shell and bake it for an hour - et voila! fresh quiche. If you get that and you can defrost it in the fridge on Wedding Day, you can pour and bake it Brunch Day.