The Best Brunch in New England isn't at a Restaurant

Hello Friends,

Are you hungry? I hope so because my latest cookbook New England Brunch comes out next week, and there’s a lot of food in there that needs to be eaten! I can’t do it all myself and, believe me, I’ve tried.

Boston area folks, I’d love to see you at my book launch party at Hummingbird Books if you’re available Sunday, April 6. It starts at 10am and includes drinks, brunchy snacks, a raffle, and general merriment. RSVP here for tickets, which include a copy of the book (general admission without a book is $10).

For those of you who aren’t local, I’m offering an incentive to preorder. For the first 20 people who send me a receipt for the book purchased between now and April 1, I’ll email you a copy of my new citrus dessert zine. You’re not limited to purchasing from Amazon—it can be your local bookstore, B&N, Books-A-Million, etc. (As of this writing, bookshop.org has the best price with 7% off.) Some of you early birds who preordered the book have received your copies already. Thanks so much for your support!

You know I have a wicked sweet tooth, so here’s what to expect from this cookbook: plenty of fresh fruit and pastries, including Maple Walnut Cinnamon Rolls, Blueberry Muffins, Caramel Apple Sticky Buns, and Cherry Puff Tarts. There are recipes for eight kinds of doughnuts, including Jelly and Boston Cream. And I’m particularly proud of the pitcher drinks, which feature the freshest flavors of the season, from Lavender Lemon Martinis and Mint Watermelon Gimlets in the summertime to Spiced Pear Sangria and Cranberry Mimosas in the fall.

Fully half of the recipes in New England Brunch are savory dishes, including soups, salads, hashes, and stratas. Some are on the fancier side, like Herbed Lobster Benedict and Broccoli Brie Quiche. Others are more rustic, like Red Flannel Hash and Eggplant Red Pepper Shakshuka. For dim sum lovers, there are three kinds of Chinese dumplings, including Siu Mai (Cantonese Pork and Shrimp Dumplings), as well as Pork Belly Bao, Scallion Pancakes, Egg Custard Tarts, and much more.

Rhode Islanders will find johnnycakes (cornmeal pancakes), Down Easters from Maine will find ployes (buckwheat crepes), and folks from the North Shore of Boston will have their anadama bread. Bagels are well represented in the cookbook, from pumpernickel to the controversial cinnamon raisin version (apologies to the New York and Montreal purists). There are English muffins bursting with nooks and crannies, cloud-like Portuguese sweet rolls, and popovers (both sweet and savory).

My hope is that you’ll make excellent use of your garden and local farm produce to create the best brunch of your lives. With more than 100 recipes to choose from, there’s bound to be something you’ll love.

I’m thrilled about the reviews so far (thank you, Library Journal!). I also loved this article on the Smart Cooks substack that talks about one of the best and easiest recipes in the cookbook: New England Cornmeal Custard Cake. And my local paper, the Waltham Times, features another favorite recipe: Butternut Squash Sage Scones.

More reasons to get yourself a copy of New England Brunch:

Brunch season is here! Easter is coming right up (April 20) as are myriad other opportunities for festive midday celebrations in the spring and summer. But there’s just as much variety in the fall and winter menus because brunch is always in season.

It’s not just for New Englanders. Sure, it’s chock full of interesting New England history, but the ingredients overlap with other areas like New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey south to Virginia. The climate is similar across Michigan and parts of the Midwest on over to the Pacific Northwest. And let’s not forget lovely Canada (if the Canadians are still talking to us, which they’re probably not and who can blame them). Plus, you know the Florida retirees miss their apple fritters.

The recipes work. They’ve all been tested and retested, as many of you know (thanks again to my recipe-testing community!). If you think you can’t cook or bake, you’re wrong.

It makes a great gift. Think hostess, housewarming, or birthday gift. Also, Mother’s Day is May 11. Mothers love brunch. But, also, mothers love when they don’t always have to make it themselves, so get your own copy and get to work, slacker children!

No AI was used in the creation of this cookbook. Who wants a cookbook written by AI anyway? Artificial intelligence doesn’t even have taste buds. Everything is going to smack of metal and electricity. Sure, the humans behind AI are doing their darnedest to feed it vast amounts of copyrighted material so it can pretend to be human; it’s already scarfed down my two previous cookbooks along with everybody else’s without our permission. But AI isn’t human any more than corporations are people, and I’m not giving up my career without a fight! slow throttling by our omniscient overlords.

So, yes, please support the human labor that enables our uniquely human experiences.

Hope to see you soon!

Lobsterly,