How to make Mother’s Day breakfast for a crowd with minimal stress

Puffy egg galettes with spinach, bacon and cheese

If desired, skip the egg and substitute crumbled feta or goat cheese in the center of the squares. Reduce baking time by half — or just until cheese is softened.

DuFour Pastry Kitchens sells their puff pastry in a 14-ounce package containing one sheet of dough; you’ll need two packages to make eight galettes. Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sells two sheets in their 17.3-ounce package. You can cut four squares from each sheet.

Yield: 8

Ingredients

• 2 packages (14 ounces each) frozen all butter puff pastry or 1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package, see note
• 4 thick strips hickory-smoked bacon, about 4 ounces
• 1 medium-sized onion, halved, thinly sliced
• 1 roasted red bell pepper from a jar, drained, cut into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon each: dried thyme, freshly ground black pepper
• 2 packed cups (about 2 ounces) baby spinach
• Salt to taste
• About ¼ cup mascarpone, creme fraiche or sour cream
• 8 small or medium-size eggs
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese blend
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped parsley
• Chopped chives or green onion tops

Directions

Have two baking sheets lined with kitchen parchment or silicon mats ready. Working on a large cutting board, unfold pastry. Cut eight squares, each measuring about 4 ½ by 4 ½ inches. Pierce the squares all over with a fork and place on prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate while you make the filling and heat the oven.

Cut bacon into thin matchsticks. Cook, stirring often in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to set crisp bacon aside. Add onion slices to pan with bacon drippings; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in bell pepper strips and garlic, Cook 1 minute. Add cumin, thyme and pepper. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach and keep stirring to wilt the spinach with the heat of the pan and its ingredients. Season to taste with salt.

Heat oven to 400 F. Bake pastry squares for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Working carefully as things are hot, spread about 1 teaspoon mascarpone over each pastry square. Evenly divide the onion mixture over the squares and arrange it around the edges of the pastry leaving the center empty. Sprinkle vegetables with about 1 tablespoon cheese for each square.

Use clean fingers to make a slight indent in the middle of the mixture in each square. Carefully crack an egg into the center of each pastry. Return to oven and bake until pastry is richly browned and egg is nearly set, 15 to 17 minutes more. Sprinkle with crispy bacon and herbs. Serve.

Chicken chorizo and chihuahua sausage rolls

Double the recipe for a crowd.

Yield: 4 rolls

Ingredients

• 1 package (14 ounces) all butter puff pastry or ½ of a 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo or 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ¼ medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup shredded Chihuahua cheese
• 4 links (one 10- to 12-ounce package) fully-cooked chicken chorizo or andouille sausage links
• Egg white, lightly beaten
• Black and white sesame seeds, or Everything But the Bagel seasoning blend

Directions

Heat oven to 400 F. Have a parchment paper lined baking sheet ready. Mix mustard, chipotle and oregano in a small bowl.

Unfold puff pastry and cut into four 5-by-5-inch squares. Brush the pastry with mustard mixture leaving a ¼-inch-wide border. Sprinkle each with some of the onion and then cheese. Place a sausage on one end of a rectangle. Roll up to enclose sausage, leaving ends of sausage exposed. Pinch seam closed.

Place rolls on prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Brush with beaten egg white. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.