Shake up Mother's Day with breakfast crostini and banh mi

Mother's Day is one of the biggest food days of the year when you consider it's thebusiest day for restaurants and is often celebrated at home with breakfast in bed, homemade dinner or a leisurely brunch.

Here are a few ideas that might be slightly outside your wheelhouse if you're looking for savoury options beyond the usual stacks of sweet pancakes, waffles and crepes.

Perhaps you are considering somethingeasy to navigate in bed, withoutbalancing knifes, forks and plates,or to feed visiting extended family.

• Try out more dishesat cbc.ca/juliesrecipes

Savoury breakfast crostini, which are little toasts,can be piled with anything. Try mashed avocado, ricotta, soft goat cheese, scrambled or jammy eggs, sausage, strips of prosciutto, fresh herbs or tiny tomatoes.

Theseare perfect for nibbling in bed with coffee, or downstairs, with a larger group.

Vietnamese banh miis just fun to make. Stuff a whole baguette with sausage, eggs, quickly pickled veg and cilantro.

Let everyone cut off a chunkor make a smaller version to bring upstairs for breakfast in bed. Either way, don't forget the napkins.

Breakfast crostini

Crostini translates to "little toasts,"which makes them ideal breakfast food. Like avocado toast and other open-faced sandwiches, you can pile them with anything you like.

Trysoft cheeses, such as ricotta, goat, cream andmascarpone, orvegetables, such as sauted mushrooms, leftover roasted vegetables, tiny tomatoes and purple onion, andproteins, including sliced or crumbled bacon, sausage or crisp prosciutto, scrambled or jammy eggs, squares of cold frittata.

Top withany kind of garnish you'd like, for example, torn fresh herbs, chives andcapers.

You can have some fun playing around with these and enlist the kids to help.

Crostini ingredients

Baguette, thinly sliced on a slight diagonal.

1 garlic clove, crushed.

Olive or canola oil.

Toppings may include:

Ripe avocado.

Halved cherry or grape tomatoes.

Sauted mushrooms.

Roasted vegetables.

Soft cheeses, such as ricotta, goat, brie orcream.

Salty cured meats.

Sliced sausage.

Thinly sliced purple onion, green onions or chives.

Torn fresh herbs or micro greens.

Sriracha.

Flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 163 C (325 F).

Lay the baguette out in a single layer on a baking sheet and put the garlic into a small dish of oil. Swirl it around a bit to infuse the oil. Brush or dab the baguette slices with the garlicky oil.

Toast for eight to 10 minutes, or until pale golden.

Top with any combination of toppings. Soft cheeses and mashed avocado work well as a base. Then add vegetables, eggs or other proteins.

Top everything with fresh herbs or micro greens to make them look extra special oradd a few drops of sriracha.

Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Serving: As many as you like.

Breakfast banhmi

To quickly pickle shredded carrots, radishes, daikon or other vegetables, dissolve sugar into an equal amount of rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar and pour overtop. Refrigerate overnight.

Ingredients

Canola oil, for cooking.

Two to fourfresh pork sausages but not maple flavoured.

Two to foureggs.

Onegood quality baguette.

Real mayonnaise.

Thinly sliced cucumber. I make ribbons with a vegetable peeler.

Pickled carrots, radishes, and/or thinly sliced jalapeno peppersor birds-eye chilies.

Fresh cilantro.

Preparation

In a heavy skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat.

Cook the sausages or squeeze them out of their casings at one-inch (2.5 centimetre)intervals into the pan, making meatballs.

Cook, stirringuntil golden on all sides and cooked through.

Push aside or remove from the pan and set aside.

Crack the eggs into the pan and fry them or cook over-easy, or boil them until they're jammy.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Slowly lower the eggs in and cook them for exactly 6minutes.

Thentransfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water to stop them from cooking.

Once they're cool enough to handle, peel and cut into halves or quarters. You can cook them ahead and stash them in the fridge until you're ready for them.

Split the baguette lengthwise and spread it generously with mayo.

Stuff with sausage or meatballs, jammy or fried eggs, and as many cucumber ribbons, pickled carrots, radishes and/or jalapeno peppersas you'd like.

Top with sprigs of fresh cilantro.

Serving: Serve immediately for four or more people.

Listen to Julie Van Rosendaalon Mother's Day food:

• MORE RECIPES |Try these different takes on pancakes, a breakfast staple
• MORE RECIPES |Wrap carrots, sausages in bacon for fresh 'pigs in a blanket'
• MORE RECIPES |Real or fake vanilla? Chocolate chunk cookies put to the taste test

Withfiles from theCalgary Eyeopener.