Upgrade Your Weekend Brunch with this Buffet-Style Feast

• 2 ounces Anchor Distilling Hophead Hop Vodka
• 2 ounces fresh carrot juice
• ¾ ounce fresh lime juice
• ¾ ounce agave syrup
• Pinch of sea salt, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, combine all the ingredients with ice, except salt. Shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a pinch of sea salt on top.

• 4 ounces vodka
• Fresh lemon
• thyme
• 1 oyster
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 egg white
• 2 ounces Noilly Prat Dry

Muddle the vodka with lemon thyme, then strain.

Shuck the oyster, reserving and straining the water from within the oyster shell. Mix the oyster water with lemon juice and egg white, and whip into a foam.

Shake the infused vodka and Noilly Prat with ice, and strain into a martini glass. Top with the oyster water foam. Garnish with oyster and a fresh sprig of thyme.

*Note—this is a double-sized martini, so drink with caution!

• 1¾ ounces traditional sangrita*
• ½ ounce fresh lime juice
• Mexican lager (such as Sol, Carta Blanca or Modelo Especial) to top
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 lime wedge, for garnish, plus 1 lime wedge for rimming the glass
• ¼ cup rimming salt
• Other garnishes (optional), like cucumber, olive or pickled green beans

Pour the rimming salt into a small glass bowl. Rub a lime wedge over half of the outside of a Mason jar or highball glass, then rim the glass by dipping it in the salt. Add the sangrita and lime juice and stir. Fill the glass with ice, and top with the Mexican lager. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste, and garnish as desired.

• 2 ounces tomato juice
• 2 ounces fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup
• ½ ounce Tapatió hot sauce
• ½ ounce Tiger Sauce
• ¼ ounce salt
• ¼ ounce black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well incorporated.

*While the recipe can be divided to make a smaller batch, Robison advises to use these measurements.

• 1 750-ml bottle of 100% agave blanco Tequila 
• 1 liter tomatillo juice
• 6 ounces green bell pepper juice
• 6 ounces cucumber juice
• 6 ounces celery juice
• 4 ounces lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 ounce white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• 2 ounces green Tabasco sauce

Mix everything in a pitcher and refrigerate for 2 hours. Pour into long glasses over ice. Garnish with a long cucumber slice. Makes 25 servings.

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 pounds beef bottom round roast
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 2 jalapeños, julienned
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 cup of a robust red wine 
• 2–4 cups beef stock    
• 1 dozen eggs, scrambled
• 12 corn tortillas, heated
• 1 bunch of cilantro   

Rub the spices and salt onto the roast. Heat the oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add the garlic, onion, peppers and jalapeños, and cook for about 5 minutes. Place the veggies in a slow cooker.

Sear both sides of the roast for 2 minutes in the skillet. Then place it and the carrot in the cooker. Add any loose rub spices to the skillet and deglaze with wine, then add it all to the cooker. Pour enough beef stock into the cooker to cover the roast. Cover, and cook on low for 6–8 hours overnight.

In the morning, remove the roast  and shred with a fork. To build your tacos, add eggs first, then beef, then the veggies. Top with cilantro. Serves 12. 

Any red wine that takes a few hours to open up will suffice. That way, you can use it to cook and by serving time, the wine is at its peak. One that worked well in our test kitchen was the 2012 A Tribute To Grace Grenache, from Santa Barbara County. While prepping the beef, the wine was lean and tight with little fruit, and big green-olive aromas. Hours later, it was exploding with both scents and flavors of cherry and raspberry.

• For the duck sausage:
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless duck meat, ground
• 10 ounces pork back fat, ground
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemongrass, minced
• 1½ teaspoons ginger, peeled and grated
• 1½ teaspoons garlic, minced
• 8 6-inch lemongrass stalks to use as skewers
• —
• For the spicy mayo:
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 3 teaspoons Sriracha
• —
• To assemble the sandwich:
• 1 French baguette, halved and cut into 8 pieces
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 jalapeños, sliced
• 1 bunch fresh mint leaves
• 2 carrots, grated

Combine the duck ingredients (minus the skewers) in a large bowl and mix by hand for 2 minutes. Divide into 8 equal portions and form patties around the lemongrass stalk skewers. Cook on a medium-hot grill for 3 minutes per side. Remove from grill and take out the skewers.  Stir together the mayo and Sriracha and spread it on the bottom of each baguette. Add the duck. Pile on a heavy pinch of grated carrots, then add the cilantro, sliced jalapeños and mint leaves, to taste. Place the top baguette slice over it all and plate. Serves 8.

• ½  pound butter
• ½  cup roasted tomatillos
• 1  roasted jalapeño
• 1  tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ¼  cup fresh lime juice
• 4  egg yolks
• 2  spiny lobster tails, removed from shell (about 6–8 ounces each)
• ¼  cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup tomato concassé (peeled, seeded and diced tomato)
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 3 tablespoons capers
• 8 eggs 
• 4  slices toasted brioche

Heat the butter over medium heat until it foams. In the meantime, place the tomatillos, jalapeño, mustard, lime juice and egg yolks in a blender. Purée until smooth. Slowly drizzle the hot butter into the blender while running until it emulsifies. Pour the sauce through a strainer into a stove-safe bowl and keep warm.

Warm the olive oil over medium heat, and add the tomato, basil and capers. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes release juice.

Soft-poach the 8 eggs and set aside, keeping warm.

Slice spiny lobster tails into ¼-inch-thick medallions. Add the lobster medallions to the tomato sauce and cook until they’re opaque. Remove from heat.

To plate, layer the lobster atop a slice of toasted brioche and spoon the tomato sauce over. Place two poached eggs on top of each slice of brioche and drizzle with the emulsion. Serves 4.

Domaine Cabirau 2013 Rosé (Côtes-du-Roussillon)

The ripe fruit core of strawberry, raspberry and mango are fresh and juicy yet structured by subtle tannins. The moderate acidity will cut through the fatty eggs and emulsion, while the earthy spice accents will complement the dish’s herbs. —Lauren Buzzeo

• 7½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sliced fresh mint leaves
• 1½ tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 6 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1 pound fresh pizza dough
• 5 tablespoons pomegranate-cumin dressing
• 1 cup coarsely grated Fontina cheese
• Fresh arugula
• 2 sausages, grilled and sliced into 1⁄3 inch thick rounds
• 6 fresh figs, quartered
• 2 thin red onion slices, rings separated
• 1 cup goat cheese

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Prepare the pomegranate sauce by combining the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mint, pomegranate molasses, cumin and shallot.

Split the dough in half, and roll out into two 10-inch rounds. Brush the rounds with some of the pomegranate sauce.

Grill the pizzettas, seasoned side down, until golden on bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn the pizzettas over, and top with Fontina, arugula, sausages, figs and onions. Drizzle with more pomegranate sauce.

Cover and grill until the Fontina melts and the pizzettas are cooked through, about 4 minutes.

Top with goat cheese, and grill until cheese softens, about 1 minute. Top with fresh arugula. Serves 6.

Pair with a Newsome-Harlow Big John Zinfandel (Calaveras County).

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 eggs
• ⅔ cup milk
• Cinnamon and sugar, to taste
• 2 cups apple butter

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Combine the eggs and milk in a separate bowl, then combine together the two bowls to create batter.

Using a 1½-tablespoons ice cream scoop, ball and fry the batter in a 325˚F fryer and cook for 4 minutes on each side. No fryer? Then fill a pot one-quarter full with vegetable oil and place over medium heat to fry.

Once fried, place the doughnuts on paper towels to absorb excess oil and season with cinnamon and sugar. Using a squeeze bottle or baster insert apple butter into the center of each doughnut. Serves 4.

Chef Keevil suggests Virginia’s unique Foggy Ridge Pippin Gold Cider to pair with the apple-filled doughnuts. “It’s a hard cider fortified with apple brandy from Laird & Company, the country’s oldest distiller,” says Keevil. “Hey, I love to pair apples with apples!“