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Tag Archives: Breakfast and Brunch
We are having a bi coastal holiday season this year. Lenny is on the E. Coast & I am on the W. Coast, this is the first Christmas in 4 years, that we have not spent together. While it is wonderful being with our families the distance during the holidays is bittersweet. Regardless of where we are, we wanted to wish each and everyone of you a very happy holiday season and hopefully, you are able to spend it with the ones you love this year! Enjoy! Our holiday wishes to you.
Now to announce our holiday gift away, which will include a one year subscription to my favorite cooking magazine, Gourmet and a box of homemade biscotti, which is one of Lenny’s favorite treats (he can’t stop at one) ~ DRUM ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The winner is: Gretchen Canepa
Christmas Wreath Bread Recipe
 Whenever we travel we always like to eat what the locals eat, no pizza (unless we are in Italy) or grilled cheese here – yes, I use to travel with people who would order these items no matter what country they were in, can you say “boring”! Even though I had been to Mexico before, on our first morning in Sayulita, I was not sure what we were in store for besides the coffee ritual. I was thinking it would be a pastry of some sort or maybe a breakfast burrito. Our first breakfast we decided to pick a spot where locals were eating as we wanted to submerge ourselves into the breakfast culture. The menu was basically eggs and egg related items. We looked around and told the waiter we would have coffee and what the table next to us was eating as it looked great and it the plates had had chips it, where else could you get away with this for breakfast! We were hooked! The next 4 mornings our favorite breakast became a couple cups of surprisingly good coffee and a big platter of Chilaquiles (torillas cooked in sauce) with eggs. Every morning I would wonder out loud, how could I make this at home, what could possibly be in the sauce. I knew it was a tomato based salsa but the peppers were mildy sweet and spicy. After our trip I kind of put the idea into the back of my mind and decided it would be one of those dishes I would save for our trips to Mexico.
I was flying back from Madison and decided to pick up the breakfast issue of Saveur at the airport. I always love the photos in Saveur but I really never make anything in them. It is definitely more eye candy for me than anything else. I squeeled with delight, when I started flipping through the pages and the first one I stopped at was a recipe for Chilaquiles. I could not believe it! It clearly was meant to be! As a regular reader you know we really don’t do breakfast at our house, so I knew these dishes would clearly become dinner.
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 Just a couple nights ago, I wrote about how we never really eat breakfast so we had “breakfast” for dinner. Today we had breakfast and it was so simple and so ordinary that I wanted to share it. As well since we are have been doing the Eat Local Challenge, I have been receiving emails asking if we eat local at dinner or all our meals; the answer, we try to at every meal. So for the next couple of weeks I will give a recap of our entire day.
It was a cold and dreary day out this morning, so when we woke up we drank lattes, watched the news, read and just kind of hibernated. It was really nice as usually we are heading out for a bike ride or separately to ride bikes, meet friends or worse, do errands. It was really great to hang out with each other. After about 5 cups of coffee, we decided to make breakfast. We had this baguette and great hunk of cheese on our minds, which then wandered to some lazy breakfasts in Germany I had years ago, so I added some soft boiled eggs. There I go again, contradicting my feelings about the runny egg. Back to my first trip to Germany where I had a breakfast of soft boiled eggs and warm bread daily – it was sublime! I loved these breakfasts and this morning it returned to me, some 20 years later. Today’s breakfast was so good that it flooded my mind with these warm feelings of this first trip to Europe and my first German Breakfast. I decided then, that I don’t mind “runny eggs” as long as they are not raw and as long as they are not on pizza. Warm “runny eggs” with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, well, it is still sublime!
 
soft boiled eggs, warm crusty baguettes, cheese, blood orange marmalade & lattes …..(got to love natural light …. someone make a light bulb that does the same!)
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Ashley, over at A Year in the Kitchen, is hosting this weeks Tuesdays With Dorie Challenge or as Lenny likes to call it, Tuesdays With the Devil. He says it is making us FAT! Ashley, should be an inspiration for all of us, not only is she part of TWD; but, she has a fitness/diet blog, that is very inspiring!
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Want to learn how to make yogurt at home …. so so easy! Just click (anywhere) on the photo above, to watch our how to video!
We thought we would do something different today and share our breakfast with you and a little story. When we are in Paris, we like to rent an apartment and it seems that every time we have done so, we are lucky enough to be right next to a bakery. The smell of yeast, flour and sugar penetrates the walls as early as 5am, this is our alarm clock. I always wake up before Lenny and I lay there until the entire apartment smells of this sweet sweet heaven, by then it is 7am. I cherish this time of the morning in Paris. I throw on my sweats, grab the camera and hit the rue, to pick up breakfast. The light is always perfect at this time. The streets are still with only the vendors bringing in the fresh produce, meat, fowl and fish. The yeastiness of what is baking mixes with all these wonderful smells and makes me so incredibly happy at comfortable at this perfect moment at the beginning of my day. One of our favorite morning treats are these wonderfully warm Les Chouquettes. They are light airy and slightly sweet, perfect with a strong cup of espresso or a latte, first thing in the morning. By the time I get back to the apartment, Lenny is awake, the Les Chouquettes are still warm and all that is left is the beginning to a perfect day with the one I love, in the city that we both love.
Yesterday morning we were listening to our favorite French radio station, drinking coffee and missing one of our favorite places, so I dug out the recipe for the Les Chouquettes and added the missing link to our “perfect morning in Paris“!
Recipe: Les Chouquettes
1 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Glaze: 1 egg yolk, mixed with a small amount of water
Crystal sugar or Pearl Sugar
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, you can use a silicone baking mat I prefer parchment. Heat the water, salt, sugar, and butter in a saucepan, stirring, until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and add all the flour at once. Stir quickly until the mixture is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Briskly beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth and shiny. Using two spoons, scoop up a mound of dough with one spoon about the size of a walnut and then scrape it off with the other spoon onto the baking sheet. Or you can use a pastry bag, I like the number 807. Place the mounds evenly-spaced apart on the baking sheet. Brush the top of each mound with some of the egg glaze then sprinkle the sugar crystals over the top, don’t be shy on this part. Use a lot! Bake the cream puffs for about 30 minutes, or until puffed and well-browned. Serve. Eat.
  …… instead Brunch. I normally do not write about what we eat during the day as dinner really is the time we get down and dirty. Nor do we really ever make breakfast or lunch for that matter. My sister and niece were in town today so we got together for some grubbing at our house. Since MEM gave me a waffle iron for my birthday, I have been eager to make waffles whenever the occasion of breakfast pops up. This time around I tried out a hearty cornmeal waffle served with real maple syrup as well as a blood orange syrup I made. We served lots of fresh fruit as well as some really great local pork sausages I found at Wholefoods as well as lots of really good cafe lattes. Once everyone left, we lounged around eating the bits and crumbs that were left. What a nice way to spend a Sunday morning (a cold and grey one, too).
We are going out to dinner with friends tonight; but, wait until you see what we have in store for you this week!
Come dine with us again!
When The Daring Bakers were presented with our September challenge by Marce from Pip in the City, I kind of cringed ….. I do not consider myself a baker at all. L. & I were chatting it up early one morning and he asked me why? My response was that the technical parts and the amount of time I have to put into it kind of irks me, I want instant gratification. So, I got myself out of bed, made some espresso and started Cinnamon (mine are Cardamon) & Sticky Buns.
WOW – half way through the challenge I was having a blast. My dough was silky, smooth and rising to the occasion. My cardamom sugar was sweet & spicy and my pecans and dried California (to add some local into this challenge) Apricots were chopped and my caramel/bergamot glaze was so tasty that I was afraid I was going to eat it all before actually glazing. Overall, it was a pretty good time so far and I was feeling damn good! Next came the part of baking I always hate … putting it all together. I usually do it so quickly, because I want to see what it is going to be like, that it does not come out the way the picture shows – I like to call it “natural looking”, to make myself feel better about it. This time around, I took my time, kneading, rolling, measuring, sprinkling, rolling, cutting and putting these sweet little buns into the right spots! I then covered them up and put them into the fridge to spend the night. I thought about them all night! I got up at 4am, put them next to the nice warm stove, covered them with some warm cheesecloth & let them rise until 8am, at which time I put them in the oven and …… They did just what they were supposed to do – I was so excited!
I could not wait for L. to see them! I set the table, and made the espresso. L. woke up to fresh cardamom & bergamot smells mixed with Italian Roast espresso … sleepy eyed he made it into the kitchen and all he could say was “Jesus Christ, this is great!” I gave some to our neighbors as well; E.’s response was that Sticky Buns were “OUTRAGEOUS” with the nut/fruit combo and Bergamot caramel glaze!
I faced my fears & I conquered this challenge and I can honestly say I am pleased, excited and can not wait until the next one …. Bring it on!!!
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