Tag Archives: Breakfast

Golden Moment

Posted on by Laurie

This morning, while waiting for muffins to come out of the oven and guests to come downstairs for breakfast, I decided to take advantage of a little free time to take photos of a mocktail for Morning Star Weddings – my other blog. The only trouble – I also had to wait for the sun to come up and get high enough in the morning sky so that I could get enough light for my photos. So I got all set up and played around with practice shots while waiting. This is one that I took of flowers that I was using as background filler. I was happy that it turned out because I really liked the contrast of materials. Have a lovely day!

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Chocolat Chaud (French-style Bittersweet Hot Chocolate)

Posted on by Laurie

ChocolatChaud

The other day I was reading J. A. Brillat-Savarin’s The Physiology of Taste and his discussion of chocolate gave me the greatest craving for a rich cup of chocolat chaud. As we have been experiencing cool weather here in Manhattan, Kansas the past few days, the timing was perfect; but, of course, being Kansas, the weather is supposed back up into the 80’s by mid-week. That’s how it goes here. I hope that you are having a lovely autumn! Enjoy the recipe!

Chocolat Chaud

6 oz. best-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 c. boiling water

about 2 c. warm milk

cinnamon sticks for garnish

optional other ingredients & garnishes: brown sugar, Chantilly Cream, cinnamon sugar, chocolate curls

Directions:

1. Place chocolate in a 2-qt. sauce pan over low heat. Pour boiling water over chocolate. Stir until smooth.

2. Gradually stir in 2 c. of the warm milk. Taste. If the flavor is too strong for you, stir in more milk to taste. If desired, stir in a bit of brown sugar.

3. Once you have reached the desired flavor, continue stirring until smooth and hot – but not boiling.

4. If you have an immersion blender, whip the hot chocolate until frothy. Ladle into warmed serving cups. Garnish each with a cinnamon stick. If desired, top with Chantilly cream, cinnamon sugar and/or chocolate curls. Bon appétit!

Note: As with just about anything you make, the are a number of ways to make chocolat chaud. Some recipes omit the hot water. You can use more or less milk if you desire. (About 2 cups of milk is the minimum that I like to use without having to sweeten the beverage.) If you have the patience to wait, after you have warmed the hot chocolate mixture and balanced the flavors, remove it from the heat, transfer to a glass container and allow it to sit for several hours in order to thicken. Return chocolate to clean saucepan, then gently warm mixture and continue with step 4.

Iced Minted Orange Juice

Posted on by Laurie

My first waitressing job was working evenings at a deli while I was in high school. Early on, I was scheduled for a Saturday morning 7 a.m. shift. Until I got on the floor to serve tables, I didn’t realize that apart from the owner who was in her office doing book work, I was the only employee working. That meant that I was cooking, serving, and busing tables … with no training on the breakfast shift. Fortunately, I knew how to cook, but I was a little flustered nevertheless. Not thinking, I served orange in a large glass of ice to one of the customers – after all, that was how I liked to drink my orange juice. Boy did he chew me out. “Who drinks orange juice with ice? What are you thinking!?” But, I still like my o.j. with ice, and Minted Orange Juice – a blend of iced mint tea and orange juice – is served just that way. This is a beverage that I came up with for serving with breakfast in heat of summer when o.j. seems a little too heavy and yet it feels too early in the day for iced tea. Enjoy!

Minted Orange Juice

6 c. cold water

1 cinnamon stick

1 c. clean fresh-picked mint leaves, plus some for garnish

12 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 – 3/4 c. sugar, or to taste

4 c. ice cubes, plus ice for serving

1. Place water and a cinnamon stick in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add mint leaves. Cover pot and steep for 15 minutes.

2. Place orange juice concentrate, 1/2 c. of the sugar, and ice cubes to a pitcher. Strain mint tea into pitcher. Stir until concentrate, sugar and ice cubes are dissolved. Taste. If desired, stir in the remaining 1/4 c. of sugar.

3. Chill until serving. Serve over ice and garnish with mint leaves.

Note: If you don’t have fresh mint, substitute 4 mint tea bags.

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Sweet Cherry Muffins

Posted on by Laurie

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Sweet Cherry Muffins

2 c. all purpose flour

1 c. granulated white sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 c. melted butter

1 c. buttermilk

2 lg. eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

2 c. dark sweet cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped (frozen ok)

cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare 10 1/2-cup ceramic ramekins with butter and flour or with baking spray;  or line 12 standard muffin cups with muffin papers, with butter and flour, or with baking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Set aside.

3. Stir together butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir mixture into dry ingredients until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Fold in cherries.

4. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape tops of muffins into a slight mound. Sprinkle tops of muffins with cinnamon sugar.

5. If using ramekins, place ramekins on 2 baking sheets. Bake for about 15 – 20 min for 12 muffins or about 22 – 27 minutes for 10 muffins. Muffins should be firm to the touch when done.

Barkley Scones

Posted on by Laurie

The recipe for these plain, but moist, scones – the type that is good for slathering with butter and jam – was sent to me by some lovely guests from Oregon who have stayed with us a number of times over the years.  Enjoy!

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Barkley Scones

3 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 T. + 1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

2 c. heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together dry ingredients, then beat in heavy cream.

3. Turn mixture out onto a floured work surface. Divide in half. Shape each half into a disk 6″ wide. Cut into four wedges. Transfer wedges to baking sheet.

4. Allow scones to sit for 15 minutes, then bake for about 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Banana Mocha Coconut Muffins

Posted on by Laurie

The other morning, I had a guest on an almost vegan diet; so I made these delicious muffins which one would never know were free of dairy products and eggs. I hope that you enjoy the recipe!

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Banana Mocha Coconut Muffins

3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. granulated white sugar

2 T. instant coffee or 2 t. espresso powder

1 T. baking powder

1 c. mashed ripe bananas

1 c. coconut milk

1/2 c. canola oil

1 T. coconut rum

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, preferably miniature ( use vegan chocolate if needed)

1 recipe Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze (below)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread coconut on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 3 to 4 minutes or until just starting to turn golden at the edges. Remove coconut from baking sheet and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, prepare 12 standard muffin cups or 10 four-ounce ramekins with baking spray.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, 2 T. of the instant coffee or 2 t. of the espresso powder, and baking powder. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together bananas, coconut milk, canola oil, and rum. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Divide batter into ramekins or muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape each cup of batter into a slight mound. Bake 15 to 20 minutes for 12 muffins or 20 to 25 minutes for 10 muffins. Muffins are firm to the touch when done.

6. Meanwhile, prepare Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze. Glaze muffins immediately upon removing from oven and  then sprinkle them with toasted coconut.

Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze

1 c. confectioner’s sugar

2 T. coconut milk

1/2 t. minced orange or lemon zest

1/2 t. instant coffee or 1/4 t. instant espresso powder

1/2 t. coconut rum, light rum, or orange or lemon extract

1. In a small bowl, slowly stir coconut milk into confectioner’s sugar. Stir in coffee, then zest, then rum or extract. Stir until smooth, then warm glaze to dissolve coffee.

Happy Valentine’s Day with Raspberry Muffins

Posted on by Laurie

We’ve been having Valentine’s Day themed breakfast specials all week long at The Morning Star. One of the items that I served this morning was Raspberry Buttermilk Muffins. We also had Nutella French Toast and Bagels with Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese today in addition to our regular menu. It was a very festive breakfast this morning as it has been all week!
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Valentine’s Raspberry Buttermilk Muffins

(makes 10 – 12)

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. granulated white sugar, plus extra for topping

1 T. baking powder

8 T. unsalted butter, melted

1 c. low fat buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 t. orange extract

2 c. frozen raspberries

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare 12 standard muffin cups or 10 eight-ounce ramekins with butter and flour or baking spray.

(2) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 c. sugar and baking powder. Set aside.

(3) Whisk together butter, buttermilk, eggs and orange extract. Stir mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in raspberries.

(4) Divide batter into prepared muffin cups or ramekins. Using the back of a spoon, shape each cup of batter into a light mound. Sprinkle batter with granulated white sugar. If using ramekins, place them on two baking sheets before putting in the oven. Bake muffins for 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Muffins are firm to the touch when done.

Enjoy! Happy Valentine’s Day!

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2LC: Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup

Posted on by Laurie

The ingredient for this month’s Two Little Chefettes‘ Cooking Challenge is cinnamon. For the challenge, I made Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup because it can be used to add rich cinnamon and caramel flavor to so many dishes. Pour over French toast, pancakes or waffles. Use to glaze coffee cakes, muffins, scones or brownies. Add to coffee, cocoa or tea. Drizzle over apple pie with ice cream. Use in place of simple syrup in cocktails and mocktails.  There are so many ways to enjoy Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup!

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. granulated white sugar

2 c. water

12 inches of cinnamon bark (e.g. 3  four-inch long cinnamon sticks)

Place ingredients in a 2 qt. non-stick saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the syrup comes to a simmer and sugars are completely dissolved. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 more minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool. Transfer to a glass jar, cover, and refrigerate overnight.  Remove the cinnamon sticks. (If there is any chance that there are splinters of the cinnamon bark in your syrup, strain the syrup  into a clean glass container.) Cover and store in the refrigerator.

FrenchToastWithSyrupNote on color: the syrup looks quite dark – like dark maple syrup – when it is in a container, but looks considerably bit lighter when it is poured.

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Related Articles:

whisksandchopsticks: Apple Crisp

feedtheburn: Cinnamon Buns

Caramelized Grapefruit

Posted on by Laurie

Caramelized Grapefruit

An elegant yet easy to make fruit dish for holiday brunches …

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

2 lg. red grapefruit

4 large grapes or maraschino cherries

Preheat oven broiler. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Cut grapefruits in half crosswise. Use a grapefruit knife to section the grapefruits and to remove centers. Sprinkle brown sugar onto each grapefruit half. Place grapefruits 6 inches under broiler and cook for about 5 minutes or until brown sugar is melted. (Watch grapefruit carefully during this time.) Remove from broiler. Place in dessert bowls or on dessert plates. Put a grape or cherry in the center of each grapefruit half. Serve immediately.

Note: If you do not have a broiler, you can use a chef’s torch to melt sugar. If you do not have a chef’s torch, let the sugar soak into the grapefruit for about 10 minutes before serving. The sugar will not caramelize, but the flavor will still be pleasing.

Special of the Day: Spinach Omelette with Leeks

Posted on by Laurie

Everyday we offer a set breakfast menu plus a daily special. Today’s special was Spinach Omelette with Leeks.

The omelettes were filled with organic baby spinach, sautéed leeks, and shredded Monterey Jack and mild Cheddar cheeses. They were seasoned with a homemade herb salt made with herbs from our garden. The fresh leeks were sautéed in extra virgin olive oil with a splash of  Sauvignon Blanc and seasoned with the herb salt. They were finished with a twist of fresh ground green, black and pink peppercorns.

At the end of the meal, there were clean plates all around. Just what I like to see!