Tag Archives: Breakfast in Bed
Breakfast in Bed – Profiteroles
Post by: Alison Hein.
Profiteroles (aka cream puffs) are a divine bite of sweet something encased in an airy puff of a shell. Filled with the delight of your choice (ice cream, fruit, whipped cream, etc.), they make an impressive dessert, and sometimes an exceedingly decadent, melt-in-your-mouth breakfast in bed.
In this recipe, the airy, crêpe-like shells are filled with homemade Vanilla Pudding and topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Tiny lids are propped upon the cream and dusted with a fine powder of confectioner’s sugar. Tangy, colorful raspberries and blueberries balance and garnish the dish.
Ingredients
½ cup water
¼ cup butter
½ cup flour, sifted
2 eggs
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.
Add water and butter to small, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Mix in flour all at once. Stir continuously, until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Beat eggs into flour mixture one at a time. Continue to mix until batter is thick and smooth. Drop onto prepared sheet into 12 equal portions. Bake until puffed up and golden, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.
To assemble, gently slice profiteroles in half. Spoon some Vanilla Pudding (see recipe below) on top of one half. Cover with a spoonful of whipped cream. Place the top of the profiterole on the whipped cream. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh berries, if you like.
Makes 12 profiteroles.
Vanilla Pudding
½ cup sugar
¼ cup flour (or 2 tablespoons cornstarch)
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
1 cup heavy cream (optional)
Preparation
Combine sugar and flour in a heavy saucepan. Add milk, and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Gradually whisk about one half of the milk mixture into the beaten eggs, stirring constantly. Return egg mixture to the saucepan. Bring again to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook for a few minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla and salt. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours.
If you like, whip heavy cream, sweeten, and place on top of Profiteroles when ready to serve.
Breakfast in Bed –Buckwheat Pancakes
Post by Alison Hein.
Buckwheat, despite its name, is more closely related to sorrel and rhubarb than to wheat. In the usual way of confusing food etymology, the plant’s misleading name is derived from the Dutch “boecweite” or German “Buchweizen,” meaning “beech wheat.” The triangular seeds resembled the much larger seed of the beech nut, and the plant was used as a substitute for wheat in cooking and baking.
Cultivated and popularized around the globe, buckwheat was a common crop in the USduring the 18th and 19th centuries. The introduction of nitrogen fertilizer in the early 20th century led to an increase in corn and wheat production, and a sad but equal decrease in buckwheat cultivation. According to Wikipedia, more than one million acres of buckwheat were harvested in the United States in 1918, and by 1964, only 50,000 acres were grown.
Buckwheat is gluten-free and has an earthy, nut-like flavor and a deep richness. This good old-fashioned recipe for Buckwheat Pancakes calls for a cup of white flour – simply use two full cups of buckwheat flour if you want to keep it gluten-free. I like to separate the eggs and fold the beaten whites into the batter for a fluffier texture. If you’re in a hurry, simply beat the eggs into the batter. The cakes may be a little flatter but their griddled goodness will remain for an old-fashioned breakfast in bed that’s due for a revival.
Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus additional butter for cooking
2 tablespoons honey
Preparation
Combine buckwheat flour, white flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. In separate bowl, stir together milk and egg yolks. Pour melted butter and honey into liquid mixture and stir well. Using a wooden spoon or hand mixer, gradually add liquid mixture to dry ingredients until batter is smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into batter.
Place pan or griddle on burner over medium to medium-low heat. Melt a small amount of butter in the pan for the first pancake. Ladle batter by ¼ cupfuls into pan and cook until small bubbles appear throughout pancakes. Flip once with spatula and continue cooking until rich brown, one to two minutes, adding more butter and adjusting heat as necessary. Keep warm while making the remainder of pancakes. Serve hot with real maple syrup.
Makes 8 to 10 4-inch diameter pancakes.
Breakfast in Bed – Eggs Goldenrod
Post by Alison Hein.
Some know this cheerful golden breakfast dish as Eggs Beauregard. Even more know it as Eggs Goldenrod, a staple in Home Economics classes, uh, a long time ago. It makes sense for budding chefs to practice this simple recipe. Several basic cooking techniques are rolled into one dish: how to hard boil eggs to a perfect consistency; how to toast bread to a light golden brown; how to make a smooth, creamy white sauce; and how to successfully assemble and garnish a dish to an elegant finish. The finished product – warm toasty bread topped with creamy white sauce and dusted with feathery bits of cooked yolk – is lovely to look at, and lovely to eat.
I like to use a light, airy bread, such as brioche, to offset the rich and creamy egg-topped sauce. If you like, hard boil the eggs the day before, then heat them for a minute or two in the white sauce before serving. Also, feel free to use white pepper rather than black if you like to keep your white sauce white.
Let your little ones and fledgling cooks help. Go boil some eggs right now. Then, tomorrow morning, let them toast, sauce and plate for you – a cheerful, golden breakfast in bed!
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 slices of bread
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Preparation
Place eggs in a small heavy saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil on high heat and continue to cook eggs for 10 minutes, until hard-boiled. Cool and peel. Separate eggs from whites. Finely chop egg whites and set aside. Push cooked egg yolks through a fine mesh sieve to form an airy powder and set aside. Toast bread to a light golden brown and arrange on 2 plates.
To make white sauce, melt butter in small heavy saucepan. Whisk in flour until smooth, thick paste forms. Whisk in milk and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in chopped egg whites.
Spoon white sauce over prepared toast. Top with fluffy egg yolk, garnish with parsley and serve immediately. Fresh sliced oranges make a nice accompaniment.
Makes 2 servings.
Breakfast in Bed
Post by Alison Hein.
All you Downton Abbey fans are familiar with the habit of married ladies languishing in their boudoirs while gentlemen fetch their own breakfasts in the drawing room (wow, what a great idea!). The fact that one has the time and means (and someone to serve them) to partake of an indulgent breakfast in bed has come to symbolize the epitome of luxury.
Today, I thought I’d share with you some other Breakfasts in Bed of which you may not be aware. First up, Mary Cassatt’s endearing painting of a quiet morning shared between mother and daughter. Women and children were prominent figures in the work of Cassatt, an American Impressionist who studied in Pennsylvania before settling in Paris. This lovely painting was created in 1897 and currently hangs in the Huntington Library in California. Curators there have this to say about the painting: “With the child centrally located in an upright pose, Cassatt depicts a quiet but charged moment in which a mother embraces her daughter, whose attention is elsewhere. Contrasting the mother’s protective action and gaze with her offspring’s curiosity and the world beyond her reach, Cassatt evokes the subtle tensions implicit in the relationship of parent to child”.
You can read more about Cassatt’s Breakfast in Bed on the Huntington Library site.
Now then, have you heard Dusty Springfield’s sultry and bluesy Breakfast in Bed? It was released on her 1969 album Dusty in Memphis, and was later recorded and popularized by Baby Washington on Cotillion. The R&B song was written by Muscle Shoals songwriters Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts. They knowingly paid “homage” to the line “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” the title of a song which had previously been a number one hit for Dusty in the UK. Watch her performance on YouTube:
Many other performers reproduced Breakfast in Bed, including three reggae versions performed by Lorna Bennett, Scotty, and Bongo Herman.
Then there’s the German comedy movie Breakfast in Bed (Frühstück im Doppelbett) that came out in 1963. It’s about the wife of a newspaper editor who grows sick of his frequent absences. Don’t worry – they reconcile in the end. I’m not sure what to make of this but you can see a snippet of it here:
Finally, I’d like to leave you with a few words of etiquette wisdom penned by Emily Post in 1922 (see the full text here: http://www.bartleby.com/95/25.html ):
BREAKFAST DOWNSTAIRS OR UP: Breakfast customs are as varied in this country as the topography of the land! Communities of people who have lived or traveled much abroad, have nearly all adopted the Continental breakfast habit of a tray in their room, especially on Sunday mornings. In other communities it is the custom to go down to the dining-room for a heavy American (or English) meal.
PREPARING BREAKFAST TRAY: The advantage of having one’s guests choose breakfast upstairs is that unless there is a separate breakfast room, a long delayed breakfast prevents the dining-room from being put in order or the lunch table set. Trays, on the other hand, stand “all set” in the pantry and interfere much less with the dining-room work. The trays are either of the plain white pantry variety or regular breakfast ones with folding legs. On each is put a tray cloth. It may be plain linen hemstitched or scalloped, or it may be much embroidered and have mosaic or filet lace.
Every bedroom has a set of breakfast china to match it. But it is far better to send a complete set of blue china to a rose-colored room than a rose set that has pieces missing. Nothing looks worse than odd crockery. It is like unmatched paper and envelopes, or odd shoes, or a woman’s skirt and waist that do not meet in the back. There is nothing unusual in a tray set, every china and department store carries them, but only in “open” stock patterns can one buy extra dishes or replace broken ones; a fact it is well to remember. There is a tall coffee pot, hot milk pitcher, a cream pitcher and sugar bowl, a cup and saucer, two plates, an egg cup and a covered dish. A cereal is usually put in the covered dish, toast in a napkin on a plate, or eggs and bacon in place of cereal. This with fruit is the most elaborate “tray” breakfast ever provided. Most people who breakfast “in bed” take only coffee or tea, an egg, toast and possibly fruit.
Well, I’ll be sure to check that the Downton Abbey staff keeps their crockery in order. And you should be sure to luxuriate in your own form of breakfast in bed, whether culinary, musical, or lyrical, whenever possible.
Breakfast in Bed: Prosciutto Egg Cups
Post by Alison Hein.
Here’s a great idea from my friend and Pilates instructor Michele – crispy baked prosciutto slices wrapped around warm, gooey baked eggs. A little tweaking to this simple preparation produces lots of varieties. You can add a little parmesan cheese, or float some sautéed onions or mushrooms on top. Eggs can be beaten first and mixed with herbs and vegetables, similar to the Baked Breakfast Egg Cups (http://www.charlesprogers.com/blogs/archives/4411) I’ve shared with you in the past. But I like Michele’s version for its ease and simplicity. The salty Italian cured ham minimizes spicing needs so a touch of freshly ground black pepper before baking finishes nicely.
The Prosciutto Egg Cups make a neat and elegant dish for entertaining. Put them on your brunch table, along with an assortment of toast, fresh fruit, hash browns and mimosas, and you’ll have trouble getting rid of you friends and family on lazy Sunday afternoons.
Or, keep them for yourself, served with a plain, crusted bread like Irish Wheaten Bread (https://www.charlesprogers.com/blogs/archives/7766) for an easy, simple (and delicious) breakfast in bed.
Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 pieces prosciutto
2 eggs
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (for as many prosciutto eggs as you plan to make). Arrange a piece of prosciutto in each muffin cup, wrapping around the sides and covering the bottom to form a closed bowl.
Crack eggs one at a time into a small bowl (to make sure yolks are intact), then pour into prosciutto-lined muffin cups. Grind some fresh black peppercorns onto the top of the raw egg. Place in oven and bake for around 15 minutes for a cooked egg white and soft yolk. Cool slightly before removing from tin. Carefully scoop out eggs with a large spoon. Serve with crusty, whole grain bread, if you like.
Makes 2 servings.
