by amvandenhurk | Bread, Breakfast
Going back to basics for a Sunday morning breakfast. We had hard boiled egg and toast. So very English… or in my case Irish. We added in some watermelon for something healthy.
What is your favorite Sunday breakfast?
by amvandenhurk | Travel
Waffle House. A restaurant chain at the end of every off-ramp of America’s highway system. I’ve pasted them millions of times and never thought to stop in and eat. Either searching for a local diner and heading towards a McDonalds.
There are times you just want a simple Sunday breakfast: waffles, eggs, hashbrowns, bacon. And in Tarboro on a Sunday, that is not an option. Even on a weekday where I live the breakfast places aren’t numerous and the quality not great.
We wanted a Sunday-type breakfast and didn’t want to make the drive to Rocky Mount to the Highway Diner, which by the way is one of the best diners out there and is always worth the drive. We ate at our local Waffle House.
And it was good. For real. Honestly, I was really surprised by this. And the prices were reasonable. The wait staff were friendly and nice. The place was bright and clean. Fun music coming out of the juke box.
Loved getting a booth right by the grill to see all of the action. And it was hopping.
I went over the deep end and got the hashbrowns “all the way.” That meant the hashbrowns were covered in sautéed onions/mushrooms, tomatoes, ham, cheese, jalapeños, and chili. While it may look like a plate of sick, it didn’t taste that way. It was really, really, really good. (And there was no unpleasant aftereffects may I add.) I felt very manly eating it like I was a long haul trucker.
And of course, I had to have a waffle since it is called the Waffle House after all. I enjoyed that, too.
I ate so much at breakfast that I didn’t eat the rest of the day I was so full.
Lesson learned… order a smaller order of hashbrowns or just get a waffle.
by amvandenhurk | Dessert
I was sitting outside on the front porch this afternoon absorbing some late afternoon sun when the thought popped into my head that I had a carton of unopened whipping cream in the fridge and no real use for it. Don’t ask me how my mind works… It works in strange ways.
It would be a shame to let whipping cream go to waste, right? So I thought why not have a cream tea, which is usually tea, scones, jam, and clotted cream. A step below so to speak of high tea, but just a tasty.
It was Sunday after all. A day of treats in my mind. And cooking/baking is my way to relax.
I had everything I needed in my kitchen. I didn’t make scones, but biscuits from Bisquick baking mix. From start to finish it only took 20 minutes. They worked out well as a substitute for traditional scones. Not as sweet.
We sat down for an afternoon tea as a family slicing our biscuits, smearing jam, and loading them up with cream while sipping tea with milk and sugar from proper China cups.
Perfect.
by amvandenhurk | Bread, Breakfast
Currently my house smells like croissants and strong black coffee. I thinks that’s a pretty darn good way to start off a Sunday. Sunday morning breakfast traditionally for is us is one of having treats… yummy treats. And croissants definitely fit the bill.
While I’m a better good baker, I haven’t been successful in making croissants or any bread for that matter. We’ve gotten into the habit of getting “fresh” croissant from Wal-Mart or Harris Tweeter. There are OK, but let’s face it nothing really beats fresh out of the oven.
I got really excited when I was at
Trader Joe’s recently (which by the way is one of my favorite grocery stores) and I can across these. I couldn’t pass them up. So I picked up a package of Mini Croissants and Chocolate Croissants. You can rarely go wrong with any Trader Joe’s product.
The directions seem simple enough.
The one drawback is you have to think ahead. The croissants need to proof overnight so if you can remember to take them then you’ll have fresh croissant in the morning. You just take them out of the package placing on a buttered baking sheet uncovered overnight.
This is what they look like in the morning before baking. They’ve grown quiet a bit. I actually was surprised. It worked.
For a bakery finish, use an egg wash right before baking.
After 20 minutes of baking at 350F, this is the result… beautiful flavorful, buttery, flaky croissants!
I will definitely stocking my freezer with these gems! Now only if Trader Joe’s wasn’t over an hour drive away one-way…