Cooking Show: Breakfast for Dinner, Part III

It's been a while since we've filmed a show with a "Breakfast for Dinner" theme (click here and here to be taken to recipes from the previous shows).  I was joined by my friend, Maureen. We did our best to prepare a few breakfast recipes that are also great at dinnertime!

I love breakfast recipes, but I don't typically have time to make them in the morning hours. At dinnertime, however--when I've usually put aside the time to actually cook something--I find that making breakfast can actually save time, because many breakfast recipes require less time to prepare than traditional dinner recipes.

(Click on the recipe title to be taken to the printable recipe.)

Hash Brown Frittata

Layered with hash browns, ham, eggs, veggies and cheese!  

 Bacon, Spinach & Tomato Breakfast Wraps with Avocado

These are one of my favorite wraps.  I would eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Or breakfast, lunch AND dinner!

 Apple Dutch Baby Puff Pancake

You could serve this topped with maple syrup, whipped cream...or ice cream...

Madras

The perfect choice if you're feeling like you might want to mix up a special fruity drink to go with your breakfast-dinner!

Pumpkin Spice Cooking Show

I can't say that I enjoy the pumpkin spice EVERYTHING assault that occurs as September rolls around. I grudgingly have to admit, however, that I do look forward to cooking pumpkin recipes--and to the yummy smell of pumpkin/cinnamon wafting through my house!

We filmed a cooking show last week which featured pumpkin spice recipes. 

My friend, Lisa, cooked with me.  We both agreed that this pumpkin craziness is a 21st century creation.  

My only childhood memory of pumpkin food is pumpkin pie...displayed on the dessert table at Thanksgiving, 40-50 family members digging into blueberry or apple or pecan or lemon meringue or chocolate pie.  Tradition called for pumpkin pie, however. Year after year, my aunt would dutifully bake pumpkin pie (and mincemeat.  What the heck is mincemeat?  I digress...) and there it would sit, forlorn and unloved while all of the tastier pies were snarfed down.  The memory of untouched pumpkin pies remains seared in my memory!

Lisa and I cooked up a bunch of pumpkin recipes...NONE of which remained untouched!

We started with Pumpkin Waffles.  Topped with warm maple syrup, whipped cream, raisins...I may have served these for dinner on a recent chilly night...they're not only for breakfast!

Pumpkin Muffins with Raisins & Pecans

These are so good.  

Make extra and freeze them.  So easy to pop into your microwave to defrost and heat!  Trust me on this.  Cold, dark, dreary mornings are fast approaching and you'll be grateful to have a stash of these muffins in your freezer to quickly warm up and nibble on while you sip your morning brew.

Click here for the printable recipe.

Pumpkin Martini

We've featured this drink on a previous cooking show, but it bears repeating!  Garnish with a cinnamon stick and marshmallows.  Don't forget the marshmallows!  They get all soft and squishy and yummy in the bottom of the glass.  

Click here for the printable recipe.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Parfaits

Lisa and I had fun layering bits of cookies, brownies, graham crackers...but when all is said and done, it is the mousse that is the star of this recipe.

You may just want to serve 'em up straight!

Cooking Show: Breakfast for Dinner, Part II

It's been about 2 years since we filmed our first Breakfast is My Favorite Kind of Dinner cooking show.

There are so many great breakfast recipes that I just don't make for breakfast very often (if ever), simply because I don't have time!

Please tell me that I'm not the only one who would rather get extra sleep than drag myself out of bed an hour early in order to prepare an awesome breakfast.

Nothing should stop you from preparing breakfast recipes for dinner, however!

Considering that she cooked with me for the first show, it was only fitting that my friend, Maureen, cook with me again for this show.  We were able to prepare a few recipes that didn't make the cut the first time!

 Fruit Salad with Honey Lime

A taste of summer in the middle of winter!

Mini Frittatas

One of the most practical breakfast recipes in existence.  Stir together some eggs with a splash of cream and a dash of salt, pour into muffin cups and then mix in whatever cheese, meats and/or veggies you happen to have on hand.  A great way to use up leftovers!  And they freeze beautifully...defrost them as needed for those mornings when you need a quick hit of protein before you start your day.

We neglected to plan for a drink, so we poured a Bellini or two as an afterthought.  Two parts prosecco to one part peach juice (or peach puree).

Baked French Toast

This needs to be prepared in advance (whenever is convenient for you!  At least an hour, but up to overnight is fine), to give the bread time to absorb the egg mixture.  Sooooo good.

 Open-Faced Egg Sandwiches with Ham and Cheese

These take very little effort!  Scramble some eggs, layer the eggs into a hollowed-out bread load with ham and cheese, pop it under your broiler and voilà!

Apple Dutch Baby Puff Pancake

My daughters and I were discussing pancakes the other day. Well, we really were discussing our dislike of pancakes.

Maybe the reason why I don't like traditional pancakes is because I'm not good at making them.  I don't flip them, I destroy them.

Or maybe the reason why I'm not good at making pancakes is because I just don't like them.

However, I'll take a Dutch Baby Puff Pancake any day.

Especially if it's an Apple Dutch Baby!

You could whip one of these up in the same amount of time that it would take you to measure, mix and pour a batch of traditional pancakes.  And as far as flipping goes---no flipping required!

Baked French Toast

When I woke up this morning, I was relieved to see that it had finally stopped snowing.  

7 a.m. this morning, Clyde the party animal was his usual "Yee-Haw!" self.  Gus was like, "It's too early, kid."

Strange, isn't it, how easily I embrace imaginary dog conversations now that my kids aren't around?

They don't even look like they're part of the same conversation in this picture.  Gus looks like he's had enough of the cold and Clyde looks like he's still ready for his close-up.

I decided to make today's recipe, Baked French Toast, because I wanted to use up a package of rolls that I had in my freezer.  It's a perfect breakfast for a snowy day!

Chocolate-Raspberry French Toast

Okay, you know it's coming, so let's just get this out of the way:

 Clyde trying on his Santa hat.....

and naptime.  As usual, Clyde is cuddling with a sneaker.  Gus momentarily woke up as I slithered across the floor on my belly to get this shot.

Gus went right back to sleep and then it was Clyde's turn to wonder why I was flat out with a camera pointed in his face.

Okay, thank you all for being such good sports and putting up with my puppy pictures.

Today's recipe is fabulous, if I do say so myself.  I'm experimenting with recipes, trying to figure out what I might want to make for breakfast on Christmas morning.  This morning I cooked up some chocolate French toast, with raspberry syrup and whipped cream and it's a keeper.  Definitely making this on Christmas morning!

I clipped and saved this recipe for chocolate bread, "Pane Alla Cioccolata," from Country Living Magazine in February 2001.  

 I knew it would come in handy someday.  It took almost twelve years, but I have finally found a use for that recipe!

Make it easy on yourself and bake the bread the day before.  Better yet, bake two loaves (like I did), so you can freeze one for next time.

Puff Pastry Omelette Torte

I haven't been baking too many sweet confections lately.

Erin's been taking care of that.

She baked these cupcakes to celebrate a friend's birthday (hence the "K"), but made extras for us to enjoy.

I've been doing baking of a different variety.  This morning was the meeting of my "breakfast club,"  a more-or-less-monthly standing date with four of my dearest, sweetest-most-wonderful friends.  

We take turns hosting our little breakfast dates, with the hostess providing the coffee and the guests each contributing a breakfast item.

Gayle hosted this morning's soiree.   It gave me the opportunity to bake a breakfast torte, a recipe perfectly suited for any breakfast gathering, from cozy little get-togethers to glitzy Christmas brunches.

This recipe is very easy to prepare.  Total prep and baking time is about 1 1/2 hours.  You can also prepare it ahead of time, refrigerate it overnight and bake it the next day.

Open-Faced Egg Sandwiches with Ham and Cheese

Think of all your favorite breakfast foods........eggs, bacon, coffeecake, sticky rolls, muffins, french toast, pancakes, home fries, fresh-squeezed orange juice, omelettes, quiche, Belgian waffles........

Well, I've left a couple dozen of my favorite dishes off the list, but I think you get the picture.

Breakfast food is yummy!  But I very rarely prepare more than one of the aforementioned items at a time, unless it's a very rare occasion where I am up for hours before the rest of my family; when they wake up they want to eat whatever is available, they don't want to hear me tell them to wait a while so I can put the finishing touches on a breakfast smorgasbord.

So the usual (weekend) breakfast in my house is muffins or waffles or coffeecake or french toast or bacon and eggs........you get what you get, and you don't get upset. 

It's always a hit in my house when we have Breakfast for Dinner.  It doesn't happen very often but sometimes I'll make a buffet of breakfast foods at dinnertime.

And sometimes I'll compromise and make something like the following recipe; something that might be a little too time-consuming to make in the early hours of the morning, but easy to prepare for dinner--and a welcome change when you're in a rut and your family has been complaining that you've served chicken too many nights in a row.