Tag Archives: Breakfast in Bed

Breakfast, General, Recipes

Cranberry Pancakes

Cranberry Pancakes
Cranberry Pancakes

I can find endless uses for cranberries – they are one of my favorite berries.  The berries in today’s recipe came from Mikita Farms in Farmington, near Souris, PEI.  You can see the photos of them wet harvesting the cranberries last fall by clicking here.  I bought a huge bag of cranberries because they freeze really well and I make a multitude of recipes with them throughout the year.

In this recipe, I use the cranberries in pancakes.  I have combined and blended four key ingredients in this recipe to give the pancakes a rich flavour – eggnog, mashed banana, grated orange rind, and cranberries.  The berries can either be fresh or frozen. I simply chop the berries in half before stirring them into the pancake batter.

Cranberry-Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 extra large egg
2½ tbsp cooking oil
½ cup eggnog
½ cup whole milk
½ tsp vanilla
2 tbsp mashed banana
1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2½ tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
⅛ tsp nutmeg
1½ tsp grated orange rind
¾ cup chopped cranberries, fresh or frozen

Method:

Assemble ingredients.

In medium-sized bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, eggnog, milk, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and grated orange rind.

Whisk the dry ingredients together to mix thoroughly.

Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients. Stir just until combined.

Stir in cranberries.

Let batter sit for apx. 5 minutes before cooking pancakes. Batter will be lumpy.

Heat non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Use paper towel to lightly grease pan with oil.

Pour apx. ⅓ cup of batter into hot frying pan and cook pancakes until surface bubbles appear and the top appears dry and set. Gently lift the edge of a pancake – if it is lightly browned, flip the pancakes over with a wide spatula. Cook 1-2 minutes until pancake is lightly browned underneath.

Transfer pancakes to a heatproof plate or cookie sheet and place in oven set to warming temperature to keep pancakes warm while cooking remaining pancakes.

Serve with a pat of butter, maple syrup, or your favourite topping and fresh fruit.

Yield:  Apx. 8 – 5” pancakes

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Cranberry Pancakes

Yield: Apx. 8 – 5” pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1 extra large egg
  • 2½ tbsp cooking oil
  • ½ cup eggnog
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp mashed banana
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 2½ tbsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1½ tsp grated orange rind
  • ¾ cup chopped cranberries, fresh or frozen

Instructions

  1. Assemble ingredients.
  2. In medium-sized bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, eggnog, milk, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana.
  3. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and grated orange rind. Mix well.
  4. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients. Stir just until combined. Stir in cranberries. Let batter sit for apx. 5 minutes before cooking pancakes. Batter will be lumpy.
  5. Heat non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Use paper towel to lightly grease pan with oil.
  6. Pour apx. 1/3 cup of batter into hot frying pan and cook pancakes until surface bubbles appear and the top appears dry and set. Gently lift the edge of a pancake – if it is lightly browned, flip the pancakes over with a wide spatula. Cook 1-2 minutes until pancake is lightly browned underneath.
  7. Transfer pancakes to a heatproof plate or cookie sheet and place in oven set to warming temperature to keep pancakes warm while cooking remaining pancakes.
  8. Serve with a pat of butter, maple syrup, or your favourite topping and fresh fruit.
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Breakfast, General

Mother’s Day Breakfast in Bed: The Bistro’s Lobster Egg Benedict

The Bistro's Lobster Eggs Benedict
The Bistro’s Lobster Eggs Benedict

A very happy Mother’s Day to all Moms out there!  I hope you are having a wonderful day and are getting thoroughly spoiled.

Today, I am sharing my recipe for Lobster Eggs Benedict with a delicious Béarnise sauce.  This makes a wonderful brunch entrée and is also perfect for a Mother’s Day breakfast in bed tray although it does take some time and organization to prepare.

Here, on Canada’s East Coast, we are extremely blessed to have ready access to fresh lobster this time of the year.  In fact, in many Island families today, they will be celebrating with lobster (many having their first “feed” of the season), whether it be lobster at home or at one of the Island’s famous lobster suppers that open early just for the occasion today.  They will then close and re-open for the season in a few weeks time.

I have gone with a yellow theme for the breakfast in bed tray using, as my inspiration, a single yellow tulip and my favorite spring-time china cup and saucer featuring daffodils.

I chose a dainty crystal glass for the freshly-squeezed orange juice.

A refreshing fruit cup with orange sections and raspberries adds both color and flavor.

And, of course, the star of the tray – the Lobster Eggs Benedict served on Ciabatta.

Can you taste that succulent lobster?  The Béarnise Sauce is rich so you don’t need a lot of it on each serving and using less is more in this case because you don’t want to “drown” or mask the wonderful color of the red lobster claws!

The Bistro’s Lobster Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:

1 tbsp water
½ tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used Liquid Gold’s pomegranate-quince)
½ tbsp white wine
½ tbsp minced onion
⅛ tsp puréed garlic

1 extra-large egg yolk
½ tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp prepared mustard (I used J.J. Stewart’s Maple Mustard with Dill and Chardonnay)
2 tbsp butter, melted
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sprinkle of chopped chives, parsley, and tarragon

1-2 lobster claws and meat from the lobster’s knuckles for each serving
English muffins or artisan bread, such as Ciabatta, sliced for each serving

Method:

Assemble ingredients.

In bottom of double boiler, heat about 2” water to boiling point. Reduce heat to keep the water at a very gentle simmer.

In top of double boiler and over direct heat (not on top of the boiling water), combine first five ingredients. Simmer over medium heat until mixture is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

 

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Place top of double boiler over saucepan of gently simmering hot water.

Quickly whisk in the egg yolk and whisk vigorously and continuously till smooth. Whisk in lemon juice and mustard. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Whisk until mixture is just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (you want it of pouring consistency). Remove from heat and add a sprinkle of chopped chives, parsley, and tarragon.

Note: If mixture thickens too much, whisk in small amount of boiling water, 1 tbsp at a time, to get to pouring sauce consistency.

In small saucepan or frypan, heat ½ – 1 tbsp butter and heat lobster over low heat.

Using your favourite method, poach 1 egg to desired doneness for each serving.

To assemble:

Slice English muffin, or if using an artisan bread like Ciabatta, cut loaf into desired lengths (e.g., 3”- 4” per serving) and slice in half horizontally, using one-half for each serving. Butter each piece. Lay a layer of lettuce on each piece of bread or muffin. Add the warmed sautéed lobster.

Top with the poached egg.

Drizzle Bérnaise Sauce over each serving. Serve with a side of green salad or fresh fruit.

Serves: 2

 

Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today.

There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:

Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”

 

Breakfast, General

Easter Weekend Breakfast in Bed

There is nothing that says pampering more than breakfast in bed!  In fact, there doesn’t have to be a special occasion to serve a special someone a breakfast tray.  And, it doesn’t have to be overly fancy.  Toast or a croissant along with fresh orange juice and coffee will somehow seem much more special when served on a pretty tray in bed.

Today, however, because it is Easter and eggs are synonymous with the season, I prepared baked eggs as the main component for the breakfast tray.  A recipe I often use is the one I shared in the story last summer about the Burns Poultry Farm.  To add some color to the baked eggs, today I added some grated cheddar cheese, sliced cherry tomatoes, onion, and green pepper.

Coffee always tastes more special when served in a fancy cup and saucer.  A single-serving sized coffee butler keeps the replenishment coffee hot.

Colorful spring tulips were specially selected to match the entrée.  Pretty good match, I’d say!

Add some fresh fruit and toast and the breakfast was complete.  A great way to start someone’s day!

Happy Easter!

Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today.

There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:

Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook

Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro

Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”

Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”

General

Holiday Breakfast in Bed

Oh, the sweet lull after the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday!  Sometimes the best treat for someone who has been super busy during the holiday season is a quiet and peaceful Sunday morning made even better with breakfast in bed!

Begin by dressing up a bed tray with a quality placemat and napkin.  Add a small vase with a fresh flower and seasonal greenery.  Bring out the Christmas dishes!  The season is not quite over yet!

I like my little two-cup Sadler teapot and matching teacup and saucer.  The teapot is perfectly sized for use on a bed tray.  Red cranberry juice keeps the red theme going!

For this easy-to-prepare breakfast, I lined muffin tins with thin prosciutto and cooked the meat in the oven at 425F for about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let the meat stand for about 5 minutes in the muffin cups.  Carefully remove the prosciutto cups from the pans using the tines of a fork (the meat will be very crisp and will easily crumble).  Cook the scrambled eggs with some finely minced red pepper and spoon into the prosciutto cups.

I chose marbled rye bread for the toast and served my own homemade strawberry jam as an accompaniment to the toast.

I hope that sometime over the holiday period, you have found some time for rest and relaxation (even if it didn’t involve being served breakfast in bed!

Happy holidays!

Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today.

Be sure to visit my Facebook page at My Island Bistro Kitchen.  You may also wish to follow me on twitter @PEIBistro, on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”, and on Instagram at “PEIBistro”.

Breakfast, General, Recipes

Valentine’s Day Breakfast in Bed

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!  Be sure to use the occasion to show special appreciation for those you love.  One of the most ultimate ways to pamper a loved one on any day (and not just on Valentine’s) is by preparing and serving him or her breakfast in bed.

Valentine's Day Breakfast in Bed Tray
Valentine’s Day Breakfast in Bed Tray

This is a very simple breakfast menu I have selected for the bed tray:  Freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit cup sprinkled with coconut, heart-shaped Irish Cream French Toast with pure Canadian maple syrup, and a wee pot of tea. (Recipe for the French Toast follows at end of posting)

There is nothing like fresh-squeezed orange juice to start the day!   The little juice jug was a find at a thrift shop.  Bed trays have limited space so I’m always on the look-out for items that will be suitable for this purpose.  I have opted to make the event special by serving the juice in a stemmed glass.

 

I have selected fruit with different colors and textures and dressed the fruit cup with some coconut and orange zest.  The glass pedestal dessert dish is perfect for serving fresh fruit because it allows the colors of the fruit to show through giving color to the tray.

I sprinkled the French toast with confectioner’s sugar and added a dollop or two of whipped cream.   My heart-shaped cookie cutter didn’t have as deep a cut in the center as I would have liked; consequently, the heart-shape isn’t as prominent or doesn’t show up as well in the photographs.   I added the fan-cut strawberry to give both color and flavour.

What dresses up the food is the presentation.  Yes, it’s all about the presentation!  I covered the tray with a couple of my best quality white napkins and folded the third, using a “blingy” napkin ring as napkin jewelry.  Out came the wee Sadler teapot I found in a second-hand shop last summer.  From my teacup collection, I selected one that is predominantly pink since my color theme for this bed tray is pink and red.

Every bed tray should be adorned with a small bouquet of fresh flowers.  I thoroughly enjoy having access to Island greenhouse-grown tulips over the winter.  I drove out to Vanco Farms in Mount Albion to specifically select these pink and red tulips, knowing they would be perfect on this tray!  I think the pink and red make a stunning color combination!

And, of course, adding a lovely card and a gift will make a special someone’s Valentine’s Day just a tad more special!

 

My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Irish Cream French Toast

2 eggs
3 tbsp milk
2 tsp Irish Cream Liqueur (follow link at bottom of posting for my recipe for homemade Irish Cream Liqueur)
1/2 tbsp orange juice
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch cardamom
1/2 tsp freshly grated orange rind

With whisk, beat eggs lightly.  Add remainder of ingredients in order given.  Whisk to combine.  Pour mixture into a flat pan or pie plate.  Dip each bread slice into the mixture, turning to coat both sides.

Melt 1 tsp. butter in skillet.  Transfer dipped bread to hot skillet.  Over medium heat, fry bread till browned.  Flip bread to brown other side.  Transfer to serving plate.  Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and add a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.  Serve warm with maple syrup.

Click on this link for my recipe for homemade Irish Cream Liqueur.

 

Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:

Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”