Mom's Birthday Part II

Menu: Blueberry pancakes, fresh fruit, thick cut bacon, smoked salmon/goat cheese/dill frittata, carrot cake cupcakes, brunch champagne cocktail

My Mom's favorite thing to do with family (besides get all of the gossip haha), is to go to brunch on Sundays after church. We don't often make brunch due to busy schedules, but when we do, Mom always comments on how much she loves brunch and what a wonderful time she always has. For her birthday, creating this brunch for her and our family was my gift to her.

I tried to combine all of Mom's favorites into one meal: blueberry pancakes, fresh fruit, and smoked salmon. The sweet breakfast cocktail in a pretty shade of pink is now a new favorite! (Besides, what's not to love about booze with breakfast?!) I also made bacon so that there would be a little something for everyone (extra thick is totally the way to go...mmmmm pork fat....). With six people eating, I worked like a maniac trying to get everything hot and ready for when they all got back from church.

The blueberry pancakes I've done several times and are posted on this blog here. I baked the bacon in the oven while cutting up the fruit. The smoked salmon, goat cheese, and fresh dill frittata is an Ina Garten recipe. It's super easy and gorgeous and a must serve if you ever have guests to impress. It made for delicious leftovers served with a small salad the rest of the week.

We polished off the cupcakes for dessert and sang Happy Birthday again. Mom was absolutely thrilled and once I recovered from my food coma, I was able to enjoy her celebration even more because she was so happy. :)

Fresh flowers :)

Smoked salmon, goat cheese, fresh dill frittata (still puffy from the oven)

Smoked Salmon Frittata

* 1 medium onion, diced

• * 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• * 12 extra-large eggs
• * 1 cup heavy cream
• * 4 ounces fresh goat cheese, such as Montrachet, crumbled
• * 1/2 pound smoked salmon, chopped
• * 3 scallions, chopped, white and light green parts
• * 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• * 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• * 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the onion and butter in a 10-inch oven-proof omelet pan over medium-low heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the heavy cream, goat cheese, smoked salmon, scallions, dill, salt, and pepper and combine. Pour the mixture over the onions and place the omelet pan in the center of the oven. Bake the frittata for about 50 minutes, until it puffs and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve hot directly from the pan.

Recipe from Ina Garten


Breakfast Cocktail
* 1-2 bottles chilled dry champagne
* Pink Lemonade frozen concentrate
* 1 lemon, sliced thin for decoration


Right before serving, mix champagne and pink lemonade concentrate in a glass pitcher. Add sliced lemons for decoration. Serve right away.

Fluffy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

If I had known how quick and easy these pancakes were to make as opposed to packaged mix, I would have made these yummies ages ago! I mean really -- they were SO EASY to make!!! I'm never purchasing boxed-pancake mix again......EVER!!!

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter, plus some for frying
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, sift together the flower, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and melted butter. Combine the dry and the wet ingredients into a lumpy batter. Do not over mix.

Heat some butter in a skillet or a griddle over medium heat. Spoon 1/3 cup of batter into the skillet/griddle and sprinkle the top with blueberries. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. (note: I look for the little air bubbles popping up to know when to flip.)

Serve with maple syrup. (serves 4-6 people or one redhead with cats over several days)

As a side note, I wish I could say that I don't have a picture of the finished product to add because I was distracted by winning the lottery or there was a zombie apocalypse going on but the truth of the matter is, is that these were SO DELICIOUS AND FLUFFY THAT THEY WERE GONE BEFORE I COULD EVEN THINK OF TAKING A PICTURE IN CAPS!!!

The leftover batter is in the fridge -- I know what I'm having for breakfast Monday morning....

Happy eating! :)

I Heart Breakfast

It's been a little while since I've posted but I promise, I've definitely been eating yummies (the pictures are all stuck on my real camera as opposed to my crappy iPhone camera that I've been using)!

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day by far. Nothing seems to satisfy me (discounting the awesomeness that is cheese *drools*), more than piping hot, perfectly (or not so perfectly) cooked eggs, crispy bacon, and something to soak up the egg yoke with (in the form of toast *drools* or hashbrowns *drools drools*). Sunday mornings are especially great for breakfast at home or brunch out. In this case, I decided to do BOTH!! "Both!?" I'm sure you're asking. Yes - that was not a typo! I'm going to have both!! At this time, try to contain your envy....thanks. ;)

I'm meeting the parentals around noon at this great little brunch place called Cafe Benedict. Having woken up reasonably early, my stomach demanded eggs and toast. How could I say no!? One fresh egg over easy and one toasted English muffin with two pieces of crispy turkey bacon later, I am drinking hot tea and digesting on my couch, updating this blog. No pictures of my breakfast...I could pretend that the reason is because it was pretty basic, but the truth is that I wolfed it down with a smile on my face before I even thought about taking a picture! So instead, I'll post a pic of my cute little teacup set that I'm sipping my hot tea from. I'll update this post later with a picture of the yummy-ness that will be my brunch!

As promised: