everyday entertaining
How do I love breakfast? These are some of my favorite ways: Stewed prunes tossed in a hot pan with apple slices, brown sugar and sweet butter. Whole wheat almond pancakes light, tasty and delicious under a mantle of warm maple syrup. Scrambled eggs made creamy with non-fat yogurt. Chicken sausage studded with apples, fennel and sage.
Just the thought of such a luscious, leisurely breakfast is reason enough to get out of bed in the morning!
Breakfast is a wonderful way to entertain on weekends when you have the time to cook and enjoy leisure time around the house. Consider this fabulous menu I did with a friend who was introducing weekend house guests to her friends.
On bare wooden picnic tables in my friend’s garden, we set places with assorted pieces of china from the 50s and casual cloth napkins. The hostess, who is a landscape architect, has created a riot of color within the inviting space. So we picked flowers from her garden and placed them in a variety of small bottles, with one large terra cotta potted plant to intensify the bright garden feel. It took just minutes to assemble.
After a wake-up call of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, we served a compote of pan-fried apple slices and stewed prunes, which can be readied the night before and served at room temperature or warmed up.
Our feather-light pancakes of ground almonds were as healthy as they were handsome and tasty. And the creamy scrambled eggs, teamed with fragrant sausage patties, completed the perfect Sunday morning breakfast. After a tough week at work, don’t we all deserve a little relaxation and a hearty breakfast like this?
Though the pancakes and eggs need to be made at the last minute, you can have all the ingredients assembled ahead of time and invite guests to gather in the warm kitchen while you work.
Suggest that your friends first join you on a morning hike in the mountains, a brisk walk along the beach or a stroll past store windows in the neighborhood to work up an appetite. When you return home, have a copy of the morning newspaper on hand, some soothing classical music in the background, and, most importantly, a freshly brewed pot of the best coffee you can find. Then sit back and luxuriate in this wonderfully civilized alternative to a “bagel-on-the-run.”
Menu
Fried Apples and Stewed Prunes
Almond Pancakes
Scrambled Eggs with Yogurt and Chives
Chicken and Fennel Sausage
