Posts tagged breakfast
Gastronomy and Life's Other Pleasures
Follow me on my gastronomic adventures!
Honeymoon breakfasts continued….
By now, you must think that all we did on our honeymoon was eat! Well, you are partially correct, but not completely! haha
We went back to Il Cielo, one of Sandals Emerald Bay’s a la carte restaurants, for breakfast a few times. On this particular morning, the husband tried the coconut apple pancakes and I had the smoked salmon eggs benedict. The coconut apple pancakes were stuffed with fresh apples and cinnamon, and topped with toasted coconut and a golden raisin syrup. They were heavenly. My benedict was also excellent: the yolk was perfectly gooey and the Hollandaise sauce was delicious. We also enjoyed a few accompaniments from the breakfast bar: some fruit, cottage cheese and fresh pastries.
Also, in the photo of the pancakes, you can see a tall silver looking pitcher sitting on the table in the background: one of the great things about breakfast at any restaurant at Sandals Emerald Bay was the endless coffee! They would bring me a piping hot pitcher of coffee and I was as happy as can be! The husband also enjoyed lots of English breakfast tea.
This was one of the many breakfasts we enjoyed while honeymooning in Great Exuma, Bahamas at Sandals Emerald Bay.
One of the resort’s a la carte restaurants, Il Cielo, also served breakfast, which was a delightful experience! We ate there a couple of times (to change things up from the buffet restaurant) and enjoyed each relaxing breakfast thoroughly.
On this day, we tried the french toast with rum-soaked berries, and the buttermilk pancakes served with bacon, all of which was delicious!
We really loved the ambiance of having breakfast at Il Cielo; it was a little more quiet than at the buffet, and a little bit more of a relaxing start to the day.
Brunch at gezellig
The husband and I finally made it to gezellig one recent weekend for a late lunch/brunch. I’d been wanting to go since it opened late in 2012, but had not yet been able to make it.
gezellig is the creation of Stephen Beckta, who owns two other amazing restaurants in Ottawa: Beckta Dining and Wine and Play. Play is one of my absolute favourite restaurants! I adore the small plates concept and the food has always been nothing but amazing. I have yet to dine at Beckta Dining and Wine as the menu is a bit too exotic for the husband, but it’s still on my must-try list!
The restaurant’s location is that of an old bank that sits at the corner of two streets. There are huge windows that let in a great deal of light, so dining during the daytime is lovely as there are no dark spots and the restaurant is bright and sunny. The decor is very modern and minimalistic, with light wood coloured tables and black leather banquettes. It is a gorgeously designed space.
The brunch menu at gezllig is fun and quirky. I had no trouble deciding on what to order: I chose the gravlax, served with corn and cilantro fritters, pique sauce, lemon oil and red onion jam. It was delightfully zingy and full of flavour. The gravlax was plentiful and paired well with the fritters. I also couldn’t resist ordering something from their “sides” menu, which includes such fun items as house biscuits and preserves and baked beans with pork and molasses. I chose the house banana bread and loved it! It was fresh, warm and soft, and dotted with chocolate chips. It was everything homemade banana bread should be. Yum!
The husband had no trouble deciding on his order: he chose the breakfast poutine, which was fries topped with a poached egg, hollandaise sauce, guanciale (which is a type of unsmoked Italian bacon) and cheese curds. He thought it was fantastic! He also ordered the baked beans from the sides menu and raved about them.
We had a great brunch at gezellig and can’t wait to go back for dinner!
Breakfast at Big Rig Brew Pub
A friend of the husband’s had been telling him time and again that he should go to Big Rig for breakfast, so we finally took his advice and did just that one recent weekend.
Big Rig, which opened just about one year ago, serves up its own in-house made beer as well as a huge range of brew pub style food. Since the restaurant was built new from scratch, the interior is gorgeous with high, open ceilings, lots of windows, brand new big screen TVs, and ample seating.
We went pretty early on a Saturday morning, so the place was fairly quiet. We were seated right away and, since we had perused the menu online before heading out, we were quick to place our orders.
All breakfasts come with regular tea or coffee, which I really love in a restaurant breakfast. I was actually quite impressed with the coffee: it was strong and piping hot, which usually isn’t the case with restaurant coffee. I ordered the bagel egg-wich, a breakfast sandwich served on a toasted sesame seed bagel with ham, scrambled egg and cheddar cheese. The husband ordered the “Ottawa’s favourite,” which is your basic two egg breakfast served with your choice of bacon, sausage or ham, toast and homefries. My breakfast also came with their homefries.
We have tried a lot of breakfasts in Ottawa, and this was definitely one of the good ones. My sandwich was perfect: the bagel was beautifully toasted, and the ham, egg and cheese were hot and cooked well. Everything on the husband’s plate was also great: the bacon plenty and crispy but still some how a bit soft, the way he likes it, the scrambled eggs cooked expertly, and the toasted rye bread fresh and soft. Their homefries were definitely interesting; they were more like a hash, like potatoes that had been gently precooked and then tossed on the flat top for crisping. There were also a few onions kicking around in the potatoes, which I liked.
We would definitely go back, but it isn’t the spot if you’re looking for something fancy or out of the ordinary. But it does serve up a solid, basic breakfast/brunch menu of the usual suspects!
Breakfast at Alice’s Village Cafe
This is only the second time that I’ve had the chance to dine at the lovely Alice’s Village Cafe in Carp, but it won’t be the last! My first trip to Alice’s was for dinner, so I was excited to try their breakfast!
I ordered the basic breakfast sandwich, which comes with egg, your choice of bacon or sausage (I chose sausage) and cheddar cheese. It is served with Alice’s in-house made ketchup and a few slices of fruit. The sandwich was great - lots of flavour, and I believe they locally source their meat (but I didn’t ask to confirm). I also adore their in-house made ketchup, which I tasted during my first visit and fell in love. It is so tangy and the spices used to flavour it are spot-on. Unfortunately, the fruit slices were a little dreary and dried out, but I overlooked it due to the deliciousness of the sandwich!
To accompany my sandwich, I ordered a cappuccino and one of their apple cinnamon scones. Both were fantastic - I love the size of their cappuccino: it isn’t too big and isn’t too small, and it its perfect in its ratio of milk to espresso. The scone was impressive with lots of cinnamon flavour and big chunks of fresh apple. All in all, it was a delightful breakfast and I can’t wait to return!
Brunch at Panera Bread
The husband and I decided to take a drive to New York State one recent weekend to do some shopping. We go a few times a year just to hunt for new grocery/food items, and, while there, we always dine at Panera Bread.
I tend to try their new menu items whenever we go because we don’t go that often. This time, they had a new breakfast sandwich which was a flatbread stuffed with turkey chorizo, scrambled egg, potatoes, cheese and veggies and grilled until hot. Yum! We also shared their new muffin, the peach pecan crunch muffin, which was super moist and packed with huge chunks of peach. I also loved the crunchy granola baked into the top of the muffin.
The husband got his usual (the bacon turkey bravo sandwich, the mac and cheese and a cherry cheese danish) and he ate every bite like it was the first time. Sigh. haha
Weekday breakfast: (my) Bircher museli
I had eaten so-called Bircher muesli a few times at restaurants before I even knew what it was; I just remember thinking it was some form of cold oatmeal that was totally delicious. It wasn’t until I came across this blog post on Peanut Butter and Peppers that I finally figured it out.
I was thrilled to read that making this concoction is incredibly simple and that it uses ingredients that I always have on hand like rolled oats, greek yogurt and an abundance of fresh fruit. Here is my version, adapted from the recipe on Peanut Butter and Peppers.
My Bircher Muesli - serves 2 (small servings)
- 1/2 cup organic quick oats (I used quick cooking and it worked fine, but most recipes say to use regular rolled oats and not quick-cooking oats)
- 1/4 cup shredded apple, cored and unpeeled (use your favourite - I used a Gala)
- 1/3 cup fat-free plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup 1% milk
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- a small handful of dried cranberries
- a big dash of cinnamon
- dash of vanilla extract
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a sealable container (I prefer glass). Refrigerate overnight for best results! Top with fresh fruit (I used strawberries), nuts, seeds and more yogurt. Perhaps even some honey or maple syrup if you like yours sweet!
Weekend project and Gastropost submission: cinnamon bread
Feast your eyes on my contribution to this week’s Gastropost mission! Cinnamon bread is one of my all-time favourite kinds of bread. I first fell in love with it after biting into a slice of Richmond Bakery’s cinnamon bread a few years ago, and I’ve been craving it ever since!
I’ve always wanted to try making it myself, but, as I’ve said before, I’m intimidated by the idea of working with yeast and yeasted breads. As well, there is a quite a time commitment with making bread; this particular recipe called for two rising periods of one and a half hours each! But, in the end, it was well worth it. The bread was perfect, and I couldn’t be more proud of my first attempt to make it! The texture is dense and chewy yet light, and the flavour is a delightful fusion of both savory and sweet.
Click here to link to the recipe that I used (from the amazing Baked by Rachel blog), and click here to see all of the Gastropost submissions for the “Any way you slice it” mission!
Hawberry Farms gourmet food products
Every time the husband and I visit Peterborough, we always make a stop at the Kawartha Dairy shop for some incredibly delicious ice cream. Each visit, we spend way too long eating our ice cream and drooling over the huge selection of jams, sauces, jellies, purees, spreads, relishes and everything else for sale from Hawberry Farms of Manitoulin Island.
With products like apple pie jam, Canadian maple and poppy seed butter, Black Forest cake jam, pumpkin pie jam and peach mango twist jam, to name just a few, it’s difficult to not take a second look at everything there is to offer. One of these days we’ll actually buy something!
Have you tried any Hawberry Farms products? What did you try? Did you like it?
The husband and I continue to love to go out for breakfast on occasion to Eggstyles. Their fresh, fast and delicious breakfasts never cease to please! Most recently, we branched out and tried the blueberry pancake combo breakfast, served with all the usual suspects (eggs, bacon, hash browns, fruit, toast). The pancakes were delicious and a nice addition to the regular breakfast.
Breakfast for dinner
I made my patented breakfast sandwiches for the fiancé and I for dinner one recent evening. Fried egg whites, turkey bacon, and havarti cheese served on a toasted sundried tomato English muffin. I also tried making my own hashbrowns, but it is taking me a while to perfect my recipe. This is one of my favourite meals to make and eat!
Easy Saturday morning frittata
I felt like something a little more hearty for breakfast one recent Saturday, so I decided to put together a little oven-baked frittata.
It came out fantastic! Super flavourful and fresh, and packed with healthy ingredients. I will be making this more often now that I know how simple yet delicious it is.
Oven baked frittata (adapted from Chatelaine)
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- 8 slices of bacon, cooked, drained, cooled, patted dry to get rid of excess grease and chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup shredded old cheddar cheese
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- a couple of small button mushrooms, finely chopped
- a handful of baby spinach and kale, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
- sprinkle of smoked paprika
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie place (using whatever you prefer - I used olive oil cooking spray).
- Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk briskly until combined. Add salt, pepper, herbs and paprika (and any other seasonings you’d like!) and mix. Add all of the veggies, bacon and cheese, and stir gently to combine.
- Pour into the greased pie plate and push the mixture around a little bit to make sure that all of the ingredients are fairly evenly distributed.
- Cook for approximately 25 minutes, or until the centre is just set. Remove from oven and let sit for a minute or two. Slice and serve with toast and fresh fruit on the side.
Breakfast at Eggstyle (again)
The fiancé adores Eggstyle, so much so that he begs me to go there every weekend. Most of the time I say no, but even I have to give in every once in a while! haha
We try something different each visit, and this time we set our sights on the french toast. But not just any french toast: apple bread french toast! Two generous pieces of apple bread dipped in french toast batter, grilled and topped with hot cinnamon apples, yogurt, caramel and toasted almonds. It was quite a treat! The bread was fluffy and light and the combination of the apples, yogurt, caramel and almonds was a delightful taste and textural adventure.
Individual baked oatmeal cups
Just when you thought I couldn’t find yet another way to love oatmeal, I did just that! When I saw this recipe for individual baked oatmeal cups on the lovely Peanut Butter and Peppers blog, I immediately e-mailed it to myself to make on the weekend.
These little muffins are so versatile; you can add anything you like for flavours (spices, fruit, nuts) and you can adjust your preferred level of sweetness too. I opted to leave mine unsweetened save for a few pieces of chopped granny smith apple on top.
So simple to make, I whipped them up in no time, and I froze the whole batch to be able to pull them from the freezer for week day lunch snacks. They are fantastic!
Brunch at Milestones
I had not been to a Milestones in quite some time when my bff told me about their fantastic brunch menu. Some friends met the fiancé and I for a post-new year’s gathering, and we enjoyed our brunch during a quiet Sunday morning at the restaurant. The servers were great, and there were many other brunch items from which to choose (sadly, we all gobbled up our food so quickly that I only had time to snap a photo of mine before I dove in!)
I am a huge sucker for a good eggs benedict, so when I saw their grilled shrimp california benedict on the menu, I was sold. Grilled jumbo shrimp, double-smoked bacon and house-made avocado salsa are served atop a toasted English muffin, all smothered in a generous dollop of their delightful hollandaise sauce. The sides included breakfast potatoes topped with their Mediterranean salsa and some fresh fruit. I also indulged in Milestones’ ultimate brunch bundle, which added to my meal a starter plate of fresh fruit with a mint dressing and my choice of mimosa: I opted for the raspberry mimosa, which was heavenly.
All of us really enjoyed this brunch, and would not hesitate to return!
