Sunday Breakfast

One of my favorite parts of the weekend is getting to have a nice big breakfast. I don’t eat breakfast at all on weekdays, so it’s something I look forward to every Saturday and Sunday. But by “big” I don’t necessarily mean “heavy.” A big breakfast can also be light, and it can be just as satisfying as bacon and eggs.

On today’s menu:
Pussyfoot
Spiced Americano
Cinnamon-Oat Scones
Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Pussyfoot

This is Nigella’s recipe. I have no idea where the name comes from, but it is what it is. I cut the recipe in half to make enough for two people. It’s just 1.5 cups grapefruit juice, 1.5 cups orange juice, 1 tablespoon lime juice, and 1 tablespoon grenadine. The grenadine is what really caught my eye about this recipe. I’ve had a soft spot for it ever since I first laid lips on a Shirley Temple.

When I did my shopping for this I didn’t want to buy a carton of grapefruit juice and a carton of orange juice (crowded fridge), so I got a carton of grapefruit juice and a bag of oranges. In case you’re wondering, you’ll need about 6 oranges for 1.5 cups of juice. Also, half a lime will get you the tablespoon of juice you need. Nigella always uses “plastic lime,” as she calls it, which is just lime juice from a bottle. I find her no-fuss approach very refreshing, but I have to say that, when I have both fresh and plastic lime on hand, I’ll choose the fresh. There’s definitely a difference, and fresh is definitely better.

Spiced Americano

This recipe comes courtesy of Giada, and it’s just equal parts espresso and water sweetened with a spiced simple syrup and topped with whipped cream. The hardest part of this is making the simple syrup, which isn’t actually “hard” at all, but it’s something you may not want to bother with first thing in the morning. I suggest making it ahead, if you can, and storing it in the fridge. If you’re going to also make the strawberries and whipped cream, make some extra cream now while you’re at it.

Cinnamon-Oat Scones

This is a Betty Crocker recipe that is, of course, based on a Betty Crocker product. I love these kind of short-cut baking recipes. I love just dumping everything in the same bowl and being done with it, especially in the morning when you’re hungry and don’t want to wait forever for breakfast. One warning here: the dough is very sticky. The oats will suck up all that moisture in the oven, but working with it is messy. If you have a silpat, use it. Dump the dough onto your prepared pan and sprinkle it with some streusel mixture right away. This will keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Shape the streuseled dough into an 8-inch circle, top with the rest of the streusel, and cut into 8 slices. I used a pizza cutter, which worked well.

These aren’t real scones, of course, but they’re good and they’re easy. You could do muffins instead if you wanted to. I served mine with butter and strawberry preserves.

Strawberries and Whipped Cream

You don’t need a recipe for this, of course, but a good tip is to serve these along with the Americano, so that you can get twice the use out of making fresh whipped cream. I served this in the mini margarita glasses I just got from Crate and Barrel. So cute!

So there you have it. A weekend breakfast that is easy and elegant. Believe me, I love pancakes and sausage and bacon as much as the next person, but sometimes it’s nice to lighten things up a bit. Especially when the hours you’ve been spending in the kitchen have begun to translate into inches around your waist.

New Shows: Nigella and Amy

I’ll be honest. I rolled my eyes when I first heard about Nigella Express, indignant and offended that apparently I, a Food Network viewer, had yet again been deemed unfit for cooking that was not easy, simple, fast, or semi-out-of-a-box. The name “Nigella Express” made me think, for some reason, that I’d be getting a sort of express version of Nigella’s previous show. After seeing a couple episodes, however, I realize that the cooking really hasn’t changed much since Nigella Feasts. Nigella’s never been one for fussy, labor-intensive ordeals, and Nigella Express simply adheres to that approach. I do suspect that the Food Network must have had something to do with choosing the new title though. I think their shows are becoming more and more geared toward people (women) who want to throw together a quick meal at the end of the day. Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that—I happen to be such a woman, in fact. But I do also want to learn something from watching these shows and making the meals, and I don’t really expect that to happen when everything can be done in thirty minutes or less.

Anyway, back to Nigella Express.

I like the show. I haven’t made any of the recipes yet, but I do enjoy watching Nigella. I like her accent, her vocabulary, and her easy approach to cooking and obvious love of indulgence. My favorite part of each episode is the very end when she opens the fridge in the middle of the night and snacks on whatever leftovers she finds.

This, for me, is a nice change from the one-bite helpings that other Food Network women usually serve themselves.

I also love the set.

Those lights are a great touch. I love the layout in general, especially the shelving. And if this is actually an apartment, I want to move into it. I want those pink bowls and that pink couch.

And then, there’s Amy’s new show, The Gourmet Next Door:

This has to be the ugliest set/kitchen I’ve ever seen. Those blue tiles should not be seen outside of a bathroom, and if there’s anything that actually is complemented by brown blinds, it is not this kitchen. The misguided brown/blue combo here is similar to that of the green/orange combo on Rachel Ray’s show, and both just make me want to look away.

I do hope they’ll do something about that kitchen, because I think this show has a lot of potential. Amy wasn’t my personal pick for the next Food Network star, but I’ve been impressed by her knowledge and her recipes. She’s bringing new dishes and new style to the network, both of which are much appreciated, and her recipes are more about great food than they are fast food. Fast food has its place, and it certainly can be good, but the Food Network already has enough of those shows. A touch of gourmet is most welcome.